Oh NWUs, I'm going to miss you. We had 5 wonderful years together and you were my favorite color too which made wearing you even more enjoyable, but now it is time for us to bid adieu (at least until Halloween) because as of tomorrow myself and all of my shipmates will be required to wear Type IIIs. You served your purpose and now it's time for you to rest. #OneLastTime #NWUs #USNavy #UnitedStatesNavy #Navy #Sailor https://www.instagram.com/p/B3DBTlmpcr8FtuoFcRWgUSHzh-jjFNb4FpvPfY0/?igshid=dpf7ysdob8qa
Blue cammies’ best attribute is concealing sailors who fall overboard, the joke goes. Its days may be numbered.
After six years in the fleet and some controversy, the blue-and-gray cammies could be headed for Davy Jones' seabag.
The digital blue Navy Working Uniforms were a fleet mainstay until 2013 after they were found to be unsafe to wear while fighting a fire. One plan is ditching these blue Navy working uniforms in favor of their green cousin. The service could potentially save millions by switching to the woodland cammies already worn by Seabees and master-at-arms. The green-and-tans are also not flame-resistant but would be the standard for ashore wear; flame-resistant coveralls and flight suits are mainstays for at-sea wear.
Dumping the digital blues, also known as the NWU Type I, is a move that's been quietly discussed by leadership in recent years.
“I think that there are a lot of folks who wouldn’t be sad, I guess, if Navy working uniform Type I went away,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said in an interview.
He’s heard sailor's complaints that the heaviness of the fabric makes it hot from shoulders to boots. Sailors have told him it's “very uncomfortable,” he said.
Sure, the blue NWUs have been popular with those who like the battle dress-styling. But its camouflage is an open joke. Sailors have called it their “blueberries” and gagged that their foremost value is concealing paint spills. Even the Navy secretary has mocked it, saying three years ago that “the great camouflage it gives is if you fall overboard.”
So my coworker Hine had this mysterious blue fuzz on his NWUs (Navy Working Uniform; blue digital camis), and it really bugged him, so he started attacking it with a lint roller.
