ZNR UUUUU
R 041700Z AUG 22
FM NDHQ C NAVY DGNSR OTTAWA
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NAVGEN 021/22 RCN 029/22
SIC WAN
BILINGUAL MESSAGE/MESSAGE BILINGUE
SUBJ:NAVAL ENHANCED COMBAT UNIFORM (NECU)
REFS: A. NAVORD 5250-0, DRESS REGULATIONS
B. NAVORD 5250-1, NAVAL DRESS COMMITTEE
C. NAVORD 5250-2, PERSONAL APPEARANCE
D.
HTTP://RCN-MRC.MIL.CA/EN/DRESS.PAGE
1. THE COMMANDER OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY (CRCN) IS PLEASED TO
ANNOUNCE THAT THE NAVY OPERATIONAL DRESS WILL BE TRANSITIONING FROM
THE CURRENT NAVAL COMBAT DRESS (NCD) THREE PIECE ENSEMBLE TO THE
NAVAL ENHANCED COMBAT UNIFORM (NECU) TWO PIECE ENSEMBLE
COMMENCING IN
SEPTEMBER 2022.
2. THE NECU UNIFORM HAS BEEN IN DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION SINCE 2016
WHEN THE FIRST CONCEPT UNIFORM WAS REVIEWED BY THE NAVAL DRESS
COMMITTEE AND PRESENTED TO THEN CRCN WHO APPROVED THE NECU CONCEPT.
THE NECU HAS GONE THROUGH SEVERAL PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENTS AND A
MATERIAL ASSURANCE TESTING FROM 2017 TO 2019 AS WELL AS A USER TRIAL
WITH 400 TRIAL PARTICIPANTS IN NOVEMBER 2019 TO APRIL 2020 TO
FINALIZE THE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS. BASED UPON TRIAL PARTICIPANTS
USER REVIEW AND INPUT THE FINAL DESIGN WAS APPROVED IN NOV 2020 AND
THE NECU MOVED INTO THE TEXTILE MATERIAL AQUISITION AND UNIFORM
PRODUCTION PHASE.
ONGOING PRODUCTION HAS NOW PROVIDED SUFFICIENT
STOCK TO MOVE INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE.
3. THE NECU WILL BE PROVIDED TO NAVAL PERSONNEL THROUGH A HYBRID
ATTRITION PROCESS WITH AN ACCELERATED ISSUE TO SELECT PERSONNEL. THE
ACCELERATED COMPONENT WILL PRIORITIZE FIRST ISSUE TO NEW SAILORS
GRADUATING FROM BASIC MILITARY QUALIFICATION/BASIC OFFICER MILITARY
QUALIFICATION TRAINING AS WELL AS CURRENT SAILORS FROM THE RANK OF
SAILOR 3RD CLASS TO SAILOR 1ST CLASS. NON-COMMISSIONED MEMBERS AT THE
RANK OF MASTER SAILOR AND ABOVE, AS WELL AS OFFICERS, WILL CONTINUE
TO BE PROVIDED THE LEGACY NCDS UNTIL THE REMAINING WAREHOUSE STOCK
SIZING OF NCDS HAS BEEN CONSUMED. ONCE NCD SIZING STOCK IS CONSUMED,
SAILORS AT THE RANK OF MASTER SAILOR AND ABOVE, INCLUDING OFFICERS,
WILL THEN BE ISSUED THE APPROPRIATE SIZED NECU REPLACEMENT ITEM(S).
AS THIS MAY MEAN THAT SOME NCD ITEMS ARE EXHAUSTED EARLIER THAN
OTHERS, SAILORS WILL BE PERMITTED TO WEAR A MIX OF BOTH NECU AND NCD
ITEMS UNTIL THEY HAVE RECEIVED ALL NECU ARTICLES OF CLOTHING. THAT
IS, IT WILL BE PERMISSIBLE TO WEAR NCD JACKET/SHIRT WITH NECU PANTS
OR VICE VERSA, NECU SHIRT WITH NCD PANTS. AS NCD STOCK IS EXHAUSTED,
OVER TIME, THE RCN COMMUNITY WILL BE FULLY ISSUED WITH THE NECU
ITEMS.
THE HYBRID ATTRITION PROCESS TO TRANSITION FROM NCD TO NECU IS
EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED IN FY 2025/26.
4. THE ACCELERATED ISSUE COMPONENT WILL FIRST BE IMPLEMENTED IN
MARITIME FORCES ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC UNITS WITH AN INITIAL STOCK TO
SUPPORT NECU ISSUE TO 500 PERSONNEL PER FORMATION FOLLOWED BY MONTHLY
RATE OF CONVERSION OF 200 PERSONNEL. AS FURTHER STOCK PRODUCTION IS
RECEIVED, THIS ACCELERATED COMPONENT WILL BE EXPANDED TO OTHER
LOCALES TO SUPPORT THE NECU IMPLMENTATION FOR SAILORS 3RD THRU 1ST
CLASS.
5. THE NECU IMPLEMENTATION IS MANAGED JOINTLY BY DIRECTOR OF NAVAL
REQUIREMENTS AND DIRECTOR SOLDIER SYSTEMS PROJECT MANAGEMENT. FURTHER
DETAILED IMPLEMENTATION INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE PROVIDED TO BASE, WING,
ASU AND CFSU/CFSG. OPI FOR QUESTIONS ARE DNR NECU PROJECT DIRECTOR,
MR MARK DE SMEDT, DNR 3-7 MARINER DECK REQUIREMENTS AND DSSPM PROJECT
MANAGER MS LORIANNE HAWDUR DSSPM 2-6 OPERATIONAL CLOTHING