AirSpaceMag.com

U.S. Air Force PT uniform, circa 2006.

Ah, uniforms. People either love ‘em or hate ‘em. One could argue that the U.S. military has a good number of attractive uniforms: think of the Marine Corps dress uniform, the blue Army service uniform, the Navy’s full dress whites, and the Air Force flightsuit.

But it seems that our illustrious military cannot seem to master the physical training uniform. Note the Air Force PT uniform, left, which was redesigned in 2006. Complaints abounded over the outfits, which were supposedly an improvement over the existing gear. Dislike of the “MC Hammer” pants and “swishy suits” (so-called because of the noisy nylon fabric) meant that as of this year, another redesign is in the works.

In a 2009 Air Force Times article by Sam LaGrone, when asked “What are the dumbest rules in the Air  Force?” hundreds of airmen listed the Air Force’s 162 pages of uniform regulations as their top complaint.

Scorn of the PT uniform is not limited to our flying brethren, however. When presented with a look at the new Navy PT garb, hundreds of sailors posted comments. “This is a joke, they are just messing with us right?” asked one dismayed guest. Another poster commented, “I do not trust Master Chiefs to pick out clothing that looks good. I seriously doubt that they would mandate [the uniform] to be worn in the gym. If they do I will pay to go to a gym out of town.”