Army rolls out new high visibility retro-inspired PT uniform

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Army’s top enlisted advisor, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael R. Weimer announced that the Army is going to be issuing a new physical fitness uniform to its troops during a speech at the Association of the U.S. Army conference.

The new uniform design is piggybacking off the same retro-inspired good idea fairy thought process that introduced the Army Green Service Uniform, or AGSU, commonly referred to as “Pinks and Greens”, which mimic the Army dress uniform during World War II.

“In ‘25, you’re going to see a new PT [uniform]—I like to call it kit, because we fight in kit—it’s going to be rolled out,” Weimer said, adding that the Army’s current fitness uniform doesn’t “represent who we are as warfighters.”

According to a press release sent out by the Pentagon, the conceptual design for the new uniform is inspired by 1980s jazzercize fashion, an era where high visibility colors and patterns were standard and will allow the Army to focus more on its Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program.

“The Army is continuously looking to find balance between our effective warfighting capabilities and a fashion sense that entices recruitment and retention,” the statement said. “We believe we have found this balance in this new uniform design while also incorporating high visibility colors that will help keep our Soldiers safe while conducting unit and individual physical fitness activities.”

The statement also said the new design will eliminate the need for Soldiers to wear a high-visibility belt, commonly referred to as a PT Belt, which has been the source of contention by many ever since wearing the belt became standard practice in the mid-1990s.

Weimer said the discontinuation of wearing a PT belt will be a commander-directed initiative but believes that removing the requirement to wear one will raise morale and encourage Soldiers to wear the stylish new uniform while conducting physical fitness activities off duty.

“If we’re going to be fit, then we’re also going to look good at the same time and rep the Army brand,” Weimer said.

Critics of the new uniform are complaining that the Army doesn’t need to spend the time or money to overhaul the PT uniform, which they say is “good enough for government work.” The Army most recently changed its fitness uniform in 2017 when it shifted from the gray and black uniform that was a staple during the Global War on Terrorism era to the current black and gold uniform.

“I enlisted right after 9-11 in 2001,” said Sgt. Maj. Radcliff O’Houlihan. “I personally own three different versions of the PT uniform. I have BDUs, DBDUs. ACUs, FRACUs. OCPs, GSUs, ASUs, AGSUs, Chocolate Chips, and MultiCams. I don’t want more uniforms. For the love of God, let me retire before we make any more uniform changes.”

The Army is planning to BETA test the new uniform in 2025 to get analytics on how it performs under the stress of performing grueling Physical Readiness Training (PRT) exercises such as “The Bent-Leg Body Twist” and “The Windmill”. They’re also hoping to cross-reference the number of PT-related injuries before and after the implementation of the new uniform.

The rollout of the new Army Jazzercise Fitness Leotard (JFL) is expected to begin toward the end of fiscal year 2025 with full conversion across the force to be completed no later than 2026.