Uniform policy changes coming soon

By Pfc. Nate Jastrzemski
Staff Writer

Changing to meet the demands of a younger, smaller military, the Army is in the midst of updating its regulation concerning uniform and insignia wear for the first time since 1992.

Master Sgt. Kittie Messman, the uniform policy noncommissioned officer at the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, said AR 670-1, Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia, is being altered to address issues created by technology -- such as carrying cellular phones -- and re-wording other entries for greater clarification.

U.S. Military Academy Command Sgt. Maj. Mary E. Sutherland said all the changes have been printed in message form and should be introduced as actual regulations April 1.

Entries that will be clarified will include those pertaining to tattoos and body piercing, identification bracelets, civilian bags and uniform policy based upon religious practices, said Messman.

Due to the current prevalence of such items as cellular phones and pagers -- and the importance of soldiers being able to perform their duties while on the go -- a new regulation will limit what a soldier may wear on the uniform to only one of these two items. Whichever device it is must be black and cannot exceed 4 x 2 x 1 inches in size. Devices not conforming to these specifications must be carried in the hands.

Certain hairstyles that have previously been considered inappropriate are now seen as conservative and business-like, said Messman. As such, braids and cornrows are now authorized for women.

Extreme hair dye colors like purple, pink, green, blue, orange, fire-engine red and neon are still prohibited, as are dreadlocks.

Females must keep nails trimmed to 1/4 inch long from the fingertip, and two-tone or multicolored polish is prohibited. The following colors are also not allowed: Fire-engine red, khaki or camouflage, purple, gold, blue, black, white and neon colors. Males cannot wear nail polish.

Only contact lenses that are tinted for medical purposes and clear corrective lenses are acceptable alternatives to glasses.

While in Battle Dress Uniform, soldiers may blouse their boots only to the third eyelet from the top of the boot, Messman said.

Males are now exempt from wearing headgear to evening social events (after retreat.) Additionally, unless a distinctive flash was authorized before June 14, 2001, only the Army flash will be worn on the black beret.

Camouflage hydration systems -- "camelbacks" -- may be authorized by commanders for field duty and work details.

Soldiers wearing dessert BDUs may now wear the same insignia and awards as are worn on woodland camouflage BDUs although the insignia color must be khaki and brown.

Pregnant soldiers should wear the PT uniform until it is too restrictive or uncomfortable, at which time they may wear civilian equivalent workout attire. Soldiers will not be required to purchase larger PT uniforms to accommodate the pregnancy.

According to an information paper published by the Deputy Chief of Staff of Personnel, the last few minor changes include making the wear of a Regimental Distinctive Insignia optional on the class B shirt, changing the category of the EOD Badge from group 5 to group 3, and stating the wear out date of the black mess uniform as Sept. 30, 2003.

Sutherland explained that these changes have been publicly known since November, so the revised regulations have already been conformed to in nearly all cases.

"Our soldiers already know the proper way to blouse their boots," she said. "And I’m currently working with the post’s noncommissioned officers to see if we are going to use ‘camelbacks’ while training at Camp Buckner. Everything else we’ve known about and will appear in final regulation form April 1."