The Navy has launched a five-year plan to improve uniforms for female sailors, starting with chiefs and officers.
The Size Modernization Program is based off feedback from sailors about how the service could provide consistent fit and sizing of all female uniforms
“The current focus and phase of the Size Modernization Program is concentrated on improving women uniforms components, which have been noted and tracked over the years being a frequently expressed subject of dissatisfaction regarding fit, comfort and appearance,.” said Lt. Meagan Morrison, a spokeswoman for the Chief of Naval Personnel.
First to roll out will be changes to uniforms for officers and chief petty officers.
“Feedback overwhelmingly suggested a need for modernized female uniforms that included pockets, lower waist height, consistent sizing, and styling cuts to accommodate a range of body shapes,” Morrison said.
One of the first changes to be rolled out for officers and chiefs is an updated version of the summer white overblouse, Morrison said.
“The summer white overblouse is similar to the current khaki overblouse, which is worn untucked,” Morrison said. “It is being reshaped to accommodate changes in the arms, chest, and waist. It will be an optional uniform item.”
The Navy expects to issue its policy this fall allowing female chiefs and officers to wear the redesigned overblouse, Morrison said.
“The Navy diligently works with our partners at the Navy Exchange, Defense Logistics Agency, and other service branches to implement modernized uniform initiatives that improve the form, fit, function and support of Sailor uniforms,” said Rob Carroll, director of Uniform Policy and Emerging Issues at the Chief of Naval Personnel office.
said in a statement to Task & Purpose.
Stars and Stripes first reported on the uniform plan which was announced in a Sept. 18 Navy Administrative Message, or NAVADMIN.
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When the five-year plan to modernize female uniforms is complete, the Navy will turn its attention to reviewing changes for male uniforms, Morrison told Task & Purpose.
Over the past several years, the Navy has been collecting feedback at all hands calls, focus groups, and other venues from female sailors about their uniforms, Morrison said.
The Navy has announced that other upcoming changes for female officer and chief petty officer uniforms include:
- A better-fitting long sleeved operational overblouse is expected to be available starting in April.
- Service slacks with back pockets and a new sizing system are scheduled to be available starting in May.
- Sailors assigned to Recruiting Command or as Recruit Division Commanders or Navy Career Counselors will be allowed to wear metal identification badges on their camouflage uniforms, per their commanders’ discretion. After those sailors complete their assignments, they will be able to wear a smaller metal identification badge.
- Service skirts for white, khaki and blue uniforms will have a straight design instead of an A-frame design, and they will include a back center zipper fastener, and a kick pleat.
The Navy is also considering whether to add side pockets to the service skirts. No decision on the pockets has been made yet.
Women’s uniforms across the military
As the number of female service members has increased over the years, the military branches have invested money in research and development to better tailor uniforms and body armor to fit women properly, said Katherine Kuzminski, director of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C.
But, there is a long way to go, Kuzmiksnki told Task & Purpose.
“I think that we’re just at the beginning stages of seeing body armor and MOLLE kits, plates and all of that being tailored to women’s bodies,” Kuzminski said.
Making tactical gear that better fit female service members has long been a challenge for the military branches. Army veteran Kayla Williams previously told Task & Purpose that when she deployed to Iraq, she would get calluses on her collarbone from the ill-fitting ballistic plates in the body armor that she wore.
In January 2021, Congress required the military branches to develop personal protective equipment that better fits all service members. Around that time, the first female airmen in security forces units – the Air Force’s equivalent of military police – began receiving body armor that was specifically designed for women.
Better-fitting tactical gear in particular could help reduce musko-skeletal injuries for female service members, Kuzminksi said.
“Women are not just small men; we have different builds,” Kuzminksi said. “Chest plates that are just sized down from men’s equipment for women can sometimes leave gaps which increases the likelihood that a stray bullet could go between the body armor and a woman’s body. But even more commonplace are the ways that the shape of body armor when you’re rucking over a long period of time sits on women’s hips improperly, which can lead to hip, knee, and ankle problems and can lead to longer term wear tear that affects the service itself and the long tail of the VA [Department of Veterans Affairs.]”
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