Posted on 02/05/2018 12:41:01 PM PST by Strac6
Pictures at link.
Scroll down to the "new" Operational Combat Uniform. Basically the same uniform 75th Rangers had, (and LRRPs and Snake Eaters wore when not in Tiger Stripes) in Vietnam 50 effing years ago.
Change # 7352A .... at a probable cost of 70 Bazillion Dollars!!!
to be replaced next year by.....
Why on earth do sailors NEED camoflage in any color or style? Combat MOS, sure, but SeaBees and SEALs seem to adopt whatever Marines use.
Enlisted troops are given a stipend for their uniforms in their paycheck every month. It does not cover what they really need to replace uniform parts, especially the troops that are always in cammies. Each cammie piece runs about $50 and that does not include getting the name and service tapes sewn on.
Officers have to pay out of their own pocket. When I graduated ROTC we were given a one-time stipend of $300. That covered most of the cost of one Service Dress uniform or part of a Mess Dress uniform.
A couple years ago a Navy Captain(now Admiral) friend of mine who was a part of the uniform board back then told me the Navy cammo was to help keep snipers from targeting the troops while they were walking around on their ships when in foreign ports.
Good, maybe they will resurrect the khaki class B uniform which was a great looking ensemble.
But does it accommodate pregnant gals?
“Personally, I hate service avoiders.“
Personally, I hate watching valuable resources being pissed away when the folks at Mossy Oak could do a better job at 1/3 the price.
USMC Vet.
L
Bring back the pickle suit. /s
And give the black berets back to the 75th. No /s.
“Nothing smarter than being dressed to blend in with the ocean if ever finding yourself overboard in the middle of the ocean.”
Or standing on the deck of a grey thing the size of a city block.
I still recall our anger after scoring some army "K-rations) or whatever they were. We knew we were being shat on.
Months of eating dogfood made before we were born. Wife still gags when I tell her of the joy opening a can in the dark and digging into 1/4" of congealed 20+ year old grease.
I’ll second that. I have friends in the Army and when they got their new ACUs, I had to laugh. The original “Universal Camouflage Pattern” ACUs were universally bad. They didn’t blend in with anything anyone could find.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Camouflage_Pattern
“The U.S. Army reported to the media that the basis for the UCP was the Urban Track pattern, which had been modified through the removal of black from the pattern and pixelated. Why the Urban Track pattern was used as the basis for the design given that it received the poorest ratings in visual detection from the Natick Soldier Center’s testing,[14] was unexplained. Pattern comparisons subsequently established that the information provided by the U.S. Army was incorrect, and that the pattern was simply a three-coloured version of MARPAT, itself a derivation of the Canadian CADPAT scheme. No evidence has been presented by the U.S. Army that the new UCP pattern ever underwent proper field testing.
Following building criticism of the poor effectiveness of the pattern in most terrains but importantly the Afghan and Middle Eastern theatres of operations, the use of the pattern was discussed within the US Senate.
When passed by the Senate, House of Representatives Bill 2346 required the Department of Defense to “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 Army subsequently initiated re-evaluation of existing and alternative camouflage patterns to determine if this was a necessary action.[17] In recent tests conducted by the U.S. Army’s Natick Soldier Center, results indicated that three other patterns did significantly better than UCP in desert and woodland environments.[18] Four commercial submissions were tested to replace UCP for Army use.[19][20]”
However, someone finally did find a background the ACU/UCP would actually blend into - grandma’s old parlor couch: http://popularmilitary.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ACU-pattern-couch.jpg
See my post above - Natick didn’t actually select that camo pattern. In fact the pattern that was selected was actually one that Natick had noted was terrible. Somewhere between Natick and issue, someone screwed it up.
I’ll take on part of that. Some idiot in the Army decided on the camo pattern for the original change from the BDU to the ACU. The camo pattern actually made our troops *more* visible rather than less - and a number of our troops have been killed because their ‘camo’ uniforms served instead to highlight them against a background they couldn’t blend with.
I can see that... though I would like to see some definitive comparisons/data. But not if we the taxpayers have to foot the bill for it.
See links in post 91.
I’m fairly sure that it was Natick’s ugly baby: I got in a debate with the PM there about the army uniform and that’s where I was told the “black doesn’t exist in nature” craziness. I asked that guy what color a shadow or deep shade was and he didn’t respond.
I love that “couch camouflage” picture - shows you how bizarre the army’s choice really was.
Hope they finally get something that works well and looks good. I keep seeing Doggies around town wearing that grey crap to the grocery store and it’s not exactly a recruiting tool.
I hated the Ham and Eggs and the Turkey Loaf but I liked the Beef and Rocks (Beef and Potatoes), Beans and Balls (Beans and Meatballs), the Ham, Sliced, and the Beans and Weenies when I could get them.
No point in being picky when you're 10,000 miles from home and the neighbors are really trying to kill you - and the cigarettes are free.
Really? Rather speak Chinese?
If you're going to sit out the war while some other people's children are taking the risks, pay your damn taxes or move to another damn country.
Ah, but the “Beefsteak”, there was a delicacy with the enticing aroma of Alpo.........
“I’d love to see the set of pumps she would match with them.”
I will ask her to work on it. But hey, don’t ask, don’t tell. Oh wait, nix that. Not sure about asking, but telling is OK now. And it ain’t just the Navy any more. Go Army, beat(?) Navy! Hey I am a 22 year Army veteran, so I am allowed. Have a nice day;-)
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