More Navy crews are expected to receive the two-piece, flame retardant uniform in 2024 that the service calls the “primary at-sea” uniform option, according to Navy officials.
Sailors are authorized to wear the uniform, known as the 2-Piece Organizational Clothing uniform, or 2POC, aboard surface ships, submarines and flight decks as well as when they are commuting and are off base.
The Navy started distributing the uniforms in December 2022 to U.S. Fleet Forces units, including the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford. As of November, 50% of east coast ships have received the 2POC, according to Fleet Forces Command.
Additionally, nearly half of all orders for the uniform have gone to West Coast ships, and U.S. Pacific Fleet anticipates that all sailors in the Pacific will receive the 2POC by fall 2024.
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In the European theater, the destroyer Paul Ignatius has already received the 2POC. Naval Forces Europe-Africa expects that other Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Europe destroyers, as well as command-and-control ship Mount Whitney and the expeditionary sea base Hershel “Woody” Williams, will receive the uniforms in 2024.
Distribution is based on priority lists provided by each type commander and factor in the unit’s operational and maintenance schedules.
The uniform features a tri-fiber blend and flame resistant fabric equivalent to the flame resistance found in the Improved Fire Retardant Variant uniform, Navy Times previously reported.
All sailors aboard surface ships and submarines will receive at least two sets of the 2POC – and an additional set for deployment – free of charge just like they did the Improved Fire Retardant Variant uniform.
