About Navy Uniforms

The United States Navy was founded on October 13, 1775 and the Department of Navy was established on April 30, 1798. The young Navy was busy fighting the Revolutionary War, buying ships and ammunition, with little money to spend on uniforms for the seamen. They wore pantaloons, a shirt and a short jacket, along with a bandana as a sweatband under a low crowned hat. They had no boots and went barefoot.

The U.S. Navy was disbanded after the Revolutionary War. It was reinstated in 1798, but there was still little attention given to the naval uniforms and the enlisted men wore homemade outfits. It wasn’t until 1817 the Navy issued standardized uniforms. The winter uniform was made up of a blue jacket and trousers, a black hat and a red vest with yellow buttons. The warm weather was a similar uniform except it was a white outfit with a black hat.

Navy uniforms have changed over the years. The black hat became a flat blue hat and then the white straw or canvas hat to the white cotton hat we know today. In 1841, the uniform was changed to show the difference in rank between enlisted seamen and petty officers. Petty officers wore the symbol of an eagle on top of an anchor of their uniform.

The current summer uniform for enlisted men, according to the Navy Command Center, is a white shirt, trousers, hat and black shoes and socks along with a white belt and a rating badge and ribbons. The winter uniform is similar to the summer version, except the shirt and trousers are blue, the socks are white and the belt is black.

Navy ranks are identified by gold stripes around the uniform jacket sleeves. The number and width of the stripes are signs of admirals, captains and warrant officers. There also embroidered gold symbols on the jacket sleeve to identify special groups, such as supply corps, medical and dental corps.

As the times change, Navy Uniforms have changed. Washington has already announced two new Navy Working Uniforms, which will hit the fleet in 2011.