The uniforms of the United States Air Force are the standardized military uniforms worn by members of the United States Air Force to distinguish themselves from the other services.

History

Early designs

When the U.S. Air Force first became an independent service in 1947, its members initially continued to wear green U.S. Army uniforms with distinct badges and insignia. The Air Force adopted redesigned enlisted rank insignia in 1948 to further distinguish themselves. These uniforms were worn with polished black leather accessories instead of the russet brown leather previously used. These continued to be issued until the extensive stocks were either transferred to the Army or depleted, leading to the green uniforms being seen into the early 1950s.

The first Air Force-specific blue dress uniform, introduced in 1949, was in Shade 1683, also dubbed "Uxbridge Blue" after the former Bachman-Uxbridge Worsted Company. It was cut similarly to Army service dress uniforms, with a four button front and four coat pockets. Replacement of polished brass devices with oxidized silver ones and lack of sewn unit insignia on the dress uniform were designed to reduce needless tasks and present a sleeker appearance. An Eisenhower jacket, also inherited from the Army Air Forces but in Shade 1683, was an optional uniform item; it was phased out by 1965. In the early 1960s, the blue uniform transitioned to a slightly updated version in Shade 1084. The shades were updated again in the 1970s, with the coat and trousers becoming Shade 1549, while the light blue shirt became Shade 1550.

In 1966, a long sleeve winter blue shirt with epaulets was introduced. Epaulets were unadorned, with officers wearing small rank insignia on the collar and enlisted personnel sewn-on cloth insignia on the sleeves. In the early 80s, the soft rank epaulets from the light blue shoes were authorized for officers and senior NCOs. Members would cut the thread holding the epaulets down to place the rank. These would be phased out 30 September 1988.

Tan summer service dress uniforms for officers, nicknamed "silver-tans" for the sheen of their Shade 193 color, saw use into the mid-1960s, while a brief-lived enlisted version which included a cotton bush jacket was introduced in 1956 and discontinued in 1965. Tan short-sleeve cotton shirts and trousers for men, known as 1505s after their shade, continued in use until the early 1970s, while women wore light-blue combinations. In the early 1970s, a version of the blue service uniform with a short-sleeve shirt replaced these, as the blue uniforms became the single form of service dress.

A short-lived "ceremonial blue" uniform and "ceremonial white" uniform was also implemented in the mid-1980s and discontinued by 1 August 1994 and 1 March 1993 respectively.Air Force Personnel Center. "PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE PHASEOUT DATES FOR UNIFORM ITEMS " Mandatory for field grade officers and above, the blue version was identical to the blue service uniform with the exception of silver metallic sleeve braid replacing the dark blue mohair sleeve braid and hard "shoulder board" insignia from the officer's mess dress uniform worn in lieu of large metal rank insignia. The white uniform was identical in cut and style to the blue version and also incorporated the metallic sleeve braid and shoulder board rank insignia.

In 1993, then Air Force Chief of Staff, Merrill McPeak introduced a new three-button service coat which featured no epaulets and silver sleeve braid loops on the lower sleeves denoting officer rank (see also: United States Air Force officer rank insignia). This style of rank insignia for officers, while used by British Royal Air Force officers and other air forces inspired by their uniforms, was unpopular and many senior Air Force generals commented that the uniforms of the Air Force now looked identical to those of commercial airline pilots. Epaulettes were put back on the coat for metal officer rank insignia and blue braiding returned to the bottom of the sleeves, in the style of the previous four-button, four-pocket coat worn prior to the adoption of the three-button coat. , this remains the coat used as part of the service dress blue uniform.

On 18 May 2006 the Department of the Air Force unveiled two prototypes of new service dress uniforms, one resembling the stand-collar uniform worn by U.S. Army Air Corps officers prior to 1935, called the "Billy Mitchell heritage coat," and another, resembling the U.S. Army Air Forces' Uniform of World War II and named the "Hap Arnold heritage coat".Air Force News. New service dress prototypes pique interest. Retrieved 18 May 2006. In 2007, Air Force officials announced they had settled on the "Hap Arnold" look, with a belted suit coat.New service coat to better represent Airmen set for testing, by Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski, Air Force Link (official USAF website), 19 July 2007, accessed 11 November 2007. However, in 2009, General Norton Schwartz, the new Chief of Staff of the Air Force, directed that "no further effort be made on the [Hap Arnold] Heritage Coat" so that the focus would remain on near-term uniform needs.New uniforms: Comfortable, functional are goals, by Col. Steve Gray, Air Force Link, 15 May 2009, accessed 24 August 2009. While the evaluation results of the heritage coat would be made available to the Air Force's leaders should they decide to implement the uniform change, the uniform overhaul is currently on hold indefinitely.

Combat uniforms U.S. Air Force combat uniforms have continuously evolved since the Air Force became an independent service in 1947. Until the late 2000s, USAF combat uniforms were the same as those of the U.S. Army, with the exception of unique USAF insignia. The fatigue uniform differed from its Army counterpart with white lettering on an ultramarine blue background for "U.S. AIR FORCE" and last name tapes above the pockets, white-collar rank insignia on a blue background for officers (with the exception of yellow thread replicating gold for rank insignia for 2nd Lieutenants and Majors) and blue and white sleeve rank insignia for enlisted, a full color patch of the major command worn on the right pocket, and a blue belt.

As the Army transitioned to black and brown subdued insignia on a green background on their combat uniforms in the late 1960s and 1970s, the Air Force effected a similar transition to subdued insignia in the 1980s, transitioning to blue or brown on a green background and with subdued major command patches also employing subdued reds and black.

In the 1980s and 1990s, as the Army increasingly transitioned to the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) in woodland camouflage, the Air Force also followed suit, retaining the USAF versions of the subdued cloth insignia of the previous utility uniform. As the Army began using the first version of the Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU) at the time of the first Gulf War in 1990, so did the Air Force, followed by its replacement the second iteration of the DCU worn by all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces from the mid-1990s through 2011. In the case of the Air Force, subdued brown insignia on a tan background was worn on the DCU, with the exception of black officer rank insignia for 1st Lieutenants and Lieutenant Colonels.

The Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) replaced the BDU as a general fatigue uniform, the latter having been discontinued after 31 October 2011.Air Force Link, (2006). Airman Battle Uniform finalized, ready for production. Retrieved 17 March 2006.Memo from HQ AFPC Sep The ABU was issued to members deploying as part of Air Expeditionary Force 7 and Air Expeditionary Force 8 in spring 2007. In October 2007, ABUs were issued to enlisted basic trainees at the Basic Military Training School (BMTS) at Lackland AFB, Texas, and became available for purchase at AAFES outlets by the rest of the Air Force in June 2008.Air Force Link, (2006).Battle Uniform available to deploying Airmen this spring. Retrieved 10 December 2006.

Due to its lack of flame resistance, the ABU is no longer considered an appropriate uniform for combat duty. Beginning in August 2010, the Air Force began to issue Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern uniforms for Air Force personnel deploying in support of that operation.Air Force Link (2010). . Retrieved 10 Jun 11.Military Times (2010). . Retrieved 10 Jun 11. These were succeeded by the Air Force-wide adoption in 2018 of the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) uniform also used by the Army.

Current uniforms

Standard uniforms

Service dress

The current U.S. Air Force Service Dress Uniform, which was initially adopted in 1994 and made mandatory on 1 October 1999, consists of a three-button coat with silver-colored buttons featuring a design known as "Hap Arnold wings" (which replaced the previous design that utilized the Department of the Air Force crest), matching trousers (women may choose to wear a matching skirt), and either a peaked service cap or flight cap, all in Shade 1620, also known as "Air Force Blue". This is worn with a light blue (Shade 1550) shirt (for men) or blouse (for women) and a necktie (for men) or neck tab (for women) in shade 1620. Silver mirror-finish "U.S." pins are worn on the lapels. Enlisted "U.S." lapel pins have circles around them, while officers' pins do not. Officers' coats also have epaulets (shoulder straps), which are not present on enlisted members' coats.

Enlisted personnel wear cloth rank insignia on both sleeves of the jacket and shirt, while officers wear metal rank insignia pinned onto the shoulder straps of the coat, and Air Force Blue slide-on loops ("soft rank" shoulder insignia) on the straps of the shirt. Officers also wear a band of dark blue cloth sleeve braid loops 3 inches from the cuffs of the sleeves of the coat. General officers wear a 1½ inch wide braid while officers in the rank of colonel and below wear a ½ inch wide braid.

While the full "Class A" configuration of the service dress uniform includes the coat, for daily duty, particularly in warm weather climates, USAF personnel will typically wear the light blue shirt or blouse as an outer garment, with or without a tie or neck tab, with applicable rank insignia, speciality badges and a blue plastic name tag (ribbons are optional). A variety of alternate outer garments are also authorized for this uniform combination such as blue pullover sweater, blue cardigan sweater, lightweight blue jacket, or brown leather A-2 flight jacket (flight jacket wear is limited to aeronautically rated officers, enlisted aircrew, and officer and enlisted missile operations personnel only).

Mess dress