The Space Force’s new dress uniform saw its first official use with the graduation of newly commissioned officers from Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., on Thursday, a base press release said.

Seventeen guardians graduated into being officers at the ceremony, according to the release. About 100 trainees become officers in the service each year, it said.

The uniforms’ first formal use was originally expected to be at a graduation ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland this month.

The Space Force, which has roughly 9,400 members, announced in September that sizing for the service’s first dress uniform would begin by the end of the year after the uniform spent about four years in development. Since Space Force’s establishment in 2019, its members have primarily worn the Air Force’s dress uniform.

U.S. Space Force Maj. Derek Rose, an instructor at the officer training school, emphasized support from the other services and defense agencies in rolling out the new uniform, according to the release.

“Uniforms were being shipped from warehouses at Lackland and the Pentagon in order to get them here in time for our officer trainees to graduate,” he said, per the release.

Guardians are not yet required to order the uniform, and a mandatory wear-date is still pending, according to the service. Once the uniform is widely issued, Space Force officials will give members one year to order the uniform and prepare for its full implementation.

Stars and Stripes reporter Rose L. Thayer contributed to this report.

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• Space Force trainees to be first to graduate in new dress uniform