The Air Force Uniform Office has finished redesigning the service’s physical training uniform, and Airmen will be able to buy it beginning next year, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center announced March 2.
“The new uniform will be available to Airmen in 2022, and there will be a four year transition period for mandatory wear,” according to an AFLCMC release. The center is currently gearing up for production.
More than 150 service members helped test the new outfit, which includes a jacket, t-shirt, pants, and two types of shorts, and marks the service’s first PT uniform change in nearly two decades.
USAF leaders’ primary requirements for the new uniform were that it be something Airmen would actually want to wear, and that its quality meet or exceed civilian athletic gear, Air Force Uniform Office Chief Tracy Roan said in the release.
“The new uniform now includes all of the great performance features that you find in athletic wear today,” she said in the release.
The uniform overhaul includes a variety of innovations, according to AFLCMC, including:
- The use of “soft, quick drying,” and antimicrobial fabrics to assist with moisture and control odors, as well as “stretch materials to provide comfort and increase performance.”
- A more tailored jacket that’s crafted from a less noisy fabric than the old uniform and includes “a zipper chest pocket” that can hold a Common Access Card.
- A uniform t-shirt engineered so that Airmen can wear it untucked while exercising but tuck it in “as required by command.”
- The inclusion of two types of shorts to meet the demands of different kinds of workouts: shorter ones for running, and longer ones for other forms of exercise. “The all-purpose shorts are unlined knit with zipper hip pockets you can close,” the release stated. “The runner’s are a lightweight stretch woven fabric with mesh side panels to improve airflow and [an] improved stretch liner for modesty.”
“A long sleeve t-shirt and a hoodie are in development,” AFLCMC added in a photo caption accompanying the announcement.