Sports
Army-Navy Game 2024: Ranking Army’s specialty uniforms for this special rivalry
Stars and Stripes
December 12, 2024
Jaxson Deaton acknowledges the cheers after Army defeated Navy in the 2018 rivalry game. The Army wore uniforms inspired by The Big Red One. (James E. Harvey/U.S. Army)
The 125th edition of the Army-Navy game kicks off Saturday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
This unique rivalry — aside from the players themselves (future soldiers, sailors and Marines) and the unmatched history — in recent years has added a special feature: Specialty uniforms. Nike created special uniforms for the teams for the first time in 2008.
Here’s a ranking of the top 10 uniforms the Black Knights have worn against Navy heading into the 2024 contest.
10. 2008 — Camouflage
Army’s first specialty uniforms for the rivalry, made by Nike, featured combat uniform camouflage on the pants and helmets. (Army West Point Football)
Army’s first specialty uniforms for the rivalry featured combat uniform camouflage on the pants and helmets. West Point was printed on the pants, and “Duty Honor Country” is on the back of the jersey. (Army’s offense certainly could not be seen in the 34-0 loss.)
9. 2015 — All about the helmets
Army’s helmets for the 2015 Army-Navy game. (Army West Point Football)
The uniforms were simple, white jerseys and black pants. The helmets played the starring role: Black, with different symbols for each position that represented the areas cadets can pursue, including infantry, artillery, aviation, etc. Nice idea.
8. 2020 — 25th Infantry Division
Army’s uniform for the 2020 game was olive drab, and the helmets featured the division’s lightning patch and a nametape that read “Tropic Lightning.” (Nathan Burke/U.S. Navy)
The entire uniform was olive drab, and the helmets featured the division’s lightning patch and a nametape that read “Tropic Lightning.”
7. 2019 — 1st Cavalry Division
The 2019 uniform tells the story of the soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division. (Army West Point Football)
The 2019 uniform tells the story of the soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division and the birth of air mobility during the Vietnam War. The uniforms featured olive-drab helmets with gold cavalry insignia, olive pants with “United States” stenciled down the legs and white jerseys with the big yellow horse insignia.
6. 2022 — 1st Armored Division
Army honored the “Iron Soldiers” of the 1st Armored Division. The olive uniforms showed a spatter pattern to mark the mud turned up by the tanks. (Army West Point Football)
The division’s patch was on the helmet and gloves. (Army West Point Football)
Army honored the “Iron Soldiers” of the 1st Armored Division who spearheaded the first ground-based attack by the United States in World War II. The 2022 game marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Torch, which began American ground operations against Axis forces in the European theater, which included North Africa. The olive uniforms showed a spatter pattern to mark the mud turned up by the tanks. The division’s patch was on the helmet and gloves.
5. 2023 — 3rd Infantry Division
The Black Knights’ uniforms are inspired by the 20th anniversary of the 3rd Infantry Division’s participation in the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (Army West Point Football)
The division’s nickname “Rock of the Marne” is featured on the helmets. (Army West Point Football)
The Black Knights’ uniforms are inspired by the 20th anniversary of the 3rd Infantry Division’s participation in the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The uniform pays tribute to the division’s “Dogface Soldiers,” with the division’s nickname “Rock of the Marne” on the helmets.
The tan coloring is meant to evoke the deserts of Iraq. A 3rd Infantry Division patch, streamer and unit insignia add to the tribute.
4. 2017 — 10th Mountain Division
Army players celebrate a touchdown during the 2017 Army-Navy game in Philadelphia. (Zane Ecklund/U.S. Army)
The crossed skis image on the front of the helmet is an unofficial insignia purchased by soldiers during World War II from local craftsmen in Italy. It was meant to reflect the group’s Alpine origins. (Army West Point Football)
A panda bear mascot image on the cleats. (Army West Point Football)
The uniforms paid tribute to the World War II-era 10th Mountain Division, with white uniforms and white featuring gray lettering (Nike’s Bill Bowerman had served the 10th Mountain Division). Players wore patches honoring the 18 units that were part of the 10th Mountain Division. The undershirts and cleats honored the division’s roots at Camp Hale near Pando, Colo.: The Pando Commandos.
3. 2021 — Task Force Dagger
The 2021 uniforms paid tribute to Special Operations soldiers who went into Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. (Army West Point Football)
On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11, Army paid tribute to the Special Operations soldiers who were the first to go into Afghanistan following the attacks. The pants and helmets were desert combat camouflage, with the Special Forces motto “De Opresso Liber” — Latin for “To free the oppressed” — on the front, and “United We Stand” on the back.
2. 2016 — 82nd Airborne
The helmet design highlights the netting and hand-painted camouflage shapes that help disrupt the form, along with showcasing an array of authentic, era-specific tactical symbols. (Army West Point Football)
The design pays homage to authentic WWII era paratrooper jump suits. (Army West Point Football)
Army hit the big leagues with these specialty uniforms in 2016, paying tribute to the 82nd Airborne. The design pays homage to authentic WWII era paratrooper jump suits with division patch, oversized 48-star American flag patch, player name tapes and historical unit patches. Additionally, initial members of the 82nd Airborne Division represented each of the continental states, informing their “All American” nickname and iconic “AA” shoulder patch.
These are great uniforms.
1. 2018 — The Big Red One
The all-black uniforms, which emphasized the red, paid tribute to the 1st Infantry Division, the first permanent division of the U.S. Army. (Army West Point Football)
The sleeves of the jerseys honor the Black Lions of Cantigny. That’s the nickname for the 1st Division’s 28th infantry, which emerged victorious at Cantigny, first major American battle and offensive of World War I. (Army West Point Football)
The all-black uniforms, which emphasized the red, paid tribute to the 1st Infantry Division, the first permanent division of the U.S. Army. The uniforms featured the unit patches of infantry regiments that make up Big Red One. They are striking. And No. 1 for the purposes of this ranking.