PacCares Clothing

Alpha

Alpha Industries was founded on the belief that the U.S. armed forces deserved protective clothing that was of superior quality and delivered outstanding defense against extreme climate conditions. From our start in October 1959, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) awarded Alpha contracts to produce jackets for American service members, including iconic styles such as the N-3B parka and the MA-1 flight jacket. The company grew rapidly during the 1960s, as the Vietnam War led to a substantial increase in DOD production contracts. Lessons learned from intense battlefield experience also led to new technological advances in fabric and the manufacturing process. Alpha soon began producing infantry jackets, including the iconic M-65 Field Coat made legendary during the Vietnam War.

Throughout our early years of operation, Alpha Industries sold extra inventory to college military organizations and also across the army-navy surplus market. The Alpha brand experienced strong growth as non-government customers and international military organizations started requesting the popular flight jackets and field coats more and more. Non-Active military members, who had been given Alpha jackets during their service, fondly remembered the brand and began shopping for Alpha gear for wear in their civilian lives. In addition, genuine military “mil-spec” Alpha jackets became available to consumers through DOD surplus sales.

In the 1970s, commercial consumers fueled much higher demand for high-quality military clothing that could be worn as every day fashion. Alpha Industries began producing the famous MA-1 flight jacket and M-65 field coat specifically for the civilian market. Color options were expanded and the Alpha label was updated to host three bars instead of the one solid bar found on real government mil-spec jackets. The “three-bar” label gave factory workers an easy and quick way to distinguish the DOD jackets from those made for commercial sales. These three-bars quickly became synonymous with the brand and are still proudly part of our logo today.

Today, Alpha Industries is known around the world for its high-quality, military-inspired outerwear. We continue to produce the classic military silhouettes that are core to our heritage, as well as modern innovations in style and function. But no matter the jacket or coat, one thing will always hold true, the three-bar label will always represent the superior quality that we base our very reputation on.