The UCP is Dead - Long Live the UCP!

How bad was the UCP?  Despite knowing it was crap. the Army spent $5 billion to replace the old BDU, and is now spending billions more to roll out Multi-cam to replace it.

Less than a decade after the so-called Universal Camouflage Pattern, or UCP, was introduced the Army is back to the drawing board, set to announce a new camouflage pattern and standard uniform to be worn by the more than million members of the active duty and reserve forces.

Evidence of the UCPs inadequacy as a combat uniform is easy to find—just look at pictures of soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan, they’re not wearing the UCP, which was deemed unsuitable for operations there, but a different uniform known as the MultiCam. In 2009, Congress responded to soldiers’ “concerns about the current combat uniform which they indicated provides ineffective camouflage given the environment in Afghanistan,” by passing a bill in the appropriations act requiring that the DOD “take immediate action to provide combat uniforms to personnel deployed to Afghanistan with a camouflage pattern that is suited to the environment of Afghanistan.” The result was the MultiCam. But that uniform, while it is currently worn in Afghanistan, was not a replacement but an interim substitution for the UCP, which is still the Army’s official uniform and the one worn by all soldiers not overseas.

Only 5 years after it was introduced the UCP’s failures had already become glaring enough to compel congressional intervention but despite the moratorium on its use in Afghanistan, it will have taken another 5 years for the Army to field its replacement.

Eventually, after mounting criticism and reports of the uniforms problems, the Army started looking for something better. This time, instead of hoping for a universal, one-size-fits-all design, an Army source who wished to remain unnamed explained that the Army solicited designs from companies for patterns with three variations, one for the desert, another for woodlands and jungles and a third, traditional semi-wooded pattern similar to the one currently used by soldiers in Afghanistan. After several rounds of testing, four patterns with three variations for each, from companies in New York, Virginia and Alaska were submitted to the Army to choose a winner.

Critics say this has been a huge waste of money.

But hey, it was great in one particular urban setting

By: Brant

Sound Off! More Camouflage!

Last week we asked about US camo.  This week, we want you to tell us what you think the most effective non-US camo pattern is out there...
British DPM?
German Flecktarn?
Something else?
Sound off below!

By: Brant

Sound Off! Camo Patterns

Everyone agrees the ACU sucks, but what was the most successful US camouflage pattern out there?  Which one was not only successful on the battlefield, but contributed to the positive image and appearance of the US Army?

BDUs?
Tiger-stripes (Vietnam era)?
Multi-cam?
Basic OD Green?
ACU / pixelflage?
MARPAT?

By: Brant

Army Ditching ACU in Admission it was a Failure

It's not just that it was a failure, it was how it was a failure.

The Army is changing clothes.

Over the next year, America’s largest fighting force is swapping its camouflage pattern. The move is a quiet admission that the last uniform — a pixelated design that debuted in 2004 at a cost of $5 billion — was a colossal mistake.

Soldiers have roundly criticized the gray-green uniform for standing out almost everywhere it’s been worn. Industry insiders have called the financial mess surrounding the pattern a “fiasco.”

As Army researchers work furiously on a newer, better camouflage, it’s natural to ask what went wrong and how they’ll avoid the same missteps this time around. In a candid interview with The Daily, several of those researchers said Army brass interfered in the selection process during the last round, letting looks and politics get in the way of science.

“It got into political hands before the soldiers ever got the uniforms,” said Cheryl Stewardson, a textile technologist at the Army research center in Natick, Mass., where most of the armed forces camouflage patterns are made.

The researchers say that science is carrying the day this time, as they run four patterns through a rigorous battery of tests. The goal is to give soldiers different patterns suitable for different environments, plus a single neutral pattern — matching the whole family — to be used on more expensive body armor and other gear. The selection will involve hundreds of computer trials as well on-the-ground testing at half a dozen locations around the world.

By: Brant

New "Reptilian" Camo?

Yes, it looks wacky, but if it's the most effective camo out there, why not buy it?

This month, soldiers will begin testing a camouflage pattern that looks more like reptile scales than terrain as part of the field-trial portion of the Army’s camouflage improvement effort.
The start of the field evaluation comes five months after Army uniform officials announced the finalists that had emerged from the service’s exhaustive Phase IV Camouflage Improvement effort. A handful of vendors were awarded contracts to make camouflage-patterned material for uniforms and equipment. Ultimately, the winner’s pattern could end up replacing the Army’s embattled Universal Camouflage Pattern, known as UCP, which was adopted in 2004.
Last fall, Army uniform officials completed tests that involved 900 soldiers taking a digital picture survey of camouflage patterns under consideration. The computerized survey had soldiers look at dozens of camouflage patterns and then rate their concealment performance.

An image from the company's site

What do you guys think? Would you head into battle looking like an enforcer for House Slytherine?

By: Brant

UK In Action: Minesweeper

A soldier is seen wearing Tier 3 of the new protective clothing to be worn by specialists in theatre and providing improved pelvic protection. The MOD unveiled the final phase of its ground breaking pelvic protection system that will provide increased protection to troops on the frontline in Afghanistan.

img from UK MoD

By: Widow 6-7

The Beret Is Dead - the OPFOR Rejoices

Can the armor force have their black berets back now that the US Army is going back to the patrol cap as the default headgear?

The voice of the Soldier has been heard: the Army announced the patrol cap will replace the black wool beret as the default headgear for the Army combat uniform.

Also changing are the options for how Soldiers can attach certain items to their ACU shirts. Army Chief of Staff Martin E. Dempsey said Soldiers will soon be able to sew on name tapes, service tapes, rank insignia and skill badges, instead of using Velcro.

The changes were made after Dempsey received input from Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III, who had been tasked to gather opinions from Soldiers in the field.

"I am a scout for General Dempsey, who asked me to look into everything a Soldier wears from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet," Chandler said. "These are changes that the field said they wanted to see."

Typically, uniform changes come as a result of a board that meets twice a year. But Chandler said issues surrounding both the ACU headgear and the use of Velcro were changes the Army chief of staff wanted to bring to the Secretary of the Army immediately.

Chandler said he spoke with "several thousand" Soldiers and also received comments via social media sites, like Facebook.

"I have also discussed this with my board of directors -- the most senior sergeants major of our Army," Chandler said. Post-deployment combat uniform surveys were used as a basis for the changes.

The No. 1 and No. 2 issues, Chandler said, involve the beret and Velcro.

Army service uniform microsite.

By: Brant

Maybe They Should Just Piss On The Uniforms to Mark Their Territory

The Marines are taking territorialism to new heights in their pissiness over camouflage patterns.

The Army in coming weeks will select its top camouflage contenders to cover your next combat uniform. A leading choice is the Marine Corps’ MARPAT.

But although the outgoing top enlisted Marine says you can’t use it, the Army general who launched the effort begs to differ.

The Army is spending as much as $10 million to field three new combat uniforms — a woodland variant, a desert variant and a “transitional” variant that covers everything in between. The Army in July will select five contenders: three from industry and two from the government. Wear and field tests will follow. If all goes as planned, production will begin in October 2012.

MARPAT is a leading contender. The pattern is so effective that the woodland and desert variants will be among the baseline patterns used in the forthcoming tests. The others are the Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern, or OCP; and AOR 1 and 2, which resemble the Marine desert and woodland digital patterns but are specially treated to reduce the wearer’s infrared signature.

Army officials have said they want soldiers to wear the best possible camouflage — even if that is the MARPAT. But Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlton Kent says don’t count on it.

The Corps owns the rights to MARPAT and wants to retain it for its own use, Kent said late last year. Marine officials said they have no beef with anyone researching and testing MARPAT, but they want Marines distinguished from other service members on the battlefield.

“The main concern for the Marine Corps when it comes to other services testing our patterns is that they don’t exactly mimic them,” said Kent, who is scheduled to retire June 9. “The MARPAT design is proprietary, and it’s important those designs are reserved for Marines. We just need to make sure each of our designs is unique to each service.”

h/t Doctrine Man

By: Brant

Even Army Public Affairs Has a Sense of Humor

This has got to be an April Fools joke, right? Is the stetson hat really going to be the new Army standard headgear?

WASHINGTON, APRIL 1, 2011 -- In a fingertip-to-the-brim nod to its American frontier history, the Army is changing hats again - returning to the tumultuous days of the horse Cavalry in the wild west and adopting a dark blue Stetson as the official headgear for the current force of 1.1 million Soldiers.

"We figure the Stetson will be popular with the troops," said Sgt. Maj. Bob S. Stone, Army Uniform Board headgear task force president. "It's been a while since we have changed the headgear, so it's time. Plus a Stetson is functional and down right American."

But reminiscent of the controversial switch from the garrison cap to the black beret, the Army faces opposition from one community deeply opposed to losing its special identity with the Stetson - the Armor branch.

"Why in the heck are they doing to us what they did to the snake-eaters?" asked one officer familiar with the board's deliberations. "If you ain't Cav, you ain't ought to be wearing a Cav hat. That just ain't right."

But the sheer functionality of the wide-brimmed American-classic Stetson won over the majority of the board.

"You can keep the sun out of your eyes, the hat won't melt to your head on a sunny day, and female Soldiers can tuck long hair under a Stetson a lot easier than with the current beret," says Stone. "Plus we've already gone back to blue jackets for the service dress uniform. The Stetson actually completes the look."

The voting of the board fell along predicable lines, but was completed weeks ahead of schedule. In a surprise move representatives from Forts Bragg, Campbell and several undisclosed forward locations around the world pushed the vote for the Stetson to a head.

Representatives from various garrison activities and the Human Resources Command tried in vain to keep the beret, citing the cache it brings to wearers as well as practicality. According a dissenting member, "at least you can fold a beret and put it in your pocket. Where are you going to put your ten-gallon hat in your cubicle?"

The beret is not completely leaving the Army inventory, as communities who previously wore berets will return to or keep their traditional colors of maroon (airborne), black (Ranger) and green (Special Forces). Additionally Rangers will be allowed to keep the tan beret for use in desert climates. "We've at least earned that, for all grief we took in losing the black beret in the last go-round," said one unidentified tab-wearing board member.

Stone refused to address rumors that the Army Uniform Board will next consider adoption of a black western-style or 'cowboy' boot to replace the current inventory of black low quarters for wear with the Army Service Uniform. Sources expect that if the board moves toward boots, the Armor community will likely push for the return of cavalry-use-only jodhpurs and spurs, as a concession for having lost its prior if informal and exclusive right to wear a Stetson.

There will be some restrictions on wear. In a nod to other dress blue uniform traditions, general officer Stetsons will be black and must have a completely flat brim. All other wearers of dark blue Stetsons will be allowed any combination of opposing but matching curls of the side brims, up-to-twenty-degrees up or down. However no single-side flapping of any portion of the brim will be allowed.

The Army's official adoption date of the Stetson will be April Fool's Day, 2012.

I guess it's a joke, eh?


By: Brant

Maybe The US Army Needs New Uniforms

That way, four-star generals don't get mistaken for waiters at White House dinners.

At a black tie event over the weekend, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett mistook the vice chief of staff of the Army for a waiter and asked him to get her a drink. She was, sources said, mortified when she later realized her mistake.

Jarrett, a senior advisor and assistant to the president for public engagement and intergovernmental affairs, was attending the annual Alfalfa Club dinner and was seated at the head table with other luminaries such as White House chief of staff Bill Daley, Supreme Court justices John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, the German and British ambassadors and Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff.

The Daily Caller’s Mike Riggs first reported that Jarrett had mistaken an unnamed general for a waiter.

Through the process of elimination – there were only four military officials at the head table – ABC News determined that the unnamed general was Chiarelli.

One attendee said that the head table was long with very little space behind those seated at it. Most of those bustling behind were waiters.

Cue Chiarelli, walking by in his dress uniform – with a chest full of medals and four stars on each sleeve.

Jarrett did not get a good look at him, not the least of reasons for which was she wasn’t wearing her glasses. She mistook him for wait staff.

“Could I please get another glass of wine?” she asked.

Chiarelli, who previously served as commander of the multi-national corps—Iraq, turned around.

Cue Jarrett, realizing her mistake: “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”

“She was mortified,” said someone at the table.

But Chiarelli laughed about it and the tension was relieved, attendees said.

Chiarelli later brought her a glass of wine as a joke.

By: Brant

Flame-Resistant Uniforms Issued To US Army Soldiers

New US Army uniforms protect against flash fires and look good too.

The Army has begun to deploy special, high-tech flame-resistant uniforms engineered to safeguard Soldiers in aircraft and armored vehicles who could be exposed to fire and flames during an attack, service officials said.

Called Fire Resistant Environmental Ensemble, or FREE, the uniforms are manufactured with specially-knit flame-resistant fabrics designed to provide lightweight protection and safeguard Soldiers from flames, wind and extreme temperatures.

"FREE is a cold- and wet-weather clothing system developed for our aviators and armored-vehicle crewmen who have a very high requirement for flame-resistant uniforms. In addition to providing all-weather capability in terms of keeping our Soldiers warm and comfortable and able to operate in any environment, it has very high levels of flame protection," said Col. William Cole, project manager for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment, the office which buys body armor and uniforms for the Army.

"If Soldiers are in a flash fire in an armored vehicle or aircraft, they are protected. They won't be burned," Cole said.

The first uniforms, designed in the standard Universal Camouflage Pattern, were deployed a few months ago, Cole said. In the next few months, aviators slated to deploy to Afghanistan will be issued MultiCam FREE uniforms, he added.

By: Shelldrake

Quotes That Don't Come Out Right

I promise, the following is a quote about the new proposed female-fitted version of the ACU, and not about the DADT policy...

"Women have so many different shapes and sizes, we're as not as 'straight' as men are," said Maj. Sequana Robinson.

Couldn't find any other synonyms, eh? "Linear"? "Blocky"? "Vertical"?
Nope, you had to go with "straight" - women in the Army aren't as "straight" as men. Thankyouverymuch.

By: Brant

Brits Ship New Camo to Afghanistan

The Brits have sent their new camouflage uniforms to Afghanistan

Soldiers began wearing the new Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) camouflage in Afghanistan in April 2010. It will be issued to all military personnel by 2012.

The camouflage is intended to help British troops blend into Afghanistan's varied terrain.

It was trialled in laboratory tests and field evaluations to assess overall performance, with pilot trials held before the final testing. This included aerial and scientific photography to provide the right colours and brightness for the new camouflage pattern.

By: Brant

Weekend Humor: Uniforms

Camouflage Uniform Wear Policies

MARINES: Work uniform, to be worn only during training and in field situations.

ARMY: Will wear it anytime, anywhere.

NAVY: Will not wear camouflage uniforms, they do not camouflage you on a ship. (Ship Captains will make every effort to attempt to explain this to sailors.)

AIR FORCE: Will defeat the purpose of camouflage uniforms by putting blue and silver chevrons and colorful squadron patches all over them.

By: Chuckles

It's Official: Army Selects New Camouflage for Afghanistan

From the Defense.gov News Release

The secretary of the Army announced today that the Army will provide combat uniforms in the MultiCam pattern to all soldiers deploying to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, starting this summer.

This decision follows a rigorous four-month evaluation and reflects the Army's commitment to giving soldiers in Afghanistan the most effective concealment possible.

Soldiers deploying to Afghanistan this summer will receive fire resistant Army combat uniforms in MultiCam, along with associated equipment including body armor, rucksacks, and helmet covers.

The Army's selection of MultiCam for soldiers in Afghanistan culminates phase III of a four-phase plan to thoroughly and deliberately evaluate camouflage alternatives.

The Army took action in fall 2009 to provide two battalion-size elements in Afghanistan with uniforms and associated gear in patterns other than the standard-issue universal camouflage pattern (UCP). One unit received uniforms and gear in MultiCam, and the other in a variant of UCP known as UCP - Delta.

In addition, the Army deployed a team of experts to Afghanistan in October to gather extensive data and photos on the diverse environments of Afghanistan, where soldiers often travel through multiple environments in a single mission, from snow to woodland to desert.

The Army incorporated the information gathered into a photo simulation study it then administered to nearly 750 soldiers who had deployed to Afghanistan. The study asked them to compare six patterns against eight different environments. The results, along with surveys of soldiers in the two battalions who received alternate camouflage, formed the basis for the Army’s decision on MultiCam.

By: Brant

New UK Uniforms

A soldier (right) models the latest Multi Terrain Pattern (MTP) camouflage soon so be issued to troops deploying to Afghanistan. On the left of the image, a soldier can be seen wearing the conventional desert camouflage currently in service in Afghanistan. It has been specifically designed for the Green Zone area that runs through Afghanistan where the regular desert terrain camouflage can be less effective. It is the first time since 1968 that the Armed Forces have changed the camouflage pattern. The Multi-Terrain Pattern will eventually become the new look of the British Armed Forces.

A close-up look at the detail of the new pattern.


Image: UK MoD

By: Widow 6-7

British Army getting new camouflage?

The Brits are getting new camouflage uniforms.

The uniform of the British Army is to be changed for the first time in almost 40 years.
The new Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) will replace the traditional four colour woodland uniform known as No.8: Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM).
Forces in Afghanistan will start to get the new uniforms in March next year, with the whole army upgraded by 2011.
MTP is designed for a wide range of environments, including the volatile 'green zone' of Helmand province.
British troops in Afghanistan currently use a mix of desert camouflage and temperate DPM, depending on which area they are operating in.
There are three main types of terrain in Helmand - desert, the agricultural 'green zone' either side of the Helmand river, and residential areas comprised of dusty buildings and mud huts.
One soldier said that the mix-and-match was far from ideal and made units stand out, especially in the 'green zone'.

By: Widow 6-7