In 2014, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) required the Department of Defense to choose a single camouflage pattern to span all branches of the military. But in that time, there have been more than 50 variations that have been field tested or adopted. The US military’s use of camouflage only dates back 60 years. While designed to blend into any surrounding, soldiers pointed out that the UCP blended in nowhere. According to the Government Accountability Office, The UCP cost more than $5 billion to create, was not properly tested, and was widely considered a failure. In 2004, as the Iraq war was ramping up, the Army adopted a pixelated digital design known as Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP). Conversely, the Reconnaissance Team Zeta wore a local tiger stripe design in its cross-border operations. Rather than an all over look, the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP) and US Navy SEALS use a leaf camouflage patterns. The American M1 steel helmet featured the USMC Mitchell pattern, an overlapping blend of beige, dark brown, light brown, ochre, and russet leaf shapes over a tan background. ” They worked great in the jungle, but a different uniform was needed for beach conditions. the color combination earned it the nickname “ frogskin. Its reversible design featured a green and brown spot pattern on one side and a tan and brown spot pattern on the other, suitable for fall and early spring. The Pacific Theater camouflage developed in 1942 at the order of General Douglas MacArthur was designed by horticulturist Norvell Gillespie, the garden editor of Better Homes and Gardens.
It had adopted khakis as a summer look for Army and Marines, but the United States Corps of Engineers began a camouflage development project in 1940. By the close of the 19th century, khaki uniforms were ubiquitous in colonial deployments.Īs late as World War II, the US military had done little to develop camouflage. ” It became more widely adopted by other British-Indian forces during the 1857 Indian Mutiny. The ash-colored fatigues the Corps wore drew their name from the Persian word for their color, “ khaki. The British went a step further in 1848 when Sir Harry Lumsden outfitted a Corps of Guides in Peshawar (now Pakistan) in uniforms modeled after native attire the color of the soil. The tradition of red represented the Tudor Rose, but change is good. At this time, British rifle units switched to wearing green jackets and started blending into tree lines. Red is quite easily seen in most landscapes. A Brief History of CamoĪt some point, around the Napoleonic Wars actually, someone pointed out that the British wearing red coats was actually a poor choice vis a vis camouflaging themselves from sight and general guerilla tactics. It consistently re-designs its field wear to match the area in which they’re deploying troops for combat or peacekeeping missions. For the military, its fashions depend on the enemy. The US military continuously updates its camouflage uniforms, turning out new battle dress uniform (BDUs), combat uniforms and dress uniforms. While fashion designers have co-opted the modern patterns of military uniforms, their original use remains hiding from the enemy. Those simple, drab colors matched local trees. Camouflage has come a long way since its earliest uses by gamekeepers and irregular units to hide from both game and poachers.