Publication:Sea Talk Winter 2005/Uniform & prototypes
John Gill Manager, Navy Uniforms
Navy Uniforms Section has been on the road visiting Perth, Darwin, Cairns and Brisbane as part of the normal inspection of clothing stores and Staff Officer Uniforms Debbie Locke and I took the opportunity to show the latest version of the prototype two-piece operational rig, set to take over from combat coveralls.
At the time of writing, we had conducted presentations at the Junior Sailors' Café at HMAS Stirling and also been fortunate enough to address ship's company of HMAS Arunta at their refit facility at Henderson, WA. We concluded our talks with patrol boat and other interested personnel in Darwin. Cairns was on the next leg of the journey.
Some very valuable feedback has been received to date, which will assist us to generate the final submission to Deputy Chief of Navy, with regard to fit and function of the proposed two-piece replacement.
Deputy Chief of Navy (DCN) has earmarked $3m towards the introduction of the 'operational rig' and it expected that manufacture will begin in the 05/06 financial year.
Whilst out and about, we are also making best use of our time to discuss a range of other uniform initiatives, including obtaining user feedback for female headwear (tricornes), court shoes and a proposed replacement for the 'duffel' bag. We are also showing the latest prototype under consideration to replace elastic-sided safety boots.
Just prior to hitting the road, the next version of the RAN clothing price list was submitted to DCN for approval and I expect to release the document in to coincide with the start of the new financial year.
The final adjustments are also being made to the revised NAVSUPMAN18 (Scales of Entitlement) and it is hoped to have the manual to Deputy Chief of Navy in the near future, again aiming for a July 2005 release.
