Recruiters and high-profile officers such as Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have been wearing the just-adopted Army Service Green service uniform for about two months and now new recruits will get the chance to look like they just stepped off the screen of a World War II movie.
A basic training unit at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, is the first in the Army to receive the iconic dress uniform modeled after the one worn by famous generals like Eisenhower and Patton.
“Matter of fact, we’re the first Army training base to get the Army Green Service Uniform, which is pretty neat for obviously these soldiers in training and obviously for the leadership,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Harding with the 43rd Field Artillery Command.
The decision to designate Fort Sill as the first Army post to receive the new uniforms came from much higher headquarters than his, Sgt. Maj. Harding said.
He likes the uniform “because it brings back the tradition and the histories of the U.S. Army.”
About 200 recruits from Alpha Battery, 1/79th Field Artillery were lined up to be measured for the new dress uniform. After alterations are done, they will return in about three weeks to pick up the uniform in time for graduation, officials said.
“They’ve been working toward this day for a long, long time,” said Luis Navas, chief of supply services at Fort Sill. “We have a lot of people from outside, in the Army, just looking at what we do, how we do it, [and] the quality of the product so we can improve from this point on.”
Female recruits will have a Army Service Green uniform fitted for them as well.
The recruits will be given instructions on care and maintenance of the new uniform because they will only get one, officials said.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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