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New service dress uniform could still be a hit

The Air Force is testing a new service dress uniform that Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said “will make us look more military.”

While many criticize the attire, I like most of its features.

It’s not easy, being a fan of the test version of the new dress uniform.

A survey published in this newspaper showed that many airmen — in fact, a whopping majority of those who weighed in — don’t like the new blue suit. Letters from readers used the terms “awful,” “negative” and “Gestapo-esque.” One reader said the new uniform “stinks.”

My own mail from readers is running about 70-30 against the new service dress.

But the story isn’t over.

The new uniform coat has four buttons and four pockets up front, features that really do make an airman look more military. It comes with a belt — controversial to many — and introduces a necktie for women, an unfortunate distraction that is disliked by almost everyone.

The new coat also features a special deep pleat behind and below the shoulders that is designed to permit freer arm movement.

Despite negative reaction, the proposed service dress uniform isn’t exactly revolutionary. It looks a lot like uniforms worn in other air forces. There is no change in the trousers, low-quarter shoes or collar brass.

Moreover, even airmen who carp about the new uniform agree that the current version doesn’t look military.

In a four-star hotel just weeks ago, I watched a tourist walk up to an Air Force colonel in today’s dress uniform and ask him for directions to the elevator — apparently believing the colonel to be a bellhop.

If airmen are to be taken seriously as members of the military, the Air Force must have a more military version of what most of us still call the “Class A uniform.”

That term no longer enjoys official standing, though it should. The Air Force prefers “service dress uniform.” But troops, Moseley included, still call it the Class A, a term that will probably live on in our lexicon.

Some troops like the new uniform. They’ve told me so. Most, as far as I can tell, don’t think about it much, one way or the other.

Not to be overlooked, however, is the public. How an airman looks to the person on the street is an important consideration.

That’s one reason the Air Force Honor Guard at Bolling Air Force Base, D.C., will be testing the new uniforms.

Moseley told me June 17 that service leaders will be looking for airmen in the field to comment on their overall impression of the new uniform, its style, comfort, care and quality. The chief of staff wants suggestions for improvement.

As a citizen on the outside, looking in on my Air Force, I don’t want troops to be forced to wear a uniform they won’t like. But I don’t want the new uniform rejected because of a few loud voices, either. This is not a popularity contest.

There is leeway for changes as the proposed service dress attire becomes more visible to troops and to the public.

I want to give the new blue suit a chance.

I believe that, with a few changes, it can succeed.

I hope you will agree.

Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. He is the author of “Air Combat,” a history of fighter pilots. His e-mail address is robert.f.dorr@cox.net.