The Spring/Summer Uniform of the Day Memorandum has been posted. POM13-001 went into effect on 8 April 2013 and will be in effect until October 2013.

The start of Hurricane Season (1 June – 30 November) is less than 1 month away; please buy your necessary BDU/ODU components now. Don’t wait until you have orders in hand to report to a disaster site and try to buy all necessary uniform components. Do not expect the Navy Exchange (NEX), the Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) or the Uniform Distribution Center (UDC) online stores or the local Navy Base(s) or Coast Guard Stations to have sufficient quantities and be able to deliver the necessary items in a timely manner. Mistreatment (verbal abuse or other threats) of NEX/AAFES/UDC personnel will not be tolerated and may subject an officer to Disciplinary Action.

Almost every year since the extremely busy 2005 Hurricane Season, Corps officers have deployed somewhere in the Gulf Coast region. The uniform shops in many of the military facilities in this area do not carry Corps insignia, undershirts or Command Ball Caps. It is recommended to buy “extra” insignia and devices and have them on hand in your sea-bag (mobility bag or go-bag) in case the need of replacement arises. Additionally, please see the Readiness and Response Group’s website http://ccrf.hhs.gov/ccrf/faq_gobag.htm for items to bring or not bring on deployment. Don’t expect a local vendor to be open or accessible to obtain personal hygiene items or other necessary items. Only pack your sea-bag heavy enough that you can carry it by yourself. The green G.I. duffle bag is available at NEX/AAFES/UDC online or many local military uniform shops.

• Q.
• I recently purchased the khaki maternity blouse from the NEX; however it looks different from what is in policy, is this blouse authorized?


• A.
• Yes, the new blouse, and the old blouse are authorized for wear. The NEX and the Navy Task Force Uniform Board changed to the new maternity blouse earlier this fiscal year. As supplies of the old version were depleted, the new version was rolled out. It may not have rolled out to every NEX store yet, but it will be coming in due time.
  
  As the new blouse does not have front pockets to use as a reference point for ribbons, badges or the nametag, items are to be aligned 6-1/4 inches from intersection of front seam and shoulder seam and centered over front seam. All other measurements for badge, rank and collar device placement remains the same as normal for the service khaki blouse.
  
  *Photo courtesy of LCDR Elizabeth Garza from CDC.
  
  Keeping on topic of maternity uniforms, the ODU has a version of the maternity shirt. Like the Navy, the Coast Guard removed the pockets from the top of the maternity shirt, but placed them at the bottom of the shirt.
  
  
  
  On the UDC website, there is only one version of the ODU maternity shirt. It is unlogoed and is authorized for wear by USCG, NOAA and the USPHS members. Name and Branch of Service tapes, along with skill badges are placed in the same general location as the regular ODU shirt. The UDC does not give any further specific measurements from the top shoulder seam. Again, rank insignia and collar device placement remain the same.
  
  *Photo courtesy of LCDR Kellie Harden, FCC Butner, BOP.


• Q.
• Has the supply issue with the UDC and the ODU been cleared up?


• A.
• For the most part, yes. The UDC has received at least one very large shipment of uniforms within the last few weeks and they are expecting another 3 large shipments in the coming weeks. The UDC advised that the initial backlog of several months is clearing. Officers should notice a significant increased in availability in the next few weeks.
  
  Officers are advised to remain vigilant and check the UDC website frequently if their size is not currently available. Regardless of what rumors or innuendos are out there, officers are not required to own it before 1 September 2013. An officer will not be taken off a deployment roster for only having BDUs and no ODUs. However, common sense should prevail; an officer should not wait until August 31 to order their ODUs as there will more than likely be a shortage due to the remaining hold-outs attempting to buy the uniform. Should the need to adjust the mandatory phase-in date, we will review the necessity and amend the date accordingly.
  
  The majority of officers questions regarding the ODU can be found by reading the policies and the supporting FAQs on the Commissioned Corps Management Information System (CCMIS) http://dcp.psc.gov/ccmis or the electronic Commissioned Corps Issuance System (eCCIS) http://dcp.psc.gov/eccis web-sites.