follow the $$$$$!!!!!However, the camouflage absolutely sucks. It defies the most basic concepts in camouflage! This is basic stuff:
1. Match colors to surrounding 2. Break human body pattern (people see patterns) 3. Reduce light reflections 4. Match pattern size to patterns in environment 5. Match pattern shape to shape of patterns in environment
It's that simple-
The ACUs universal camouflage pattern fails because what they really tried to do was to create a "jack of all trades" which we know ends with "master of none." So bad is this camouflage, that just a light brown (no pattern at all - coyote) would work better in Iraq and most of Afghanistan. This universal camouflage is essentially ineffective everywhere, and multicam is only marginally better, but because it has a cool factor it will live on. There is no such thing as a "universal camouflage," unless you're a Chameleon. You can likely group certain types of terrain/vegetation together and have two (like the Marines) but for sure three basic patterns with colors that cover near all of the world where we would likely fight, but the idea of a single camouflage is unrealistic even if we use computers and elaborate processes to come up with some gee-wiz solution that on paper tells us it's a mathematical average of colors, patterns etc. If we want to equip every soldier with uniforms that work, we need to issue them at least two but likely 3 different cammo sets.
The other alternative is to issue one camouflage pattern and simply use the one that is in demand, as in the Cold War where we issues woodland as a standard to all. The old 3 color BDU was for desert actually a superb camouflage and the old woodland was great in northern Western Europe or Korea. It also worked very well in jungles may that be Asia, Africa or Central/South America. They should have thrown the old 3 color desert on the new uniform, and they would have had something very nice for Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever else we find ourselves in the Middle East/North Africa/Persia/or some Stan in the future.
These areas are the center of mass for our foreseeable future regards security, as it is for Europe, and we are only fooling the public temporarily in believing we are disengaging from that region. We can't: oil, radical Islam that is exported and governments there breed, long range missiles, nukes, US persons in these countries, vast emerging markets, arms trade, piracy, major canals connecting the world, allied nations like Israel that get attacked... If it's not Egypt, Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq, Tunisia, Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan (in the future they will be in trouble too - rising militant Islam, old tiring dictator)... it will be someone else in that region. This is where we will be for a long time, just accept it. The 3 pattern desert was a great pattern. Those troops heading to Africa, Asia, etc will likely be part of smaller contingencies and could be equipped on an as needed basis, as we did with desert and arctic camouflage in the Cold War.
I suppose the new uniform needed a new cool camouflage, so sticking with what worked very well wasn't an option.
If you military guys and gals don't agree...he'll issue an executive order...or something like that.
Pink!
follow the $$$$$!!!!!I don’t know why everyone criticizes the universal camouflage pattern; it’s just as good as universal health care under ObamaCare.
Invisibility Cloaks.
Meanwhile, Taliban do just fine without a uniform.
I would just use whatever American Veterans are wearing because the people at the Veterans Administration can never see them.
This is Obama’s America. The new uniforms will have a target on them that also glows at night.
once upon a time, operators had to make their own from simple green utilities and black spray paint... 
The ACU is nice, but they’ve gotta lose the hook-and-loop, lose the drawstring, and the seat gusset could be better. I like the new pocket locations though, especially on the “combat shirts”, which I wish we’d had in the Gulf War.
On a semi-related note, I’d appreciate any empirical info from anyone on the thread on all the new “tactical” boots. They all seem to have glued soles, instead of vulcanized or welt soles. My experience is that those don’t last long under hard use, so I have steered clear of them, but it’s getting tough to find the old-style boots, and most don’t match up well with the new uniform.
5 billion for a million soldiers. That’s about 5000 bucks a soldier. Wasteful BS.
First time I saw them, I almost fell over laughing at the poor squid wearing them.
It was a true "WTF?" moment.
The Marine Corps still use 2 basic camo patterns - one woodland MARPAT (Marine Pattern) and one desert MARPAT. Multicam, the camouflage pattern used in Afghanistan, worked pretty well during several western hunts a friend and I organized. The British have developed a version of Multicam using some of the shapes from their old woodland DPM (disrupted pattern material) combat uniform.
My nephew gave me one of his ACU shirts in Multicam for the aforementioned hunting. Like one of the other commenters, I found too much going on. The hook-and-loop system, the zipper and the gusseted back seem superfluous compared to the Marine Corps Combat Uniform blouse.
I guess that’s what happens when you have gays running lose in the military uninhibited. At least you’ll look fabulous when some nut in a turban kills you. People are so stupid.
Which Congresscritter's spouse will get the contract ?