FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- When staff members at Fort Drum's Military Clothing and Sales Store received the new Army Physical Fitness Uniform last fall, they were surprised to have them completely sold out.
"When they first came out, we had almost 200 Soldiers buy them," recalled Jennifer Denner, a shift manager at the store. "They came in, cleared it up, and we had to stock it up about six times."
The Army's newest physical fitness uniform replaced the decade-old Improved Physical Fitness Uniform and followed the Army Service Uniform in the trend of taking Soldiers' input in its design decision.
For Sgt. Michael Weber, a multichannel transmission systems operator-maintainer assigned to C Company, 7th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), seeing his first sergeant wearing the newer black and gold was all it took for him to decide to go and get a set for himself.
"I mean, we're (noncommissioned officers). ... (We're) supposed to lead the way," he said. "I can't expect my Soldiers to do something if I haven't done it first."
Aside from the color scheme that "makes sense," it is overall just more "comfortable," Weber said after trying on the commercial polyester blend T-shirt.
A February 2012 Army Knowledge Online survey of some 76,000 Soldiers found that Soldiers had issues with the IPFU. They liked its durability, but they believed the IPFU's textiles had not kept pace with commercially available workout clothes.
They also had concerns with other things, particularly modesty issues with the shorts, especially in events like sit-ups. Those concerns were expressed by men as well as women.
The APFU met the goal of controlling costs and improving performance by adopting lighter, high-tech, moisture-wicking fabric. The APFU introduces multiple sizes, including sizing for women, and it has solved the modesty issue. In all, there are some 34 changes.
The APFU has five parts: the jacket and pants, which resemble warm-ups; trunks or shorts; and the short- and long-sleeve T-shirts. Pieces of the ensemble can be mixed and matched.
According to Command Sgt. Maj. Ray Lewis, 10th Mountain Division (LI) senior enlisted
adviser, although there were many improvements to the uniform from the IPFU, none of them will change the way Soldiers should wear it.
The fabric of the trunks will continue to be made with durable nylon fabric, but it is lighter than and not as stiff as the IPFU trunks. Also, there will be a four-way stretch panel inside the trunks, sort of like bicycle pants, which eliminates the need for Soldiers to purchase their own undergarments. The trunks include a bigger key pocket and a convenient and secure ID card pouch.
There are two types of APFUs: the Clothing Bag or Issue, and the Optional APFU or the Commercial, which will be visually the same as the APFU Issue variant but uses some different materials.
Enlisted Soldiers can choose either combination of the APFU well under their annual clothing allowance, according to Denner.
Currently, the Department of the Army projected the official wear-out date of the IPFU to be sometime during fall 2017.
Prices:
Unisex Jacket - $51.42
Female Jacket - $51.42
Unisex Pant - $32.69
Female Pant - $33.37
Clothing Bag or Issue Short-Sleeve Shirt - $6.86
Clothing Bag or Issue Long-Sleeve Shirt - $8.35
Clothing Bag or Issue Trunks - $16.41
Optional or Commercial Short-Sleeve Shirt - $17.95
Optional or Commercial Long-Sleeve Shirt - $19.95
Optional or Commercial Trunks - $18.50
Fleece Cap:
Clothing Bag - $4.64
Commercial - $10.95
10th Mountain Division Embroidery - $12
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