Introduction

General

a. Only uniforms, accessories, and insignia prescribed in this regulation or in the common tables of allowance (CTA), or as approved by Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA), will be worn by personnel in the U.S. Army. Unless specified in this regulation, the commander issuing the clothing and equipment will establish wear policies for organizational clothing and equipment. No item governed by this regulation will be altered in any way that changes the basic design or the intended concept of fit as described in TM 10–227 and AR 700–84, including plating, smoothing, or removing detail features of metal items, or otherwise altering the color or appearance. All illustrations in this regulation should coincide with the text. The written description will control any inconsistencies between the text and the illustration.
b. AR 70–1 prescribes Department of the Army (DA) policies, responsibilities, and administrative procedures by which all clothing and individual equipment used by Army personnel are initiated, designed, developed, tested, approved, fielded, and modified.
c. AR 385–10 prescribes DA policies, responsibilities, and administrative procedures and funding for protective clothing and equipment.
d. In accordance with chapter 45, section 771, title 10, United States Code (10 USC 771), no person except a member of the U.S. Army may wear the uniform, or a distinctive part of the uniform of the U.S. Army unless otherwise authorized by law. Additionally, no person except a member of the U.S. Army may wear a uniform, any part of which is similar to a distinctive part of the U.S. Army uniform. This includes the distinctive uniforms and uniform items listed in paragraph 1–12 of this regulation. Further, soldiers are not authorized to wear distinctive uniforms or uniform items of the U.S. Army or of other U.S. Services with, or on civilian clothes, except as provided in chapters 27 through 30 of this regulation.