NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The suspense is over. The Space Force dress uniforms are finally out.

On Sept. 21 at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber conference, the chief of space operations Gen. John “Jay” Raymond unveiled the service’s dress uniform. 

“Every championship team needs a uniform,” Raymond said.

Space Force service members, known as guardians, will wear the dress uniform for formal business and ceremonial events. Raymond said these are prototypes and the Space Force invites feedback on these designs. 

Credit: U.S. Space Force

A spokesman said the uniforms were designed with distinct features intended to highlight unique Space Force culture. The dark “space blue” jacket is a roundneck crossover design with a partial mandarin collar rather than the classic lapel blazer. The pants are dark grey. 

The service described the uniforms as “distinctive, modern, professional, and comfortable to wear.” The design was based on broad input from troops.

Other branches of the military have been criticized for designing their uniforms with men in mind and treating women’s uniforms as an afterthought.

“We designed the female uniform first,” said the spokesman. “And then once we had that, we created the male version.”

  • The coat has six silver buttons and silver trims on the sleeves, and the name tag has six sides, representing the 6th branch of the armed service. Silver also is the color of the sashes worn by Space Force graduates of the Air Force Academy.
  • The deep blue color was taken from the Space Force seal. The dark blue represents the vastness of outer space.
  • The buttons have the globe, delta, orbit and stars that are part of both the U.S. Space Force flag and the seal.

Up until now, the only Space Force-specific attire available for guardians was the utility camouflage uniform, which uses the same pattern as the Army and Air Force but with dark blue name tapes, whereas the the Army’s are black and the Air Force’s spice brown.

On Monday the Space Force also unveiled the insignia for enlisted ranks and rolled out a new physical fitness uniform.

Sandra Erwin writes about military space programs, policy, technology and the industry that supports this sector. She has covered the military, the Pentagon, Congress and the defense industry for nearly two decades as editor of NDIA’s National Defense...