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SUBJ: WOMEN'S UNIFORM INITIATIVES
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NAVADMIN 154/12
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SUBJ/WOMEN'S UNIFORM INITIATIVES//
REF/A/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/032100ZMAR11//
REF/B/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/301451ZAUG11//
NARR/REF A IS NAVADMIN 075/11, NAVY UNIFORM UPDATE. REF B IS NAVADMIN 260/11,
NAVY UNIFORM UPDATE.//
RMKS/1. THIS NAVADMIN ANNOUNCES NEW UNIFORM INTIATIVES THAT INVOLVE THE
EVALUATION OF FEMALE UNIFORMS, AND UNIFORM CHANGES TO ADDRESS NOTED CONCERNS.
AS A RESULT OF FLEET FEEDBACK RECEIVED FROM FEMALE SAILORS DURING NAVY
LEADERSHIP ALL HANDS CALLS AND INPUTS RECEIVED BY THE NAVY UNIFORM BOARD
REGARDING WOMEN'S UNIFORM QUALITY, DESIGN AND FIT ISSUES, THE CHIEF OF NAVAL
PERSONNEL, AS PRESIDENT OF THE NAVY UNIFORM BOARD, DIRECTED A COMPREHENSIVE
EVALUATION OF WOMEN'S UNIFORM CONCERNS.
2. THE WOMEN'S UNIFORM EVALUATION OFFICIALLY COMMENCED DURING THE MARCH 2011
SEA SERVICE LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATION WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM AND CONTINUED
AT VARIOUS SHORE INSTALLATIONS. PRELIMINARY DATA WAS COLLECTED DURING
INTERVIEWS, SURVEYS AND FEMALE FOCUS GROUPS FROM 375 FEMALE SAILORS BY NAVY
PERSONNEL RESEARCH STUDIES AND TECHNOLOGIES AND NAVY CLOTHING AND TEXTILE
RESEARCH FACILITY. THE EVALUATION OF THE PRELIMINARY SURVEY AND FOCUS GROUPS
RESPONSES CONFIRMED THAT A FLEET-WIDE RANDOM SAMPLING SURVEY OF FEMALE SAILORS
(OFFICER AND ENLISTED) IS WARRANTED TO OBTAIN A BROADER BASE ANALYSIS OF WOMEN
UNIFORMS CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS; A FOLLOW-ON FLEET-WIDE SURVEY
WILL BE CONDUCTED TO CAPTURE FEMALE SAILOR'S UNIFORM CONCERNS. ADDITIONALLY,
AN ANTHROPOMETRIC STUDY WILL BE CONDUCTED IN 2012 TO UPDATE 20-YEAR OLD DATA
ON BODY COMPOSITIONS RELATIVE TO CLOTHING, EQUIPMENT AND HUMAN INTERFACE
SYSTEMS DESIGNS SUCH AS BODY ARMOR AND FLIGHT EQUIPMENT. THIS COMPREHENSIVE
STUDY WILL CONDUCT BODY MEASUREMENTS ON 5,000 SAILORS: 2,500 MALES AND 2,500
FEMALES.
3. IMMEDIATE UNIFORM DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN INSTITUTED AS A RESULT OF
VALIDATED UNIFORM QUALITY CONTROL CONCERNS. COMPONENT DESIGN, PATTERN
REVISIONS AND NEW ITEM PRODUCTION WILL INCORPORATE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE
FOLLOWING UNIFORM ITEMS:
A. SERVICE DRESS COATS: ADDED BACKING BUTTONS TO ALIGN WITH MALE
OFFICER/CHIEF PETTY OFFICER (CPO) SERVICE DRESS COAT DESIGN.
B. FEMALE SLACKS WAISTBAND: ADDED BINDING OVER THE EDGE OF INNER
STITCHING TO PROVIDE A MORE PROFESSIONAL LOOK AND TO PREVENT CHAFFING OF THE
SKIN.
C. SERVICE SHIRTS: ADDED ADDITIONAL STITCHING TO PREVENT UNRAVELING OF
THE BOTTOM HEM, SIDE SEAMS AND FRONT FACING AND INCREASED THE NUMBER OF
STITCHES ON THE HEM TO IMPROVE APPEARANCE.
4. FEMALE UNIFORM POLICY UPDATES SUCH AS OPTIONAL WEAR OF POLY/WOOL SERVICE
KHAKI OVERBLOUSE AND CIVILIAN HANDBAG SPECIFICATION CHANGE ARE REFLECTED IN
REFS A AND B. ADDITIONAL FEMALE UNIFORM DESIGN IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS WILL
BE REQUESTED IN THE UPCOMING FLEET-WIDE SURVEY TO ADDRESS CONCERNS ASSOCIATED
WITH:
A. OFFICER/ENLISTED SERVICE DRESS BLUE (SDB) COAT AND OFFICER/CPO SERVICE
DRESS WHITE COAT POCKET ARRANGEMENT/DESIGN.
B. OFFICER/CPO KHAKI SLACKS FIT AND HIP-TO-WAIST RATIO.
C. OFFICER/CPO SERVICE UNIFORM SHIRTS (TUCKED-IN) COLLAR AND NECK COMFORT
LINING.
D. OFFICER/CPO SERVICE SHIRT (TUCKED-IN) SHOULDER STITCHING AND YOKE.
E. OFFICER/ENLISTED KHAKI OVERBLOUSE APPEARANCE WHEN WORN WITH THE BLACK
RELAXED FIT JACKET OR PULLOVER SWEATER.
F. OFFICER/ENLISTED MATERNITY OUTERWEAR DESIRES AND OPTIONS.
5. NAVY STANDARD COVER PROGRAM: A FIT AND WEAR EVALUATION OF THE MALE
OFFICER AND ENLISTED DRESS COVER BY FEMALE OFFICERS AND FEMALE ENLISTED
RESPECTIVELY WILL COMMENCE IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 2012. ENLISTED FEMALES
ASSIGNED TO U.S. FLEET FORCES COMMAND (USFF) (NORFOLK) AND U.S. PACIFIC FLEET
(PACFLT) (SAN DIEGO) NAVY BANDS WILL WEAR THE MALE ENLISTED WHITE HAT (DIXIE
CUP) WHILE CONDUCTING CEREMONIES AND PERFORMANCES DURING THE SUMMER UNIFORM
WEAR PERIOD. FEMALE MIDSHIPMEN AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY AND USNA BAND FEMALES
WILL WEAR THE MALE MIDSHIPMAN AND MALE CPO COMBINATION COVER DURING THE 2012-
2013 ACADEMIC YEAR. ENLISTED FEMALES ASSIGNED TO THE NAVY CEREMONIAL GUARD
WILL WEAR THE MALE ENLISTED DIXIE CUP AND THE SERVICE DRESS BLUE JUMPERS WHILE
CONDUCTING CEREMONIES AND PERFORMANCES FOR THE CURRENT WINTER UNIFORM PERIOD
2012 AND AGAIN DURING THE 2013 WINTER UNIFORM PERIOD. DURING THE SUMMER
UNIFORM PERIOD, TO ALIGN WITH USFF AND PACFLT BANDS, THE CEREMONIAL GUARD
ENLISTED QQQQ FEMALES WILL WEAR THE MALE DIXIE CUP. ONCE THE FIT AND WEAR
EVALUATION PROGRAM IS COMPLETED, WEAR PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK WILL BE COLLECTED.
6. UPDATES ON WOMEN'S UNIFORM INITIATIVES TO INCLUDE THE PLANNED RELEASE DATE
OF THE FLEET-WIDE FEMALE UNIFORM SURVEY WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN FUTURE NAVADMINS
AND VIA THE UNIFORM MATTERS WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.PUBLIC.NAVY.MIL/BUPERS-
NPC/SUPPORT/UNIFORMS/.
7. QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS REGARDING WOMEN UNIFORM INITIATIVES SHOULD BE
ADDRESSED TO THE NAVY UNIFORM MATTERS OFFICE POCS:
A. MR. ROBERT B. CARROLL, OPNAV N131U, VIA E-MAIL AT
robert.b.carroll@navy.mil.
B. CMDCM(SW/AW) MARTHA KASTLER VIA E-MAIL AT martha.kastler@navy.mil.
C. PSC(SW/AW) SHAWN LAFFERTY VIA E-MAIL AT shawn.lafferty@navy.mil.
8. RELEASED BY VICE ADMIRAL S. R. VAN BUSKIRK, N1.//
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