Navy Introduces Back Pockets for Women’s Service Khakis

Female sailors shopping for new Service Khakis can now get something that has long been missing from the women’s version of the uniform: usable back pockets.

The Navy Exchange Service Command announced Aug. 10 that newly redesigned women’s Service Khaki slacks are now available with two back welt pockets and a new sizing system meant to help sailors get a better fit with fewer alterations. The changes came directly from sailor feedback.

For a uniform item sailors may wear throughout much of their careers, the update is a small but highly visible part of a larger Navy effort to rethink how women’s uniforms are sized.

What Changed With the New Service Khaki Slacks?

The most obvious difference is on the back.

The redesigned slacks include two welt pockets, giving female sailors storage that more closely matches what many expect from everyday trousers. The pants are made from a blend of 75% polyester and 25% wool.

The bigger change, however, is sizing.

These are the first Navy slacks released using a new “modernized sizing” system being developed by the Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility.

The Navy has already used that system for optional women’s Summer White and Dress White overblouses. Those garments come in Alpha, Bravo and Delta fit types, designed to account for different body proportions rather than relying on one standard cut.

Dr. Brianna Plummer, a group leader at the Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility, said the old and new sizing systems do not directly correspond, meaning sailors should not simply order the same number they currently wear.

The goal is eventually to give sailors a consistent size across uniform tops and bottoms and reduce the amount of tailoring needed after purchase.

How Do Female Sailors Find Their New Size?

Sailors will need to use the Navy’s new sizing and fit charts to determine which version works for them.

Those charts are available at Navy Exchange uniform shops and online through the Navy Exchange website. Because the modernized sizing system does not directly match legacy sizes, NEXCOM recommends taking new measurements rather than assuming an existing uniform size will carry over.

For sailors near participating exchanges, there is another option: try them on first.

The new Service Khaki slacks are available for purchase or fitting at Navy Exchanges in Norfolk, Oceana and Arlington, Virginia; Great Lakes, Illinois; Jacksonville and Pensacola’s Aviation Plaza in Florida; San Diego; Kitsap-Bangor, Washington; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Bethesda, Maryland.

They are also available online through MyNavyExchange.com.

Why Is the Navy Changing Women’s Uniform Sizing?

Navy officials say the redesign grew out of feedback from sailors about how existing uniforms fit.

Rear Adm. Jennifer Couture, former director of Military Personnel Plans and Policy, said correctly fitting uniforms affect more than appearance.

“It is our charge to ensure Sailors are fit for the fight,” Couture said in the NEXCOM announcement, adding that uniforms need to fit correctly, perform well and maintain a professional appearance.

The Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility is currently concentrating its modernization work on women’s uniforms.

That makes the new khaki slacks part of a greater effort rather than a one-off redesign. By developing different fit types and applying common sizing across multiple garments, the Navy hopes sailors will eventually be able to replace uniform items without starting from scratch with fittings and alterations every time.

What Comes Next?

Men’s uniforms are coming eventually.

NEXCOM said male uniform sizes will also be evaluated and updated in the coming years after the current work on women’s uniforms.

There is no timeline yet in the announcement for when the Navy expects its new sizing system to spread across the rest of the uniform inventory.

For now, female sailors who wear Service Khakis have one of the first finished products from that effort.

And, perhaps more importantly for anyone who has ever wondered where exactly they were supposed to put their phone, keys or wallet, they finally have two more pockets.