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Czechoslovakia Uniforms and Rank Insignia
In 1987 the Czechoslovak air and ground forces uniforms were
the same style and color, except for two air force officer messdress uniforms, which were blue as opposed to the traditional
olive green. Officers and warrant officers had three basic
uniforms (dress, service, and field) designed for year-round
wear. NCOs and enlisted personnel had only year-round and field
uniforms. The service uniform for officers and enlisted personnel
was worn for garrison duty and routine training activities and,
with minor variations, was used as a dress uniform by enlisted
men. The service uniform consisted of a single-breasted, opencollar , four-pocket, olive-green coat worn with matching
trousers, a khaki shirt, and a black tie. NCOs and enlisted men
wore this uniform with black boots and belt and an olive-green
garrison cap. A variation of the uniform for NCOs and enlisted
men consisted of olive-green trousers, a green-gray shirt, black
boots, and an olive-green garrison cap.
The summer service uniform for ground force officers
resembled that used by the NCOs except that it was worn with an
olive-green shirt, trousers with red piping on the outer-leg
seam, brown boots, Sam Browne belt, and a service cap. The air
force officer service uniform consisted of olive-green trousers
with blue piping on the outer-leg seam, a green-gray shirt-jacket
that buttoned at the waist, and brown, low-quarter shoes. The
summer service uniform for ground force and air force generals
resembled the officers' service uniform except that the former
was worn with a white shirt and had trouser-piping consisting of
two white stripes for the ground forces and two blue stripes for
the air force.
The NCOs and enlisted men had a summer and a winter dress
uniform that closely resembled their service uniform except that
it was worn with a white shirt and a service cap. A full-length
overcoat with a fur collar, a fur cap, and gloves were worn with
the winter dress uniform.
Ground force officers had a service/dress uniform that, with
the addition of a silver belt and aiguillettes, functioned as a
parade uniform. Both ground and air force generals and officers
had mess uniforms that consisted of an open-collar coat with two
waist pockets. The ground force uniform was olive green, and the
air force uniform was blue.
The field uniform worn by all personnel consisted of a lightgreen coat and trousers with a tear-drop and dark-green leaf
pattern that served as camouflage. In winter all personnel wore
this same uniform with a fur cap and a belted, single-breasted
overcoat that had a snap-in lining and a detachable collar. White
overalls were used for winter camouflage. The airborne troops
also had a tricolor (yellow, brown, and green), puzzle-piece
pattern camouflage uniform with a matching soft field cap.
In 1987 the rank insignia of ground and air force personnel
were indicated by gold and silver stars and round silver studs of
varying number and size. Rank insignia were worn with the field
uniform on shoulder-strap sleeves and on shoulder boards made of
the same material as the uniform. The shoulder boards and sleeves
of warrant officers were trimmed with silver piping, while those
of generals and field officers were trimmed with gold piping.
The rank structure of the armed forces was broken down into
twenty-one ranks: four general officer ranks, three field grade
officer ranks, four company grade officer ranks, three warrant
officer ranks, three regular NCO ranks, and four conscript ranks.
Traditionally, the rank of army general was reserved for the
minister of national defense, who was always an active-duty army
officer
(see
fig. 18).
Data as of August 1987
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