US Army WWII Officer pinks and greens uniform

"Pinks and greens" and "Army greens" are colloquial terms for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

's officer winter service uniform from World War II and the similarly patterned service uniform introduced in the early 21st century.

"Pinks and greens"

The "pinks and greens" uniform developed between the World Wars as a variant of the officer's service uniform. The service uniform consisted of a dark green (olive drab shade No. 51) coat with matching colored trousers. An alternate trouser option of a contrasting color with a slight pinkish hue (drab shade No. 54) was also authorized in 1924, which proved popular among officers, and displaced the olive drab pants in regular use. In 1944, an optional field jacket, sometimes called the

Ike jacket The Eisenhower jacket or "Ike" jacket, officially known as the Jacket, Field, Wool, Olive Drab, is a type of waist-length jacket developed for the U.S. Army during the later stages of World War II and named after Dwight D. Eisenhower. Intended ...

due its association with

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, was introduced. The uniform continued in use through the Korean War. It was deauthorized for officers of the United States Army effective February 1, 1958, and for officers of the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

and the Army National Guard of the United States effective October 1, 1959. It was replaced by a new "Class A" service uniform worn by all ranks, which featured matching coat and trousers in a new grayish-green shade. The "pinks and greens" have been called "one of the flashiest and most striking uniforms ever authorized by the Army".

Army Green Service Uniform

After a 60-year hiatus, on November 11, 2018, the U.S. Army announced it would adopt a new uniform patterned on the "pinks and greens" effective 2020, with phase-in to be complete by 2028. The decision to adopt the new uniform was done to fill the gap between the formal blue

Army Service Uniform The Army Service Uniform (ASU) is a military uniform worn by United States Army personnel in situations where formal dress is called for. It can be worn at most public and official functions. Over history, a number of different non-combat service ...

and the

Army Combat Uniform The Army Combat Uniform (ACU) is the current combat uniform worn by the United States Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Space Force. Within U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, it is referred to as the OCP (Operational Camouflage Pattern) Uniform ...

created by the deauthorization of the old Army Green uniform used between 1954 and 2015. With the change, the blue Army Service Uniform will again be restricted to ceremonial wear. According to former

Sergeant Major of the Army The Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) is a unique non-commissioned rank and position of office in the United States Army. The holder of this rank and position is the most senior enlisted soldier in the Army, unless an enlisted soldier is servin ...

Daniel A. Dailey, the Army designation for the new uniform is "Army Green Service Uniform" rather than "pinks and greens".

References

{{US Army uniforms American military uniforms United States Army uniforms