What’s with you two?
1. The army BDUs in digital concrete grey sucked: lousy camouflage, odd neck closure. They needed a better combat uniform.
2. Uniforms evolve, as they should to meet new requirements.
3. If it costs a “Bazillion dollars” so what? Those soldiers are some of very few able-bodied folks volunteering to maybe face death for all of us. Better uniforms and maybe better weapons are the least we can do for them.
I hope you are jesting. I served 23 years in my beloved Corps. We changed our uniforms a couple of times while I was active but not to the extent that the Army has. Just poking fun at the Old Dogs.
As to new requirements, the Army BDU did not change based upon a new requirement. It changed because folks at the Pentagon wanted something modern.
Better uniforms, great, but why did they waste huge $ going through about 5 other styles before going back to what worked 50 years ago?
PS, everyone who cares about soldiers should read ‘Dereliction of Duty’ by (then) COL H.R. McMaster. It tells the truth about the JCS - LBJ - McNamara criminal actions that led up to RVN as we knew it, and killed 50,000 servicemen.
It so POed the then JCS when he wrote it, they almost stopped him at COL.
First book that ever got me really mad about RVN.
Because this smacks of painting one of the rooms on the Titanic as the ship is going down. Every dollar available should be focused on readiness. I have this nagging feeling we’re seeing the late 1930’s all over again. So tell me how many times has the USMC changed their Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform in the last 20 years?