Air Force BDU officially history

News > Air Force BDU officially history

Air Force BDU officially history

Posted 10/31/2011

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by Tech. Sgt. Leisa Grant
National Guard Bureau Public Affairs

10/31/2011 - ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) -- There are two things you should not see Nov. 1 -- Halloween costumes and the Air Force Battle Dress Uniform.

In 2006, the Airman Battle Uniform became authorized for wear and a date was set for final phase-out of the woodland camouflage-patterned BDU's.

Previously announced to be effective Oct. 1 of 2011, a more recent Air Force Instruction 36-2903, "Dress and Appearance of Air Force Personnel" pushed the date back to Nov. 1. This applies to all Air Force components.

Other items will simultaneously enter retirement with the BDU's effective Nov. 1 including the
desert camouflage uniform, black T-shirt, black combat boots and tan boots with the ABU outside theater of operations.

The almost 30 year-old duty uniform, originally designed for wear throughout Europe and the Cold War, was worn by all branches of the service until 2005. Starting Nov. 1 only the Navy will be authorized to wear the BDU until its set phase-out date.

Aside from its appearances, one of the major differences between the ABU and BDU is the maintenance. The new uniform requires very little care, needing only to be washed and hung for drying.

Furthermore, the boots, now a sage green, full-grain leather boot with rubber heel and toe reinforcements, do not require polishing.

Not all Airmen embraced the changes immediately.

"The (BDU's) featured solid, good-looking creases that looked great with well-shined boots," said Master Sgt. Sam Macaluso, a member of the Nevada Air National Guard 152nd Airlift Wing.

But, even for those who like the creases and the spit-shined boot look, the appeal of less maintenance grew on them.

"We'd often spend our entire guard duty at night getting the perfect shine on those boots," Macaluso said. "It's nice to have boots you don't need to shine and a uniform you don't need to press constantly."

With less time spent on up keeping their uniforms, Airmen are afforded more time to focus on other aspects of their military lives.

"A big benefit is the ABU gives Airmen at schools more time to study, "Macaluso said. "Discipline and standards are important, but I believe Airmen have a lot more than their uniforms to focus on these days."

(Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Eric Ritter of the Nevada Air National Guard contributed to this article.)

Comments

2/29/2012 3:09:53 AM ET
Why does this comment app keep asking me to remove html code? I had to remove a lot of punctuation to get it to work at all and I could swear even more is missing now that it's approved.

No Creases All over, All Over

2/21/2012 4:49:17 AM ET
Light ironing and center creasing of enlisted chevrons is authorized however repeated hot pressing or heavy ironing will accelerate the overall wear of the fabric. Why was this authorized at all How can I call out people for over starching and over pressing with a standard like this and thus prevent that from becoming the new norm and expectation We all know how this works I can't help but roll my eyes and throw my hands up that they didn't outright ban military creases like they did for many dress blouses in the AFI. Why can't they get such simple things right when we've already been down this road

No Creases, All over

11/21/2011 5:02:01 AM ET
RIP BDU. Great uniform. It was never meant to be ironed and starched with Faux creases. Hang it up hot out of the dryer and it was rinkle free, good to go. You could always spot the useless Airmen by there high gloss boots and uber starched BDU's.

CD, WA

11/10/2011 5:51:25 PM ET
J. Page Southwest USA: This piece was not intended to be an extravagant feature laden with history. The error of one year was not due to appalling ignorance but rather was just that: an error. You are entitled to your opinion here; however, I believe the individual I quoted was entitled to one as well. That was his, not mine. And while I respect your proud family heritage of wearing the uniform, it had flaws. Ah, this is my opinion of course.If you so feel inclined, and since you appear to have a strong command of military history and heritage, I would encourage you to submit the FEATURE piece that this NEWS article was not.

Tech. Sgt. Leisa Grant, Washington DC

11/3/2011 4:00:17 PM ET
@ RW FAFB WA: You prepped your BDUs for this past Monday? What, Fairchild doesn't do Blues Mondays? bwa ha ha

CP, Over There again

11/2/2011 10:50:12 PM ET
They're just texting more now. and More interested in video games. Shame on you both. The man makes the uniform, not the other way around, and I'm proud of the young men and women in my son's detachment that volunteer between studies to train for leadership in the Air Force. These young engineers, nurses and foreign language specialists will lead the Air Force of the future, starch or no starch.

Proud Dad, US

11/2/2011 12:23:16 PM ET
While I appreciated a sharp-looking set of BDU's, I also believe that there's a time a place and a uniform to look sharp. We already have designated uniforms to look sharp in--why does EVERY uniform particularly ones that are likely to get abused in daily wear have to be a dress uniform? What's next, ironing PT uniforms and polishing your Nikes? I'll be among the last holdouts if a shift towards pressing ABUs takes hold. I do not believe it's appropriate and I doubt the enemies shooting at us will pause to admire the creases and sharly bloused trousers. More likely they'll think How stupid of them to get blood on their nicely pressed uniforms.

Alan Smithee, Los Angeles CA

11/2/2011 12:01:49 PM ET
I like the ABU and did not like the BDU. I believe the multi-cam should and will replace the ABU within 5 years time frame and will not have the long life that the BDU had.

TSgt David Gardner, Minot AFB ND

11/2/2011 9:38:13 AM ET
@JAFSO I totally disagree. Coming up, I knew lots of people who got by on the job simply because they knew how to iron and shine boots. Once that was taken away, it became apparent they hid behind their skill with an iron and shoe polish. I always ironed and shined, but I made a point to learn the actual job, too. I've been wearing ABU's since they came out, I'd rather spend the hour I used to spend on my uniform with my kids. I'm thrilled people can't hide behind creases and shiny boots.

MM, FL

11/2/2011 9:13:07 AM ET
While I've never been a fan of the ABU or the Air Force's main stated reason for selecting this uniform, which was to give us a distinctive look, I cannot say I'm sad to see the BDU go either. While I used to regularly make my sleeves like cardboard and use to get my boots so shiny I could shave in them, I've always had an issue with having to make a utility uniform as pretty as my dress uniform. If people want to look sharp, that's what blues are for. BDUs, ABUs, etc. are work uniforms. Sure, learning how to starch and press my BDUs and shine my boots taught me lessons about attention to detail, but there are other ways for supervisors to impress that fact upon their subordinates. Are there things I will miss about the BDUs? I certainly miss my unit patches on my pockets. That was always something that appearance wise distinguished us as Airmen. Starching the hell out of a uniform though to the point where it wasn't breathable not so much.

TSgt T Dub, Fort Meade MD

11/2/2011 6:58:27 AM ET
An article like this without illustrations is like news from the thirties. Maybe even in the thirties they had pictures

Brian Ford, APO 96264

11/2/2011 4:55:18 AM ET
As an aircraft maintainer, I was blessed to have supervisors who knew the difference between real work and dog and pony show. As long as our BDU's were in good repair and the boots black they didn't mind. Sure we had those who always pressed them, but the creases disappeared when work began. Uniforms that were pressed and spit polished boots were for those whose jobs didn't require getting dirty with fuel and hydraulic oil.

Old crew dawg, Lutz Fl

11/2/2011 4:25:48 AM ET
RIP BDUs. I have two things against ABUs.- There's no summer weight version. They are miserable to wear in hot climates. At least the summer weight BDUs breathed.- The color scheme only makes sense to be worn in desert locations. The Middle East is NOT the only place in the world where we fight/operate. The uniform should match the surrounding environment.

Paul Gregory, Kadena AB Japan

11/2/2011 12:04:30 AM ET
The ignorance of the author is appalling and the overall tone of the article is blase for a visible part of US military heritage. Minimal research done on the history of the BDU. would have mentioned its birthdate of 1 Oct 1981, 30 years and one month to be exact. It wasn't mandatory in the USAF until 1989 however. Its purpose was to be an effective field camouflage for the battlefields of Europe. Cold War, Fulda Gap, Motorized Rifle Divisons, Soviet Union deterrence theory, T-72. Don't cheapen the history of the uniform by making excuses for lazy PME students who didn't want to polish boots. I wore that uniform for 10 years. More than some less than others. I wore the same nametapes that my father wore before me. For many around the world that uniform meant hope and security. I wore that Battle Dress Uniform until its last day and I am sad to see it go.

J.Page, Southwest USA

11/1/2011 10:16:07 PM ET
I spent a few hours Sunday preping my boots and BDUs for my last run looking like a professional military member. Mirror shined, Parade Gloss, Sta-Flo starched utilities shined and pressed for my last day wearing a uniform that made us look like professionals.You could always tell the difference between troops that gave a darn and those who were just getting by if you looked at the boots and BDUs. Sure some cheated and took them to the Dry Cleaner but those who truly cared about embrassing the image of a professional Airman took the time to Shine and Press themselves.It saddened me last night when the clock struck midnight and I had to change into the gAyBU uniform and baby crap green boots. Nothing about the ABU says professional... NothingWe are loosing our heritage and replacing it with a uniform that does nothing to camouflage us in combat or hide the soils of our workplace.I know it's a pointless question to ask but if we were so hard pressed to change our uniform

RW, FAFB WA

11/1/2011 6:06:01 PM ET
In an effort to create a distinct uniform, the Air Force spent untoldthousands of dollars to come up with a uniform that from any significantdistance is indistinguishable from the Army ACU. We could have saved a lotof time and money by adopting the ACU for deployments and kept the BDU foran in garrison uniform. The we would have a distinct uniform because wewould be the only ones using it. By the way if Airmen at Technical Schoolsare spending less time on their uniforms it is foolish to believe that time savings is going towards study.

Realistic, CONUS

11/1/2011 5:28:08 PM ET
The USAF should have gone back to the green fatigues used in the 50s with some mods up until the woodland BDU. It was a utility uniform, could be ironed, presented a military image. Why do we need a garrison combat uniform like the ABU? I say that because we issue our a combat uniform for those deploying, for example the OCP or better known as mulitcam. If you go outside the wire you get a different uniform than what is issued to you.Talk to some of the old heads, grey beards from pre-BDU days. They loved them. They breathed, easy to maintain, looked better in terms of presenting a professional image, and they are heritage.Bring back the fatigues and Khaki work uniforms.

JR, USA

11/1/2011 5:26:51 PM ET
So now that we've officially retired the BDU, where is this hot weather ABU I've been hearing about since 2008. Can someone people explain how the Air Force is so inept at rolling out a uniform actually fit for deployment to the Middle East. I deployed in 2008 and was lucky enough to wear DCU's. Wearing the ABU in 125 degree heat is insane. Good job Air Force.

SSgt Leopardi, Buckley AFB CO

11/1/2011 5:10:43 PM ET
The story and comments tell us that even military people do not understand the purpose of uniforms. First camouflage Battle Dress uniforms were starched and pressed - people did not understand that we had a variety of uniforms for different situations. You do not starch uniforms if you were going into battle, this shows that people wanted to pretend they were combat ready while being garrison ready. As a LtCol in an Engineering Installation squadron, our folks worked in the field and we never asked them to starch a BDU. When we had a garrison event we wore the perfectly acceptable blue uniform. People do NOT get esprit de corps from a sharply pressed uniform - they get it from a quality unit. Often that shows in a proudly worn uniform. But as an officer in aircraft maintenance, some of our proudest troops looked grubbiest - they were working on aircraft. The military folks who seldom leave their desk will have the ABU starched and pressed so they can imitate people wh

Charles D Phillips LtCol USAF Ret, Houston Texas

11/1/2011 3:41:47 PM ET
As of July the revised AFI 36-2903 already states that creasing stripes and sewing down pockets is legal. Its just a matter of time till we see patches and baseball hats. No matter what the AF says about it not happening.

TSgt Thompson, Florida

11/1/2011 7:16:57 AM ET
We'd often spend our entire guard duty at night getting the perfect shine on those boots. Glad to know those tax dollars are hard at work shining boots instead of maintaining aircraft. Seriously, I would be embarrassed to say something like that out loud. If you're spending your shift shining boots there is something terribly wrong with the leadership in your organization.

Really, In reality apparently

11/1/2011 1:27:21 AM ET
I remember when the BDU was first promoted as being maintenance free because sharp creases requiring the use of starch defeated the purpose of wearing them to begin with. By the end of the first year our ever-wise upper leadership mandated sharp creases because presenting the proper military image was considered paramount to being properly camouflaged. Hopefully history will not repeat itself with the ABU.

Old Chief, Ohio

11/1/2011 12:41:28 AM ET
The lower amount of maintenance required on the ABU may not last for long. We should all remember the OD Green uniforms were originally wash and wear and so were the BDU's. As for boots the regulations never said anything about being polished they simply said the boots must be black. All over the world airmen are beginning to crease their sleeves and sew down their pockets and collars going above and beyond as all airmen should. But this is the same mentality that up until the end kept BDU wearers starching and polishing constantly. I think it will be interesting to see how long it will take for ABU wearers to be peer pressured into ironing starching and when the new boots come out polishing.

SrA Rob McKnight, Kadena Air Base

10/31/2011 9:00:15 PM ET
BDUs were never supposed to have been a high-maintenance item. They were supposed to have been treated exactly like the ABU wash dry and wear and were not ever supposed to be ironed. I never expected my people to iron them though I did it myself because my superiors expected me to set an example. As for the boots, black boots could have been ignored just like green ones.

Ret MSgt, St Paul MN

10/31/2011 7:58:46 PM ET
RIP BDU. You were a true military utility uniform. You could always tell the types who were squared away by how pressed their BDUs and spitshined their boots were... not so much anymore. It gives Airmen more time to study... really? They're just texting more now. Hopefully the multicam will become the new common uniform worn by all Services.

JAFSO, Saddle Rock CO

10/31/2011 7:17:25 PM ET
There are at least two things are utterly absurd with the shift. First, the Air Force touted the ABU as a home station and a deployment uniform but it is less and less of a deployment uniform leaving members in the same predicament as before and that requiring two or three different uniforms for a deployment. The other is that many members are required to deploy with desert tan boots with no time given to break them in prior to deploying. while I am sure this situation is the result of an oversight the unintended consequences will be at a minimum sore and blistered feet and at the worst injuries in a deployed environment resulting from strenuous activity undertaken in brand new boots.

SSgt Trefflich, Ft Meade MD

10/31/2011 6:35:37 PM ET
This is sad. I think it has mostly to do with the fact that the young people that come in to the service today don't have much in self esteem and espirit de corps that a smart looking uniform helps make. They want everything so fast. More interested in playing video games that taking time to make sure equipment uniforms tasks are taken care of correctly.

John Smith, US

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