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Army Approves Black Socks with Physical Training Uniforms

NCO Journal Staff Report

November 6, 2015

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Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Myles speaks to the morning shift at Black Jack Inn Dining Facility at Fort Hood, Texas.

It’s a victory for the feet.

Effective today, Soldiers can wear black socks instead of white socks when they take part in PT.

“Soldiers may either wear black or white socks with both the Improved Physical Fitness Uniform, the IPFU, and the Army Physical Fitness Uniform, the APFU,” said Sgt. Maj. Eva Commons, the Army uniform policy sergeant major. “Socks must be plain with no logos and calf or ankle length. Ankle length socks must cover the entire ankle bone, and sock color is at the discretion of the Soldier.”

The decision to allow black socks as an option for PT came after a summer survey directed by Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey sought feedback on five proposals for changes to the uniform. More than 18,500 Soldiers responded.

Nearly 70 percent of respondents said black socks should be allowed with the new all-black Army Physical Fitness Uniform, which debuted late last year. The idea for the black socks was expressed by many NCOs who met with Dailey at various town-hall meetings he conducted during his first six months as Sergeant Major of the Army.

In May at the Noncommissioned Officer Solarium 2015 Outbrief session at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Dailey told the NCOs assembled that they would be part of the decisions that steer the Army — in ways both big and small — into the future.

“We [in senior leadership] sometimes lose touch; this is our way of getting back in touch with reality,” he said. “You NCOs are the representation of just that. This is a reality of what is going on across our Army … because you are at the heart of where organizational leadership begins.”

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