Propper is a manufacturer of clothing and gear for tactical, law enforcement, public safety, and military applications. Since 1967 it has been one of the main uniform suppliers to the United States military.

History

Propper International was founded in 1967 by William S. Propper and landed its first government contract with the U.S. Navy, manufacturing the iconic white sailor caps known as "Dixie cups." As one of the largest official suppliers to the United States armed forces, Propper International has manufactured over 60 million garments for the U.S. Department of Defense – Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Special Forces. Propper also manufactures apparel for the commercial military, tactical, law enforcement, and public safety markets and sells through both dealer/retailer channels and online through e-commerce. Propper commercial products are distributed through more than 2,500 military and law enforcement and specialty retail stores and websites across the country.

Products

Propper's core product has always been the current standard issue U.S. military uniform. More recently, they expanded their product line to include clothing for law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.

Military

Propper is a prime contractor in nearly every branch of the U.S. military. In 2015 the company began offering boots. The Propper

Battle Dress Uniform The Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) is a camouflaged combat uniform that was used by the United States Armed Forces as their standard combat uniform from the early 1980s to the mid-2000s. Since then, it has been replaced or supplanted in every br ...

was issued to the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. It used M81 Woodland and Desert Camouflage. 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 ...

is the current combat uniform worn by the

U.S. 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, cl ...

. It introduced the

Universal Camouflage Pattern The Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) is a multi-scale camouflage, digital military camouflage pattern formerly used by the United States Army in their Army Combat Uniform. Technicians at Natick Soldier Systems Center attempted to devise a u ...

and also uses MultiCam pattern in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan during military operations. Airman Battle Uniform

Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform The Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU) is the current battledress uniform of the United States Marine Corps. It is also worn by Navy personnel (mostly corpsmen, Seabees, chaplains, and their bodyguards) assigned to Marine Corps un ...

Other garments manufactured by Propper and worn by branches of the military include: *Multi-Climate Protection System (MCPS) Types 1, 2 and 3 (All branches) *CWU/27P Nomex Flight Suit (All branches) *Generation 2 Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System (Gen 2 ECWCS) (Army) *All Purpose Environmental Clothing System (APECS) (Air Force and

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

) * Flame-Resistant Organizational Gear (FROG) Combat Shirt and Trouser (Marines) *Flame-Resistant Army Combat Uniform (FR ACU) (Army) *NFPA-Compliant Airman Battle Uniform (Air Force) *Foul Weather Parka II (Coast Guard) *Foul Weather Liner II (Coast Guard)

Law Enforcement

Propper introduced a full line of

body armour Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...

for military and law enforcement use in January 2016. The 4PV, in both men's and women's versions, offers wearers better comfort and protection than the typical "clamshell" two-panel design found in most other body armour. In addition to concealable body armor, Propper also introduced a full range of tactical body armor with

ballistic plate A ballistic plate, also known as an armour plate, is a protective armoured plate inserted into a carrier or bulletproof vest, that can be used stand-alone, or in conjunction with other armour. "Hard armour" usually denotes armour that uses balli ...

s front and back for added protection to meet NIJ threat level standards. In addition to armor, Propper also provides a full range of police uniforms,

tactical pants Tactical pants are trousers with versatile modifications intended for everyday workwear for emergency medical technicians, fire service professionals, plainclothes law enforcement officers (e.g. FBI agents, undercover special police such as SWAT) ...

, and tactical bags. One bag, the UC Pack, is based on the Marine Corps FILBE complete with

MOLLE MOLLE (pronounced ,, homophonic with the name Molly) is an acronym for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is used to define the current generation of load-bearing equipment and backpacks used by a number of NATO armed forces, esp ...

attachment points and extensive use of

hook and loop Hook-and-loop fasteners, hook-and-pile fasteners or touch fasteners (often referred to by the genericized trademark velcro, due to the prominence of the Velcro, Velcro Brand) consist of two components: typically, two lineal fabric strips (or, a ...

fasteners.

Awards

Propper has received 7 awards from the

Defense Logistics Agency The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is a combat support agency in the United States Department of Defense (DoD), with more than 26,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world. Located in 48 states and 28 countries, DLA provides su ...

dating as far back as 1995. * 2015 – DLA Silver Supplier * 2014 – DLA Silver Supplier * 2011 – Employer Partnership of the Armed Forces * 2011 – DOD Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve * 2004 – DLA Vendor Excellence Award Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom * 2004 – Vendor Excellence Award * 1995 – Vendor of the Year

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Propper Clothing manufacturers American military uniforms Law enforcement uniforms