Navy football uniforms for 2024 Army-Navy game explained: Jolly Rogers, The Bones and more

As if you could love the annual Army-Navy Game anymore, one of the most fun traditions that we've seen in the past several years are the special edition uniforms that each team wears. Typically, Army and Navy both honor a specific unit or squadron in the history of their respective military branches with jerseys, helmets and so on that have such insane attention to detail that it truly boggles the mind.

That is again the case for the 2024 Army-Navy Game and the Navy Midshipmen are set to honor the Jolly Rogers aviation unit. "The Bones", as they were often referred to, are one of the most iconic squadrons in the history of the Navy, so it's fitting that's the group being honored for the 125th playing of the most iconic single game in college football.

Here's a look at the absolutely gorgeous Navy uniforms being worn for the Dec. 14 Army-Navy Game:

But if you're wondering about the Jolly Rogers unit and, more importantly, the details of the Navy jerseys honoring them, you've come to the right place to figure it all out.

What is the Jolly Rogers aviation unit in the Navy?

The Jolly Rogers aviation unit, officially and currently called Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 103, first flew in 1943 and has piloted nine separate fighter aircraft over the last 63 years. They earned the nickname the Jolly Rogers because of their use of the Skull and Crossbones flag — you know, the one you probably most associate with pirates. That eventually earned this unit another nickname, "The Bones".

What makes this quite awesome for Navy football before we dive into a bit more history, is that the mottos for the Jolly Rogers seemingly fit perfectly for the gridiron and the Army-Navy Game specifically. "Fear the Bones" has been the tagline and "Victory" has been the call sign traditionally used for this squadron, which just sounds like something Brian Newberry might say in his locker room anyway.

But the Skull and Crossbones with the Jolly Rogers first flew in January 1943 aboard FRU Corsairs in VF-17 as part of the United States' efforts in World War II. They have since flown in many different wars and battles, including but certainly not limited to the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Currently, the Jolly Rogers are based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The current commanders of the squadron are Commanding Officer CMD. Jonathan Gilliom, Executive Officer CMD. William E. Dann and Command Master Chiefs CMDCM. Jose M. Rivera.

Navy football 'The Bones' uniforms explained

The devil's in the details, as they say, and in the case of these Navy jerseys, the details are in "The Bones".

The first thing that's noted is the coloring and blocking of the uniforms in terms of what it's mean. The color blocking is meant to be an exact replication of what we would see on the tails of Jolly Rogers aircraft. Meanwhile, the striping on the collar of the jerseys is also a reference to the tail of the aircraft, specifically the fin, as the stripe is also present there. As for the jersey's neck line, that is meant to represent the insignia of the squadron.

Going to the top for the helmets, the chevron patter and stripes are direct references to helmets of specific squadrons in the Jolly Rogers' history. The VF-84 unit is honored with the chevron pattern on the sides and front. Meanwhile, the VF-103 unit is alluded to with the base color that mimics what that groups helmets also look like in terms of color.

Rapid-firing some more of the details, the "NAVY" on the front of the jerseys represents what we see on the side of Jolly Rogers aircraft, same with the numbers that we would see on the flaps of the aircraft wings and the numbers on the jerseys. There's also an easter-egg-like quality as the inside of the collar of the jerseys holds the "Fear the Bones" tagline and a locker tag that is a reference to the VF-84 aircraft that were flown.

My favorite and perhaps the coolest details of the uniforms, though, come on the shoulders and the pants. On the shoulders, the angled stripe is the same as the one used by the Jolly Rogers but the sleeves and pants feature nine Chevrons, a reference to the nine aircraft this squadron has flown in its history. Meanwhile, the side panels of the uniform's pants also specifically honor six separate Jolly Rogers squadrons throughout history with extremely small text to give recognition for their place in history.