OG-107
OG-107 utilities were the basic work uniform of all branches of the American Military from 1952 until finally being discontinued in 1989. The designation came from the United States Army's color code Olive Green 107, which was a gray green.
History
The uniform was the standard for use both in the United States and on overseas deployment since the beginning of the Vietnam War. As the Tropical Combat Uniform (jungle fatigues) became more plentiful in South Vietnam, they began to replace the OG-107 Uniform in combat units. A rough time line is that line infantry units from "standard" divisions (not airborne or Special Forces) began receiving jungle fatigues in the Spring of 1966 and the OG-107 was slowly relegated to use in rear areas. In the United States and foreign postings (outside of South East Asia), the OG-107 remained the standard uniform throughout the 1960s and 70's. This is one of the longest issued uniforms by the US Military, seeing use from 1952 until the adoption of the Woodland Pattern Battle Dress Uniform in 1982. They were completely discontinued in 1989.
Basic Design
All versions of the OG-107 shared several basic design features. They were made out of an 8.5 ounce cotton sateen. The shirt was meant to be worn tucked in and consisted of a button front and two simple patch pockets on the upper chest that closed by means of a buttoned flap. The trousers were a straight leg pant with two simple patch pockets in the front with slash openings and two simple patch pockets on the back with a button flap. The cotton versions tended to fade quickly to greenish grey while the poly-cotton variant used in the Type III stayed darker much longer.
There were three basic models or "patterns" for the OG-107 Cotton Sateen Utility Uniform:
"Type I" (1952 - 1963)
The first "Type I" model was introduced in 1952 and remained virtually unchanged through its 10 year production run. The shirt featured a sleeve with no true cuff or buttons; it was simply a straight sleeve with a simple hem at the cuff. The shirt's two chest pockets and the trousers rear two pockets had a rectangular pocket flap that buttoned. The buttons were a "dished" style and most of the 50's production were a dark brown color while the majority of the 60's production were dark green. The trousers also had a simple adjustment tab on the waist that could be buttoned. The shirt and trousers were also sized in groups (Small, Medium, Large, etc.) This model was replaced in April 1963 when specifications came out for the second model.
"Type II" (1963 - 1964)
The "Type II" was specified for production in April 1963 and had several slight variations from the Type I. The only change of any real significance was the "clipping" of the pocket flaps on the shirt, so that they no longer appeared rectangular. As with the Type I, the shirt and trousers were also sized in groups. Due to the limited production time before the Type III was specified, these were not seen nearly as often as the Type I or III.
"Type III" (1964 - 1989)
The "Type III" is the most common model and can be split into two versions based on the time of manufacture and material.
- Cotton - This version was specified at the very end of 1964 and still used the standard 8.5 ounce cotton sateen. However, due to changes in production and distribution time, they were not really seen until 1966. This version maintained all of the key distinctive style features such as the pockets, etc., but with some key differences. The two shirt chest pockets received a pointed pocket flap. The shirt also received a button cuff at the wrist. The buttons were changed to the "standard" dull plastic button as used on jungle fatigues (and later BDU's). Another change to the trousers was the removal of the waist adjustment tab. Both the shirt and pant also adopted the "true measurement" sizing style - for example, pants were marked in waist and inseam length (32" x 34" would show a pant with a 32" waist and 34" inseam) and the shirts were marked in neck size and sleeve length (16.5" x 34" would show a shirt with a 16.5" neck and a 34" sleeve length).
- Poly Cotton blend - The second version of the Type III came into use in the mid-1970s and was in production until being replaced by Woodland BDU's. This model switched from using 100% cotton to a 50/50 blend of Polyester/Cotton. These mixed OG-107's were often referred to as "Dura-Press" or "Permanent press" as they did not require extensive starching and they could often be quickly identified by a yellow tag in the garment. This was the version featured in the movie 1981 Stripes
Variants
Variants of the OG-107s consisted of two main groups:
- 1. locally produced versions which may have had small differences in pocket details, shoulder straps and colors.
- 2. Privately purchased tailored versions with additional pockets, hip cargo and/or sleeve pen and pencil, or other colors such as sand, khaki, and various camouflage patterns.
Users
- United States and the many countries who received Military aid from the United States, such as:
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Brazil
- Cuba - after the Revolution the FAR wears the same uniforms
- Nicaragua - worn by the ESP
- Hungary - wears a copy
References
- Shelby Stanton, U.S. Army Uniforms of the Vietnam War
- Paul Miraldi
- Uniforms and Equipment of U.S. Military Advisors in Vietnam 1957-1972
- Uniforms and Equipment of U.S. Army Infantry, LRRPS, and Rangers in Vietnam 1965-1971.
- Kevin Lyles
- Vietnam: US Uniforms in Color Photographs and
- U.S. Airborne Vietnam.
- Osprey Men at War , Armies of the Vietnam War