Posted on 05/25/2014 12:41:07 PM PDT by null and void
The U.S. Army is quietly putting the word out to commands that it is replacing its current Universal Camouflage Pattern with a pattern the service has owned for more than a decade.
The Army's senior leadership has selected Scorpion, a pattern similar to MultiCam that was developed around 2002, according to a source with knowledge of the decision.
The Army was poised to announce the results of its multi-year camouflage improvement effort nearly a year ago, but congressional language in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2014 called on the Pentagon to put an end to the services branding their ranks with unique camouflage uniforms.
The Army has been considering replacing UCP with Crye Precision's MultiCam -- a pattern that has demonstrated consistent performance in multiple tests and was selected in 2010 for soldiers to wear in Afghanistan.
Army officials even tried to buy the rights to MultiCam but rejected Crye's figure of $25 million, according to Caleb Crye, owner of Crye Precision. Army officials also balked at paying for "printing fees" the company receives on MultiCam -- a small figure that amounts to about one percent of the 20 percent price hike uniform companies want to charge the Army for MultiCam.
And, ironically, in March 2013 the Army decided to drop the fifth finalist -- a government pattern developed at the Army's Natick Soldier Systems Center. The pattern, known as Scorpion, was too similar to one of the industry submissions, Army officials said.
The unique blend of greens, browns and tans has been a favorite of Special Operations Command for almost a decade. The Army selected MultiCam in 2010 as the clear winner over several other patterns to issue to soldiers deploying to Afghanistan.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
Saw three guys get out of a car the other day in really bright, almost dark neon blue camouflage outfits.
I thought, “WTF! Where in the world are these guys gonna be fighting? Is there some conflict going on in a lapis lazuli mine somewhere?”
Our military uniforms - dress, utility, and combat - all used to project an air of quiet competence back in the day when we won wars. Now it’s all flashy camo, patches up the ying yang, and more ornaments than a tacky Christmas tree - sad.
Color me an old fart nostalgic for what once was.
Gonna send full color photos to al-quaeda?
all these changes in uniforms just reinforces to me how bought and paid for our politicians are....I recall Clintoon ordered massive uniform changes just before he left office, but maybe I’m wrong about it...
And where will they be made? China?
It’s all about kick-backs and another form of corporate welfare. What is the justification for a “new camo”? Is the most recent “digital” camo ineffective? No. Is this new pattern better at concealing? No.
Here’s the skinny... Every time the camo pattern is changed, and the deadline set for changeover, every uniform has to be replaced. Most of the cost is on the back of the soldiers themselves - who have to pay for the new uniforms. And keep in mind - the majority of soldiers make less than the loony Left’s definition of a “living wage”.
Thanks!
“National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2014 called on the Pentagon to put an end to the services branding their ranks with unique camouflage uniforms.”
Soon it will be the global camouflage uniform to wear along with the other nations going against Israel in the end times battle.
Please tell me this is just Army and not the Marines. My son is hot out of boot camp and had to buy two sets of desert and forest camo. And that’s not to mention the dress blues and greens and shirts and training gear...
Does it come in pink?
We swarmed Europe and the Pacific theatre with men, guns, and massive firepower. Won unconditional surrender on two fronts, de-nazified/shintofied them, and came home. And most of them wore the drab tones of their respective branches. Not “autumn random twigs”.
I can’t.
In my experience, any uniforms you already own are allowed to be worn until unserviceable. For example, I continued to wear olive drab t-shirts long after they switched to brown.
enuf already - back to the olive green fatigues
the armed forces purchasers are as bad as university book stores that insist on changing text books every year to make the printers richer and better the kickbacks given.
I swear to the Almighty, the US Army spends more energy and money screwing around with their uniforms than A clique of teenage girls before the Prom. I like the Marine way: the Commandant says, we do. End of story. Downsize G-4 maybe?
TC
There’s no money to fund VA hospitals because they’re spending tax dollars on this hooey.
In the Army, uniforms used to be the responsibility of the Quartermaster Corps. Bad mistake. Then we turned it over to the NCO Corps, or more accurately, to a group of Sergeants Major at HQ DA and Major Commands. Another bad mistake that gave us the current Mall Cop uniform for Class A’s.
In the Marine Corps, the uniform is commanders’ business and they have always gotten it right.
The current Multi-cam based combat uniform used in Afghanistan is a good uniform and I’m glad that the Army has found a way to avoid paying royalties for it. Next step is to go back to looking like soldiers, not Mall Cops.
Oh, lovely, a pink panzer.
Good movie, fair series.
The military should just go back to olive drab and khaki. They worked well in the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam, so changing is just stupid.
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