New RAF Uniforms
 

As I don't have to wear it and I'm no longer a UK taxpayer, I'll keep my less than complimentary views to myself.

No doubt I will be able to read some amusing comments though over the coming days !

Just appeared on ARRSE and Twiitter having been spotted on Whats App 13 Jun 22:

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The polo shirt and the rolled up sleeve err... retainer straps are a new low.

My thoughts.
 

A few caveats before I pass judgment.

1. I spend 99.99% of my time at work in a flying suit.
2. This may well be a display of sample uniforms and may not be a final product (I genuinely have no idea).
3. I will have left before any of this hits the streets.

Now my thoughts.

On the whole I quite like the look of it.

I hate our current scratchy trousers and cheap shirts. None of it fits properly and it looks bargain basement.

A lot of the stuff on display (which may or may not end up being the final product) looks a lot more comfortable and practical than the current offering.

I suppose the only fault is that it is new and of course change is always a bad thing. Especially in Pprune world. I mean what would Trenchard say?!

BV

The only thing that is a good idea is the polo shirt, but the rank slide is in an awful place. Anyone who sits down to work will have a rank slide rubbing on their chin constantly.

Looks like something the French would wear....

TBM
 

Is that meant as a negative? Sartorially speaking I’d rather look French than follow current British trends.

BV

Exactly the same feelings BV. I think this offering is slightly better than the last. I wasn’t looking forward to wearing skintight Lycra, not at my age! Thank god for flying suits.
I’m standing by for the usual suspects who will no doubt be apoplectic with rage.

Some of it looks awful, with questionable contrasting colour details (reminiscent of the 'prison inmate' collection) but there are options within that bunch that are both ok to look at and have genuine practicality.

There are some whose flying suits apear to resemble Lycra!!

I quite like some of the options, definately more practical. The uniform I was wearing by the time I left in the 2010s was completely different from the one I was given when I joined in '86; in those days we had No2 Thunderbird Jackets, trousers with a flare and big collars, all a hangover from the 70s, early 80s. Uniform change all the time albeit in a more subtle manner.

Good start with some usable kit there, but why are they still pushing out the wedgewood blue shirt? I realize blunties have to wear something but times have changed.. ;)

Ah yes, the purists and pedants . A consistent demographic throughout time so your prophecy will be fulfilled.

They were shocked to the core when the infamous hairy battledress was, finally, declared obsolete...then came the "woolly pulley " saga... that dragged on for some time actually...and, for engineers, the introduction of R.N non slip safety shoes...first, they didn't polish up very well, and, second , there were no toe caps !!..both these of no consequence issues attracted their full wrath and indignation...blissfully ignoring the fact they were actually very safe and practical.

The stable belt ?..nope. We had a Sgt on the M.U who appeared one day wearing one, and, a chip hat. Given the M.U dress code differed from the rest of the RAF, it was no surprise to rapidly learn he was, well, "different " to the rest of us.

To be honest, it doesn't look that bad, also seems to have the advantage of not requiring the attention of something called an iron...my own encounters with this item were minimal you understand

All we need now is a contemporary version of the infamous S.A.C Bloggs haircut poster !

Popcorn time !

Question is have they made it all washable and not dry clean only. Those shirt loops look positively dangerous, working on machinery they could easily get caught in rotating items etc or even catch on things, plus they do not appear fit for purpose, will they not rub when sleeves are down?

One wonders how long it will take for a spoof branch of service to arrive under the rank tab..."RAF Drinking Tea" perhaps?

Having started with 'Hatry blues', hobnail boots, collar detached shirts and collar studs, braces and berets, there were a number of changes during my time. The introduction of the aircrew shirt was, initially, a huge success. They were made by Van Heusen and excellent quality. However, M o D decided to save money by contracting them out to Faulats of Belfast (the effect was so remarkable as to imprint the details !) Their major money saving ploy was to use "the incredible shrinking material" -such rubbish that even the shrinking quality differed throughout the garment ... sleeves came out of the wash in different lengths.!. One of my replacement shirts was made from two noticeably different materials, joined centrally !
I can only offer wishes of good luck to future wearers !

It has potential. Will be interesting to see in the flesh.

No sign of a hat though. Hopefully not introducing baseball caps. Personally I would abolish routine hat wearing.

Difficult to comment without knowing the context of the demo, (which looks kind of half-@rsed), but:

Trousers look practical.

Is a tie part of the range? If not, what's the point of the wedgewood long-sleeve, collared, shirt? What about a tangle-free bow-tie. Or a cravat might work.

Why the positive/negative contrasted long-sleeved shirts? (or are they jackets)? Do we get a choice? (Dark with pale front, or vice-versa).

Same as everyone on the rolled-up-sleeve-retainers.

Why complicate the rank-tabs with a trade specialisation? Won't this just complicate the logistics if Stores have to carry every rank in every specialisation? (Worst job I ever had was working in clothing stores at Spectrum Cloudbase HQ. Captain Scarlet comes in wanting a replacement cap. "Sorry Captain, I've got scarlet caps in every size except six-and-seven-eighths. But I do have your size in green, blue, white, taupe ......).

The other question is why a stable belt, uncomfortable in hot weather and restrictive, just what you need on a working dress, a great big buckle to scratch everything in sight when working in confined areas. and as for the dark blue collar, they are already on the coveralls, so why put them on the shirt?

And again on the working dress, rank slide on the front and fwd sticking out tabs on the cuffs that could get caught in rotating machinery, leaning over a lathe etc.
Slide ranks on the shoulders can be seen from every direction, on the front and one arm, from two.

It would make sense for one of the arm pockets to have a window in it for carrying your ID / Airside pass when working airside.

..

Need to see them on 'real' people to get an idea of what they will look like in day to day wear, but first impressions are 'better than the Thunderbirds renders shown recently'.

I suspect these are proof of concept pieces, so hopefully things like the dangly sleeve retainers and the rank slide on the polo shirt (have it on the lowest button) can be sorted out

Same here, apart from PPE, I've yet to hear of a good reason for routinely wearing headdress. In No1s fine, otherwise?

Well having joined in 1960 and put up with old style battle dress and scratchy trousers and the various iterations of the T63 with stay bright buttons, (still got my button stick) +chip bag hat. The new style looks fine by me

Ok, this is my area sort of. Spent a few years in combat underpants so to speak, some time ago. Without dropping anyone in it, the new uniform was on the cards and work in the background was being done to look at what was needed going forward. Unfortunately back earlier on in the year some info appeared on social media and spread like wildfire. The A4 Commodities were pushed by the SLT to get something out, and as any one looking not to upset the powers to be, this is what they come up with, and the comments brought with it. The latest pictures and examples are a result of that. However there will be a testing phase, to see what is good and what is not and what needs re-designed. This will take years and will not be on the shelves for at least 5 years minimum, then you have contract negotiations, and we all know good the MOD are at those!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Personally the uniform review is long overdue, and what is on display will be not be the item on someones back when it goes live. I will be long left the reserves when this comes on line. This will be used as a recruiting tool for the next generation of personnel, whether that be Halton or Cranwell.

Personally unconvinced by wearing ID visibly. Nobody looks closely once you're in work area so it's easy for a malign character to sneak in, and anyone with a long zoom lens has a straightforward way to pinch data and clone your id.

Looks alright to me! Does come across like a school uniform, but also seems more practical than the existing attire. I wonder if there is a skirt for the ladies or is everyone in trousers these days?

Can't imagine a polo shirt working well with the existing head dress, but maybe its time to retire that concept too!

How was he "different"?

If you saw the stuff that used to get worn on the line in winter and summer you would understand, multiple forms of scarves and wolley hats, even the odd Russian style fur cap, along with various warm kit underneath and a multitude of glove styles and mitts.

Anyone who wears a polo shirt with all the buttons done up deserves to!

I accept this is a well-developed but not yet final draft, so on that basis I’ll cut some stylistic slack.

Long-retired, of course, having trod the various winding paths from Hairy Blue through numerous changes of shirts and sweaters, I would just offer up one plea. Or a multiple plea, really. Make the materials ‘easy care’, colour-fast and robust. Some of the outpourings in the past included: the WRAF Mess Dress that was neither dry-cleanable nor washable; the Instant Crumpled No 2 trousers; and the endless vacillation over the design of the Wooly Pully in its numerous manifestations. Clothing technology has progressed enormously since my initial issues, and I just hope that cost-saving doesn’t prevent the fullest implementation for those users in the future. They have better things to do with their time than fight inadequate materials at work and in the laundry.

I always thought the MK 1 Wooly Pully with the round neck was Ideal, it was a combat pully ideally suited to in the field, out on the line and under cabbage kit, then the office wallahs got their hands on it and it became the V neck jumper that was none of the above.

I agree with easy care, as I said earlier make it washable and hard wearing, the working blue trousers were like that, I do like the design of the trousers, bar the stable belt and the light blue naff flashes, they remind me of the OG combats trousers. Hopefully they will be made of cotton or some breathable material that will not melt in a fire. Though I do have visions of people walking about with the side pockets rammed full like a Hamster cheeks..

I wonder if my phone will scan the code on the laptop to see what it opens ;)

On the line, overalls and Sqn T shirt (and anything you wish to wear underneath the overalls) has been the normal working dress on the line for donkey years before I left the mob (and that was almost a decade and a half ago!). Things getting trapped in lathes? Last SWS guys made civvy donkeys ago. More pockets to put hands in! That will upset the SWOs. Airside ID? Mod 90 to be on the entire site. What is a Mod 90 some will say?? ;)

I was using the lathe as an example but you well know what I mean. And yes ID card but these days operating away from base passes makes sense too.

.

Well at least the blue suede shoes proposal of the early '80s was never progressed!

What? No 'Sweater Cashmere with moleskin facings' to replace Officers Mess Kit? What a brilliant spoof that was all those years ago!!

How about a new style of leather aircrew jacket from aviation leathercraft??

cheers

Some good stuff here, it’ll be interesting to see how it develops. (Please lose those silly dark blue arm straps!).

But no showing of outerwear. What’s on offer? I’d like to see a fleece and Goretex-type combination. Have rank on both so they can be worn separately, if needed.

The BMI of those tailors dummies doesn't seem to represent the demographic when I left 10 years ago. Have we all been on a diet?

Looks like it was designed by a blind man on a galloping horse.

Interesting!
Will the growbags be labelled to state what they are too? Will ‘staff’ have to search around for the right label to ask a question (and only to be told “Not me Chief, I’m waiting for a bowser)

The lighter blue trousers on the female dummy with the light blue shirt on appears to be made up of three sections of material sown horizontally in each leg, you would have a problem trying to iron a crease in them.

Good, hopefully this is all non-iron crease free material, shining shoes can be left in the last century as well. I was once a drill instructor at Cranwell and know all too well how much time is wasted on this nonsense.

Creases? Like, get with it daddy-o. They are soooo 20th century.

My legs don't have creases, and they bend in 2 places, so it's nice if my trousers do also.

My eyes! My eyes! WTAF have I just seen? It’s an utter abomination. If Wiggy wants the RAF to be a laughing stock then go ahead, make us all look like a cheap cross between Thunderbirds and a Kwik Fit fitter.

If, however, he wants us to retain any semblance of credibility then cut out all this nonsense, give us decent uniforms that don’t fall apart after 5 minutes and get on with killing people and breaking their toys. Or is that not what we’re here for these days.

I’m ashamed we’re even thinking of it. Then again, we said we wanted new uniforms. Maybe it’s our own fault. Then again no, we said we wanted decent uniforms. Then again we complained about food charges and look what happened …