United States Air Force

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aviation branch of the United States armed forces. The mission of the USAF is "to defend the United States and protect its interests through air and space power". It was created as a separate branch on September 18, 1947.

Uniform

The current U.S. Air Force uniform, adopted in 1993 and standardized in 1995, consists of a three-button, pocketless coat, similar to that of a men's "sport jacket" (with silver "U.S." pins on the lapels), matching trousers, and either a service cap or garrison cap, all in "Air Force Blue." This is worn with a light blue shirt and necktie in the same color as the coat and trousers. Enlisted members wear sleeve insignia on both the jacket and shirt, while officers wear metal rank insignia pinned onto the coat, and Air Force Blue slide-on loops on the shirt. Air Force personnel assigned to honor guard duties wear, for dress occasions, a modified version of the standard service dress uniform, but with silver trim on the sleeves and trousers, with the addition of medals, sword belt, and a silver shoulder cord.

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Between 1993 and 1995, officers had Navy/Coast Guard-style rank rings on the coat, but this was replaced with sewn-on epaulets with the rank insignia, with "welts" in the same color as the coat being worn on the sleeves, a distinctive item adopted from the U.S. Army. Prior to 1993, all Air Force personnel wore Air Force Blue uniforms identical in apperance to that of the U.S. Army, which in fact, influence the current uniform regulations of the Army when it replaced its WWII/Korean-era olive drab uniforms with the modern-day "Army Green" uniforms of the Cold War era.

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For combat and work duty, ground crews wear standard battle dress uniform, which are currently being phased out in favor of an Air Force version of the Marine's MARPAT uniform, while pilots and air crews wear olive green or tan one-piece flight suits made of nomex for fire protection.

Related Topics:
MARPAT - Nomex

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Women's uniforms, which has changed little since its introduction in the late 1950's, generally is identical in apperance to that of the uniforms worn by women officers in the U.S. Army.

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