Eisenhower jacket

Type of waist length jacket
the military jacket

The Eisenhower jacket or "Ike" jacket, officially known as the Jacket, Field, Wool, Olive Drab, is a type of waist length jacket developed for the U. S. Army during the later stages of World War II and named after Dwight D. Eisenhower. Intended to be worn on its own or as an insulating layer beneath the M 1943 Field Jacket and over the standard wool flannel shirt and wool sweater, it featured a pleated back, adjustable waist band, fly front buttons, bellows chest pockets, slash side pockets, and shoulder straps.

Until the late 1930s, the United States Army’s field uniform consisted of a wool flannel shirt and trousers, a mid hip length service coat also used as a dress coat, and a wool overcoat. Save for its waist that featured a leather waist belt for enlisted men or a Sam Browne belt for officers, the single breasted service coat resembled a suit or sport coat of the time; little about the design changed since the mid 1920s; it featured notched lapels and four brass buttons from its open collar to its belted waist. Made of wool fabric, it touted two flapped and button through patch pockets at the breast and two identically styled patch pockets below its waist – its four pockets either box pleated or bellows styled pleats. [[File:M1941 Jacket. jpg|thumb|Olive drab "Parsons Jacket". Built around the layering principle, the M 1943 became the basic building block of a multi environment, all season combat uniform being developed by the Office of the Quartermaster General (OQMG) for worldwide combat.

thumb|Eisenhower, wearing his M44 jacket, with some Allied commanders following the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender at Reims. The jacket that emerged was waist length, and made of 18 ounce olive drab wool serge. It featured notched lapels, a closable "storm collar", snag free fly front buttons and flapped, bellows breast pockets, shoulder straps for gear retention, and roomy sleeves to accommodate insulating layers. Staggered cuff buttons adjusted for layering or allowed a loose fit in warmer conditions, as did adjustable waist buckles. A pair of "action back" pleats extended from shoulder to waistband, providing freedom of movement with a slim fit. Intended to be worn on its own or underneath the M 1943 jacket, the "Ike jacket", was classified standard issue in November 1944, and additionally designated as the Army’s dress and parade uniform. Eisenhower died in 1969 and was buried dressed in his famous short green jacket.

Following the Guadalcanal Campaign, the 1st Marine Division under Major General Alexander Vandegrift were posted to the cooler climate of Melbourne, Australia. As the Marines had only their utility and tan summer uniforms, they were issued Australian army battle dress with the Marines calling the short jacket the "Vandegrift jacket". An American made, forest green version was issued to officers in December 1944 and to enlisted Marines in August 1945.

thumb| Former Chief of the U. S. Border Patrol Michael J. Fisher wearing the Border Patrol's version of the Ike jacket with peaked lapel

In 1947, the Army introduced a more closely tailored version of the Eisenhower jacket which was designated solely as a dress and parade uniform; the jacket was again modified in 1950 without button cuffs. With the later introduction of the Army Green "Class A" service uniform in 1957, the Ike jacket gradually began to disappear domestically but was still a uniform option for troops stationed in international theaters, but not in formation. In 1949, the United States Air Force (USAF), which had been spun off as a separate service in 1947, included an Eisenhower jacket in its new "Air Force blue" uniform color; it remained in use by the USAF until being retired in 1964. Thanks to its greater comfort and the unobstructed ease it offered while operating a vehicle or carrying a sidearm, the Ike jacket design became a popular post WWII uniform staple among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. Uniforms of the U. S. Border Patrol, the broader U. S. Customs and Border Protection, and the National Park Service use dress jackets that are based on the Eisenhower jacket. thumb|alt=U. S. Army Chief of Staff|US Army Chief of Staff General James C. McConville wearing an Eisenhower jacket at a public event in 2022. The new Army Green Service Uniform, announced in 2018 and made available in 2020, allows for the wear of an Eisenhower jacket as an optional item when the service coat is not worn.