Change coming for camo...?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by dragonfly, Jun 25, 2012.


  1. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    Army scraps eye-catching pixel camo uniforms

    Army scraps eye-catching pixel camo uniforms

    1 hr ago
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    After eight years and a reported $5 billion in development, the U.S. Army is ditching its pixelated-looking uniform in favor of something that doesn't look like it was borrowed from the "Contra" Nintendo game. The design, known as the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP), has failed at doing what camo should do: Hide our soldiers. "If we can see our own guys across a distance because of it, then so can our enemy," one Army specialist said. According to insiders, the design was selected after the Marines had switched to an eye-catching pixel-driven pattern. "That's what this really comes down to," the editor of Soldier Systems Daily said. "'We can't allow the Marine Corps to look more cool than the Army.'"

    Now that's funny! 8 years...and 5 billion dollars...all wasted...when all someone had to do was to OPEN their eyes!

    http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/06/24/062412-news-camouflage-fiasco-1-5/
     
    Brokor and BTPost like this.
  2. RouteClearance

    RouteClearance Monkey+++

    The ACU's durabililty was/is an issue. When we were in theater, the ACU's would fall apart after just a few months of wear.
     
  3. DarkLight

    DarkLight Live Long and Prosper - On Hiatus

    I know it isn't war but every time we've played woods ball paintball against the guys in digicam/multicam and we were in woodland camo, they stood out like sore thumbs and were easy to spot (yes, even in their subdued greens). And when we waxed them time and time again they would constantly say things like "where were you" or "I couldn't find you" or some such". Hilarious.

    No, I'm not a mall ninja. No, I don't equate paintball with being shot at for real and no I don't think I know dick about squad tactics but as far as camo goes...digicam and multicam were a waste as far as I could see because well, I could see it.
     
    tulianr likes this.
  4. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    We were burning ours after only 30 days in the field. What's funny, is that the ACU pattern blends perfectly with the Iraq/Iranian border zone right where we were at that point. Apart from that one area, we stood out like a sore thumb. The sewing on many of our ACU's was sub-standard, and they weren't even good cleaning rags.

    I like the multicam, but it's still not perfect. I honestly doubt any camo is perfect. The Marines always seem to adopt WHAT WORKS instead of fulfilling contracts to line the pockets of a few political idiots. It's just the way the Army is now...sad but true. Maybe they can get it right some day.

    I use multicam type clothing (X-Camo), and green or brown wool. I mix and match according to the time of year, and in winter I stick mainly with the browns, or use white and gray with snowfall. The military wants ONE camo to do everything --that's just not possible.
     
  5. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Both the old Woodland camo and the new digital camo stick out in my AO - they might as well be wearing pink & chartruese with LED lights on it. On the other hand, Realtree Hardwoods blends in......

    Maybe the Army should check out what the dedicated deer hunters wear.... stuff that WORKS! Just lose the required blaze orange panel.
    For desert, you can't beat basic khaki.
     
  6. Gafarmboy

    Gafarmboy Monkey+++

    British Disruptive Pattern Material

    Here is South Georgia I use a combination of Real Tree and DPM. Years ago I read an article that compared 20 or 30 Military and civilian camo patterns. If memory serves, DPM won 7 or 8 years in a row. I have used it in hunting as well as paint ball and it works. Like others, I run a combination of several different materials and patterns. It works well in the pines as well as in the hard woods. I have had the opportunity to hunt in north Fl. in the past few years and as stated, there really is not a camo pattern in the world that works among the palmettos.:D:D:D

    Gafarmboy
     
    tacmotusn likes this.
  7. wrc223

    wrc223 Monkey+

    Round here in the Northeast we commonly use Mossy Oak Hardwoods pattern. With our local forests, that works the best. The Infinity pattern looks real promising for our area as well. That is the pattern on my Mathews bow and it blends perfectly.
     
  8. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    Well if some people had brains they would be dangerous. This is what happens when you get a think tank to do things for you. All hail to the think tank. You wanna know what works? Ask soldiers on the battlefield and not some idiots whose ideas come from the Macy's sales paper. There is the one idiot that thinks one uniform works in all environments and he has no clue yet he orders it so. Snipers have the idea. They change according to environment and not with crap designs either. Our "designers" should have to go take classes to learn about camouflage. I wonder if they sit around in their Hawaiian shirts and chinos, drinking fru-fru drinks while trying to be hard enough to be soldiers "in their mind"?
     
  9. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    Green upland for summer and brown for winter--it works so why change. Nothing works perfectly but a bit of natural foliage attached makes a big difference. It is your outline and movement that is easiest to see. I have 5-6 different designs but normally use a 30 yr old set of reversables. They are beginning to get a bit ragged but are soft and make no noise when something brushes against them.
     
    Seawolf1090 likes this.
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