Rumors of the demise of the Army’s black and gold physical training gear were greatly exaggerated, and a redesign is not in the works, despite recent leadership comments suggesting otherwise.
The Army on Monday clarified comments made by its top enlisted soldier at last week’s Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition about the service’s approved PT uniform.
“We’re redesigning the Army PTs,” Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer said last week. “We’re not going to get locked into the same T-shirt, [where] everybody is just going out and buying a new T-shirt anyway for their unit.”
But on Monday, Weimer told reporters he was referring to the Army providing additional options for soldier workout clothing, not a wholesale revamp of the iconic soldier PT gear.
Instead, the Army wants to give soldiers more comfortable options if they need them without spending Army money redesigning or issuing a new PT uniform, he said.
Those options will be presented to Army senior leaders by the end of 2025, the service clarified.
Either way, Weimar said, the black and gold design is here to stay.
Weimer said the goal of providing additional options emerged after frequent soldier feedback regarding the comfort and fit of the existing PT clothing.
“It really comes down to fit,” Weimer said. “It’s about performance and functionality.”
Sgt. Maj. Rob Haynie, senior enlisted soldier at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, began leading the service’s review of options about two months ago and will continue that through next year.
So far, Weimer and Haynie said, some of the biggest complaints are about how the shorts fit, including problems with fabric bunching.
Small features also mean a lot, and soldiers griped about a lack of shorts pockets for stowing ID cards.
As Haynie gathers soldier feedback, his team will review existing, available options from the clothing industry, he said. A finalized list of types of PT clothing that meet the Army’s regulations and standards and maintain uniformity among the troops will then be delivered to Army senior leaders for review.
Soldiers will still get their PT uniforms issued at basic training and use that clothing through their Advanced Individual Training, Weimer said. But once they join their unit, they could have the option to get some different gear.
The 2025 review could wind up giving soldiers additional options for each of their basic PT gear clothing items, officials said.
The current basic gear includes short-sleeve and long-sleeve T-shirts, shorts, pants and a jacket, all in the black and gold color scheme, according to Army regulations.
Additionally, soldiers may wear calf or ankle-length socks, athletic shoes, a fleece watch cap, a compression shirt, shorts and a reflective belt for inclement weather conditions.
The service previously changed the PT uniform in 2017 when it switched from the black and gray design it had used for years to the current black and gold color scheme, among other changes.
Whatever gear gets approved for soldiers to add to their training wardrobe should provide options that better-fit soldiers’ comfort and performance needs while maintaining a uniform appearance, Weimer said.
The potential workout clothing options fall in line with several non-issue items that are approved for wear. The Army allows soldiers to select from an approved list of protective eyewear, and to choose between different types of combat boots to find the best fit.
Some units also allow soldiers to wear unit-specific, command-approved T-shirts that showcase the specific unit for their PT uniform.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
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