According to a press release by the U.S. Air Force on Tuesday, August 4, it has lifted a uniform barrier for women and now allows them to wear pants with the mess dress uniform.
The Air Force announced this change after receiving an overwhelming feedback from the field. It announced the change through an exception-to-policy memorandum.
The new policy revises the requirement for female service members to wear a floor-length skirt with the mess dress uniforms.
A mess dress is a semi-formal uniform worn by military, police, fire, and other uniformed services for certain ceremonies, events, and celebrations. It is less formal than a full dress uniform and is equivalent to a black-tie in civilian life. However, it is more formal than a service dress uniform that is worn to daily duty purposes.
According to the change, women may continue to wear skirts if they like, but now also have the flexibility to choose a dress pant.
“It’s our responsibility to provide flexible uniform options that are functional and comfortable for all Air and Space Professionals,” Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services, said in a statement. “We have a lot of people working really hard to review our existing policies to make sure there are no unintended barriers or unfair practices that may be impacting specific groups of people on our team. We still have our work cut out for us, but this is a step in the right direction in creating an inclusive culture.”
According to the Air Force, the dress slacks for women will be available in 18 to 24 months, until then, women are authorized to purchase men’s dress trousers and have them altered at no cost.
