Uniforms of the United States Army
U.S. Army uniform designs have historically been influenced by British and French military traditions, as well as contemporary U.S. civilian fashion trends.
Infantry wore tricorne hats, with different cover prescribed for cavalry and specialist troops depending on function.
The original Revolutionary War enlisted uniform jacket was dark blue with state-specific facing colors.
From the early days of the Continental Army, the wearing of a sword and a worsted crimson sash served as a badge of rank for all sergeant grades.
[3] Beginning in the 1850s, U.S. military leadership began to place an increased emphasis on French army tactics and styles, influenced, in part, by the rise of Napoleon III.
[5] More subtle French styling – including frock coats, kepi hats, and collar ornaments – were more common for uniforms of the Union Army during and after the American Civil War.
Beginning in 1902, the Army made khaki and olive drab field uniforms standard issue, having seen their effectiveness in limited use during the Spanish–American War.
During the inter-war period, piecemeal modifications were made to the designs, such as the introduction of open-collar coats, straight-legged trousers, and collared shirts with ties, resulting in uniforms that by the end of the 1930s were entirely different.
The U.S. Army uniforms used during World War II saw a divergence between field and garrison service elements.
The blue dress uniform, now mandatory for officers and an authorized option for enlisted soldiers, was reinstated in 1957.
It consists of a jacket and trousers in the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP), worn with combat boots and a t-shirt.
In the field, the jacket may be replaced by the flame resistant Army Combat Shirt when worn directly under a tactical vest.
It had replaced in daily wear the previous green service uniform used by all officers and enlisted personnel introduced in 1956.
General officers wear pants of the same color as the jacket, with two ½–inch, gold-colored braids, spaced ½ inch apart.
Current stated uniform regulation for mess dress is that all other officers and enlisted personnel wear lighter blue trousers with a single 1 ½ inch, gold-colored braid.
Decorative gold braid adorns the cuffs and standard army cover is replaced by a crimson peaked hat, while drum majors wear a bearskin helmet.
[18] In the 1950s "Pershing's Own" briefly wore a yellow and black uniform known as "the Lion Tamer" due to its resemblance to a circus costume.
The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry (a Pennsylvania National Guard unit) has a special full-dress uniform known for its distinctive helmet with extravagant bearskin roach.
Their parade uniform consists of a navy "fireman's shirt", worn with Columbia blue trousers with yellow piping.
Spring parade dress consists of cadet grey swallow-tail coats with 21-gold buttons, a standing collar, white trousers, and black shakos (known as a "tarbucket hat" in U.S. Army nomenclature).
This same uniform is worn without the black shakos hat and with the gray or white peaked service cap depending on the season when not parading but still required for formal events.
[21] Cadets at senior military colleges are authorized, under Army Regulation 670–1, to wear uniforms developed by their institutions.
The corps' special ceremonial unit, the Ross Volunteers, wear an all-white parade uniform with peaked hat, and the Fish Drill Team, the corps' all-freshman rifle drill squad, wears the "Midnight" uniform with black "paratrooper" boots, white belts, and black polished combat helmet with chromed brass.
Soldiers assigned to the cavalry units may, during certain divisional functions, replace standard army soft cover (the black beret, the blue peaked hat, or the camouflage patrol cap) with the “Cav Stetson,” a black Stetson with yellow braid (gold for officers) and cavalry branch insignia.
The Army's newest units, the Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs), are authorized to wear a dark brown beret.
Special skill instructors are authorized the wear of black hats, while parachute riggers are allowed red caps.
The U.S. Army tartan, designed by Strathmore Woollen Company, is black, khaki, blue, gold, and two shades of green.
The United States Army Psychological Operations Regiment has a separate tartan of green, black, red, gray and white.
