Change in corps uniforms coming

The committee is wearing the future.

All cadets at Norwich wear the same uniform each day, yet lately a handful of students stand out. The new uniforms are what set them apart.

These students are on the Norwich uniform committee and are working with the uniform store on new uniforms.

The committee is making great strides towards a cost-efficient improvement in the cadet uniform, according to Mary Roux, the manager of the cadet uniform store and laundry services.

"The committee was started a few years ago by the previous manager," Roux said. "I really wanted to reestablish it this year because of questions and concerns that some of the kids had. We needed a connection between the uniform store and the corps regarding the uniform."

This year the uniform committee was restored and consists of six students, according to Roux.

It consists of the cadet colonel, or second in command, the S4, supplies and weapons, major and non-commissioned officer in charge, and the remaining positions are, "whoever expresses an interest in the uniform and the uniform committee," Roux said.

Adam Snider, 21, a junior construction engineering management major from Tecumseh, Mich., "wanted to change the uniforms because (I) thought some of the uniforms we wore could look better and (I) wanted to have a good influence on the corps." Snider was a member of the previous uniform committee.

As the cadet major of S4, Christopher Ross, a 21-year-old senior construction engineering management major from Rochester, N.Y., "wanted to implement an organization that can be a connection between the students and the commandants — not only with uniforms but issued items as well."

"We have been working all year on a couple of issues, but we gather information and now we are wearing the different uniforms out there," Roux said. "The committee comes back with the different ideas that they have gotten from the corps."

Recently, the committee has been focusing on a select few items of the cadet uniform, according to Roux. To make these changes, the corps needs to be supportive as well as administration, according to Roux.

Members of the uniform committee have been wearing the potential new uniforms during the duty day to showcase them to the student body, according to the uniform committee.

"The underclassmen are excited to see something new because they are going to be here for the next couple of years. The motivation for change is high," Ross said.

"Right now we are looking at a different color in the B's shirts," Snider said. "Changing the color from the blue-gray that doesn't quite match the trousers, to either a black or a white."

In a recent survey done by the committee, 97 percent of the 646 students who participated voted for change. Of that percentage, 81 percent was in favor of the black shirts for the winter class B uniform.

"If the shirts pass, they will not be for this incoming rook class," Roux said, "They will be there for the class of 2016. It's a gradual change like we did from BDU's to ACU's."

Another item addressed was putting some kind of insignia on the collar of the B's uniform, according to Emily Baugus, a 19-year-old sophomore from Kingsville, Texas, studying construction engineering management.

"We started by putting the MCV (Military College of Vermont) insignia on the collar, but we've also thought about putting rank there," Baugus said. In the survey, 82 percent of the students said they wanted some sort of collar insignia added to the both the summer and winter class B uniform.

The committee began this year by

addressing summer cadet jackets, according to Baugus. "Time was of the essence to fix that problem," Baugus said, "because the uniform store couldn't order the justice jackets anymore."

Also, Snider said, "They didn't love the look of it and there were a lot of complaints."

The jackets will begin to be issued to this fall's rook class, but not until the following year will the entire class receive them, according to Roux. It is necessary to first exhaust the entire old uniform inventory, according to Roux.

"Most of the changes are cost effective," Ross said, "We don't want the school to take a big hit on the budget by issuing the uniform to every student at once — we will take it one year at a time."

The PT (physical training) gear will also change. Inspired by the German exchange students on campus in the fall, the committee has designed a more modern look for the PT gear, according to Alex Gordon, 19, a studies in war and peace sophomore from Carthage, N.Y. "The PT gear is fully functional—safe and comfortable," Gordon said.

Although there are many changes that could be made to the cadet uniform and supplies, the committee focused on a few things this year, according to Roux.

"It was a combination of what we felt we could get accomplished this year and what we wanted to see changed the most," said Caleb Beasley, a 19-year-old sophomore civil engineer major from Shreveport, La. "The things that we have currently chosen are the ones that we decided we could actually push through the year."

Once the items begin to be issued, students who did not receive them as an issue can go to the uniform store and purchase them on their own, according to Roux.

The ultimate goal for the committee is "a combination of trying to provide the corps with the uniform that they want and whatever it is that I see that the cadets need," Roux said.

"One of the general consensuses is that the student body wants to see change," Gordon said. And the committee is open to suggestions.