Heritage Coat production uncertain despite favorable reviews

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Amaani Lyle
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON --  Though Air Force officials here have not made a final decision on the new service coat, pre-decisional results show Airmen who sampled the Heritage Coat gave it high marks.

Survey feedback showed 92 percent of wear test participants deemed the coat suitable for military uniform, and overall 66 percent thought the Air Force should adopt the new design, although favorable feedback alone does not decide the service coat's fate.

"The fit and wear test process is but one step in a lengthy assessment the Air Force uses in deciding whether or not to proceed with production of a uniform item," said Ruth Ewalt, the Air Force Uniform Programs and Policy chief. "Participant feedback is vital to ensuring proper fit, function, comfort, durability and appearance of the final uniform item."

Ms. Ewalt said producing and fielding a new uniform item involves a collaborative effort among many organizations.

"The Uniform Board works with a cadre of officers and enlisted Airmen who represent a diverse group to make recommendations for future dress and appearance standards," she said. "Other agencies provide input for a number of considerations, including industry capability and current inventory of the item it is replacing."

Officer and enlisted male and female participants wear-tested three variant issue designs -- the fabric belt and slide buckle, the honor guard style belt and buckle, and the four-button, no belt style. Of 362 responses (232 males and 130 females), 71 percent of participants preferred the four-button, no belt style coat.

The test phases were initial impression, belt-option fit test and wear test. Survey results indicated 72 percent of wear test participants prefer the coat's overall design to the current service coat.

Focus groups at various locations such as the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Ala., Lackland AFB, Texas, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and the National Capital Region answered pre-set questions concerning the coat's fit, function, comfort and appearance.

The wear test results showed that preferences varied between males and females -- 43 percent of men favored the honor guard style belt, while 47 percent of women preferred the four-button no belt version.

"The honor guard style belt looks like something from a Star Trek convention! It's too bulky on what is otherwise a sleek uniform coat," wrote one participant.

Another participant commented, "I like the hour-glass shape it gave my body, similar to how the Marine Corps jacket fits."

Some participants questioned the appropriateness of introducing a new service coat at all in light of the Air Force's current priorities.

"Being a nation at war, I'm not sure what message changing our service dress coats sends," wrote another participant. "Especially (considering) we're in need of more funds to upgrade airframes. Recommend putting service coat on hold to later date."

If directed to proceed, the Uniform Board will develop an implementation plan and will need to establish realistic expectations with regard to cost, schedule, performance, fielding and sustainment.

Other factors the board will consider are the unit price to Airmen, industry capacity limitations and the timeline to get the coat into the field. 

Stay with www.302aw.afrc.af.mil for the latest news and information.