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Cammie-clad sailors can make stops off base

It's official: Sailors can now be seen in town in their blue cammies — but only for short stops.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead agreed June 23 to a proposal by Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SS/SW) Rick West to relax the off-base restrictions that have been in place since the uniform rollout began Jan. 15.

Sailors will now be allowed to make short stops while wearing their Navy Working Uniform during commutes to and from work. Previously, sailors wearing the uniform could not get out of their cars except for a road or medical emergency. Uniform-wearers also will be allowed to go to lunch and run errands wearing the uniform during the workday.

“It’s time,” West said. “Like I said from Day One, the change in the rules would depend on the feedback I received from the fleet, force and region master chiefs. Our sailors are ready, and we are now confident that is the case.”

The relaxed regs are more in line with the rules in place for utilities, which is one the uniforms being replaced by the NWU. The NWU rules go a step further, however, by allowing sailors to wear them to run errands and go to lunch off base during the day.

The new rules apply to both the NWU and the woodland camouflage uniform, known as the Combat Utility Uniform.

Every sailor will be required to own a set by Dec. 31, 2010. It replaces utilities for sailors and wash khakis for chiefs and officers. Sailors and officers still will be allowed to wear coveralls aboard ship if the commanding officer permits it.

The rule change was to be announced in a Navy-wide message set to be released and will be effective immediately. The announcement ends more than six months of sailor angst that began late last year when the Navy announced the initial restrictions. The Navy later said it would be open to relaxing the rules, based on feedback from the chiefs’ mess on whether sailors in the first roll-out areas were wearing the uniform correctly.

“I would say this has been the most-asked question at my all-hands calls around the fleet,” West said. “I still think that this waiting period was the right thing to do — to make sure our chiefs’ mess got a good head start on ensuring our sailors knew how to correctly wear and care for this uniform.”

Now, “routine short-term stops” are authorized while commuting to and from work.

“We worded it that way to give sailors some leeway to account for the greatest amount of possible scenarios,” West said. “What we hope is that leaders will work to establish expectations on the deck plates about this and for sailors to use common sense when deciding on what stops to make.”

Routine stops involve business that can be done in a reasonable amount of time, but no official time limits describe what counts as a short- or long-term stop, he said.

“If it’s necessary shopping such as things like grocery stores, quick stops at the bank or drugstore, and even picking up fast food on the way home, that’s OK,” West said. “All that is intended to improve our sailors’ quality of life.”

But don’t think about stopping or hanging out at bars, restaurants, outlet shops and malls, or taking in a movie. Those, West said, would be considered long-term stops and are not authorized.

“Sailors need to remember that the NWU is a working uniform and they are not to wear it anywhere off base where another uniform would be more appropriate,” West said. Other uniforms are more appropriate for formal events such as sailor of the year or awards banquets, but the NWU restriction applies to what West described as “personal appointments,” such as civilian medical appointments, court appearances or off-duty education taken off base.

“If they have doubts, they should discuss it with their chief,” West said. “It’s always best to err on the side of caution, so if there’s any doubt, I’d say shift into the appropriate uniform or civilian clothes.”

But where rules differ from previous ones about the working uniform wear is that sailors can now go off base during the lunch hour to eat and run errands.

“Really, this is where I wanted this to get to,” West said. “To give our sailors the ability to leave the ship, head off base and have lunch.”

Still, sailors going off base must make sure their uniforms are neat, clean and not showing excessive wear, Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Mark Ferguson wrote in the Navy-wide message. Boots must be either blackened or brushed — depending on whether sailors are wearing the traditional boot or the “no shine” type. Also, all boots must be laced up “from the inside out.”

Despite the changes, it’s possible some in the service still won’t be happy. Though the new rules are looser than the old ones, they stop far short of the liberal policies of the Army and Air Force.

Sailors, for example, will not be allowed to wear the NWU on commercial flights. Only the desert version of the CUU is authorized for that purpose, and only when traveling to 5th Fleet. Sailors traveling on military and contracted flights overseas can wear the NWU and CUU when passing through commercial airports, provided they have official orders and the wearing of the uniform is approved by the local combatant commander.

Inside the U.S., it’s a little different. The NWU and CUU can be worn on military and contracted flights that fly from military bases only, not on flights that involve civilian airfields.

The new wear rules will apply immediately to new regions in the remaining waves of the uniform’s rollout. That means command education courses will be held before the uniforms show up. Once the uniform is on sale in that region, sailors can wear it.

“We discussed if that was the best way to go, and we believe it is,” West said. “I think the training that started in the Mid-Atlantic region has been more than sufficient and is the way to go as the rollout continues to the rest of the Navy.”

Helping the education effort is the fact that sailors who have already transitioned into the NWU are beginning to transfer into other regions that may be starting to receive the uniforms, which spreads the word about proper wear.

Sailors already wearing the uniform who transfer into a region that isn’t are still authorized to wear their NWUs. This is also true for sailors now in the training pipeline who were issued the uniforms at Great Lakes.

West said enforcement of the rules will be key.

“Not only do leaders need to be aware of what the rules are, they need to enforce them out in town, regardless if it’s a sailor from their command or not,” he said. “But it’s not just leadership that has the responsibility, either. I sincerely hope there will be peer pressure out there, too.”

West said he’s satisfied with where the NWU rules are now and does not expect a further loosening of policy. That includes command ball caps, which can be worn with the uniform, but only inside the ship and only if the commanding officer permits it.

“That’s not an issue that is on the table,” he said. “The proper headgear for the NWU is the eight-point cover. It’s what looks the best.”

What’s allowed, what’s not

Though the Navy has relaxed some off-base restrictions on the Navy Working Uniform, there are still some places you can’t go while wearing it.

Where you can go (during your commute or lunch hour):

• Gas stations

• Convenience stores

• Grocery stores

• Banks

• Off-base child care centers

• Sit-down restaurants (lunch only during workday)

• Fast-food restaurants

• Auto maintenance shops

Where you can’t go:

• Bars and clubs

• Civilian courts

• Local government offices

• Drivers and vehicle license locations

• Civilian medical visits

• Off-base education

• Military functions off base

• Movie theaters

• Sporting events

• Malls

• Outlet stores

• Department stores

• Sit-down restaurants (after normal working hours)

National Capital Region exception:

Sailors can make short stops before and after work, but cannot wear the uniform off base during lunch hour. The region includes Washington, D.C.; the Virginia counties of Arlington, Caroline, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford and Westmoreland; and the Maryland counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, St Mary’s, Baltimore City and Bloodsworth Island.