Navy working uniform
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The Navy Working Uniform , or NWU for short , is the current uniform of the United States Navy . It is worn where other uniforms would suffer excessively from soiling or are unsuitable for other reasons, so the main place of use is work at sea and in industrial environments. As of July 2010, the Navy Working Uniform and its overalls have been the only work uniforms authorized by the Navy.
design
Based on the MARPAT - Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform of the US Marine Corps and with a variety of pockets on the top and pants, the NWU uses a multi-colored digital pattern, as do the uniforms used by the other branches of the United States. There are currently three large variants, Type I , mainly composed of shades of blue with a little gray, used by the majority of seafarers on board, furthermore Type II as a desert camouflage pattern and Type III as a woodland camouflage pattern , the latter two intended for use by personnel , which should operate in appropriate environments, such as the Navy SEALs . Sometimes the desert and woodland variants are tailored slightly differently than the classic blue variant.
The predominant blue color was chosen to symbolize the Navy's preferred environment and connection to sea-based operations. The digital pattern is also intended to better conceal the wear and tear and stains that inevitably occurred on the khakis previously used for work. Another reason for the colors used was that they correspond to the most common ship colors and should therefore extend the life of the uniforms on longer missions, where the work uniform can often come into contact with freshly painted surfaces. Since 2012, after lengthy discussions, the NWU has also been approved for use outside military facilities.
Since January 2009 the NWUs (originally only Type I) have been worn in service. In January 2010, the Navy considered modifying new pattern variants from the existing MARPAT, resulting in the desert variant Type II and the woodland variant Type III. The latter are slightly darker than their MARPAT counterparts, with different shades of color and vertically aligned pixel patterns for Type III (compared to the horizontal alignment of the woodland MARPAT). The development of additional patterns was also due to the fact that Type I was chosen for work use and not specifically for a combat environment (for example, the Battle Dress Uniform and Desert Camouflage Uniform are still intended for use in combat).
Features and equipment
Composed of 50% nylon and 50% cotton, the uniform is very easy to care for, as it is no longer necessary to strengthen and press the clothing and because the fabric is more resistant to cuts and tears from sharp objects and thus has a longer service life . However, a disadvantage of this composition is the fact that the tissue is easily inflammable, with the property of the burning substance being difficult to tear off the wearer. A new type of clothing in a fire-resistant design (FRV) has been used on board ships since 2014, but not on submarines. This is now made of 100% cotton to ensure better protection against fire.
The accessories include a navy blue cotton shirt, an octagonal field cap (like the one used by the Marines) and a mesh belt with a closed buckle. All-weather clothing includes a sweater , a fleece jacket and a parka , all in a matching camouflage pattern.
Badges of rank on the collar on both sides and on the front of the eight-sided field cap, a sewn-on nameplate and "US NAVY" banner are worn on the uniform, the writing is in gold letters for officers and commanders and in silver for lower ranks. Each NWU has the ACE emblem on the left breast pocket, which shows the symbols for Anchor , Constitution and Eagle . Black safety boots , like those used by the US Coast Guard with their new operational dress uniform , are worn together with the NWU. The boots come in two versions, on the one hand black smooth leather boots and on the other hand non-glossy suede boots for optional wear for non-ship-based activities.
Like the previous work uniforms, the NWU was created to keep the staff dry and warm even in harsh climatic conditions, so the uniforms are cut a little larger to be able to wear a comfortable sweater underneath and to comply with the ship's internal fire protection regulations. Other differences to its predecessors include, for example, the longer service life and the elimination of the need to iron, and with four pockets on the top including two on the sleeves and six pockets on the trousers, more pockets are attached.
Plain blue overalls have long been used as work uniforms at sea and in dirty work environments on land. These are not authorized for use outside the marine facilities; local restrictions typically exist, such as stipulating that the overalls may not be worn outside the pier or the boundaries of the designated work area. Officers wear overalls with gold insignia, khaki belts, and gold buckles, while sailors in grade E-6 and below wear overalls with silver insignia, black belts and silver buckle. Since January 2011, the navy blue cotton undershirt in combination with the NWU has been the only undershirt that can be worn under the overalls (before that, white cotton shirts were also allowed). The NWU was created to completely replace these overalls as workwear in the areas mentioned. Currently, depending on the ship, it is decided individually whether the NWU or overalls may be worn.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from May 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
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- ↑ http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/navy_nwuquestions_102708w/ ( Memento from November 5, 2009 on WebCite )
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ [4]
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