Navy Working Uniform

Navy Working Uniform
From left to right: A U.S. Navy Lieutenant wearing the NWU Type III, bearing the AOR2 camouflage pattern and a chief petty officer wearing the NWU Type II in AOR1.
Type	Military uniforms
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	2009–2019 (NWU Type I)[a] 2010–present (NWU Type II and III)
Used by	United States Navy U.S. Coast Guard[1][2] U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps New York Naval Militia
Wars	Global War on Terrorism
Production history
Designed	2004 (NWU Type I), 2009 (NWU Type II and III)
Unit cost	120.00$ (MSRP in 2010, minus boots)[3]
Produced	2004–2017 (NWU Type I) 2009–present (NWU Type II and III)
Variants	NWU Type I, NWU Type II, NWU Type III, NWU-D (limited prototype, defunct, obsolete), NWU-C (limited prototype, defunct, obsolete)

The Navy Working Uniform (NWU) is a series of military uniforms that are currently used by the United States Navy (and some elements of the U.S. Coast Guard) for wear by its members. The NWU is a "working" uniform, which means that it is made to a more durable and utilitarian standard, thus being worn in lieu of more formal uniforms that might get unduly damaged or dirtied in the process of normal military duties.

The first NWU variant, known as the NWU Type I, was designed in late 2004 and began being used by the U.S. Navy in limited quantities beginning in late 2008. By late 2010, it had completely replaced most other "working" uniforms. Colloquially called both "Blueberries" and "Aqua-flage" (a portmanteau of aquatic and camouflage), it was made of a ripstop cotton–nylon blend and featured a blue and grey camouflage pattern. Though originally intended for shipboard use, the nylon content caused the uniforms to lack sufficient flame resistance for shipboard environments, and it was replaced with flame-resistant coveralls when working shipboard. Due to the unsuitability of its camouflage pattern ashore, the NWU Type I was completely retired from use in 2019, replaced by other variants.

There are currently two variants of the NWU in use by the U.S. Navy for shore environments. The NWU Type II, which has a primarily tan and brown camouflage pattern called AOR1, is designed to be worn in sandy and arid desert battlefield environments, while the NWU Type III, which has primarily green, brown, and black pattern called AOR2, is designed to be worn in more temperate environments such as the contiguous United States.

NWU Type III is now worn by all U.S. Navy personnel. The NWU Type III has been issued to new naval recruits since late 2017 and completely replaced the NWU Type I in 2019 when the latter was discontinued and phased out of service. The NWU Type II is worn only by specialized units such as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Navy SEALs, Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsmen, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians, and Seabees when in the appropriate environment.

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