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Camouflage Facts
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Olive Drab
This color of uniform was first used as
military camouflage in the 18th century. It has since become outdated
and is currently used by the armies of many third world countries. |
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"Duck Hunter" or "Frog"
Pattern
The US Army and Marine
Corps were issued full camo uniforms during the later part of WWII
called the "Duck Hunter" or "Frog" pattern. It was designed by the
Californian horticulturist Norvell Gillespie. In early 1942 it came as a
reversible one piece jumpsuit, which they found to become extremely
heavy when wet since it was 100% cotton. It also lacked a drop-seat,
making it necessary to disrobe for toilet functions. In early 1943 it
came as a two piece uniform. Both uniforms were reversible with a green
pattern outside and a tan pattern inside, suitable for use on a beach
landing (sand) or later in the jungle interior (green), typical of the
Pacific campaigns. |
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US M65 ERDL and M81
"Woodland"
This pattern is currently used by the US Army. It was first
introduced in the early 1980's. "Woodland" was based off of a similar
pattern called M65 Environmental Research and Development Laboratories
(ERDL), or "Leaf" pattern. M65 ERDL was designed in 1948 and the US used
during the Vietnam War from 1965-1967. These two patterns have been the
standard patterns for the Army's Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) from
1965-2005. |
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Tiger Stripe
Tiger Stripe was initially used in the jungles of Vietnam by U.S.
Special Forces and is now over 30 years old and still being used. It was
based on Vietnamese pattern, derived from French "Lizard" pattern. |
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US Desert 6 Color
"Chocolate Chip"
This 6 color camo pattern was used in Operation Desert Storm. It
was the first widely issued US desert camo uniform. The two browns are
almost impossible to distinguish from each other and the light green is
hard to see as well. So why go through the expense of 6 color printing
when only 4 colors are actually identifiable? |
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US Desert Tricolor
This pattern is the currently used for the US Desert Combat
Uniform (DCU's). It was first used in 1990 during Operation Desert
Shield. In preventing detection with infrared devices, Tricolor has a
30% improvement over "Chocolate Chip" due to the removal of the white
dots. |
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CADPAT-TW (temperate
woodland)
Canadian Military came out with a new digital pixilated pattern in
the 1990’s called CADPAT which brought the acclaim from NATO in field
testing. At the close of the 20th century the Canadian Army decided to
adopt a complete camouflage uniform (including equipment covers) for its
field troops. Up until 2000, the Canadians still used a mono-color green
uniform. CADPAT was the first digital pattern to go into mass
production. |
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TIGERPAT
If Tiger Stripe came second to a digital pattern why not evolve
Tiger Stripe into a digital pattern? Guy Cramer, one of the world’s top
experts on camouflage and designer of over 250 digital camouflage
patterns conceived of giving Tiger Stripe the digital makeover. |
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MARPAT Woodland
In 2000 the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) gave a directive to develop a
new and improved camouflage uniform. After initial evaluation, eight
potential candidates were selected from more than 100 after-market
camouflage. Because of other factors, this selection was further
narrowed down to the three best performers: Tiger Stripe pattern,
Canadian Pattern (CADPAT), and Rhodesian Disruptive Pattern Material
(Rhodesian DPM). The USMC considered adopting CADPAT for their new
pattern; however the Canadian government owns the copyright for the
pattern. These three selected patterns were scanned and digitally
edited; and a modified version of the Rhodesian DPM camouflage early
figured to be the favorite. There was, however, some feeling that the
USMC deserved something more original and distinctive than a
pre-existing pattern, suitably adapted.
After extensive laboratory analysis and testing, a variation of
the CADPAT pattern using the colors that had been used to modify
the Rhodesian DPM camouflage. The CADPAT pattern had been
empirically modified by well trained and seasoned Marine Corps
Scout Snipers, along with the Canadian Department of National
Defense and their extensive research used to develop CADPAT.
This modified version of CADPAT was selected and designated as
Marine Corps Pattern (MARPAT). MARPAT and Tiger Stripe were then
selected for print on actual material and taken for field
evaluation where MARPAT emerged as the victor.
The American MARPAT is a 4 color pattern based on olive greens and
browns. The camouflage pattern was officially designated Marine
Corps Combat Utility Uniform Pattern, and the introduction of
the new Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU) commenced in
2002. |
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MARPAT Desert
This 4 color pattern is the currently used for the Marines' desert
uniform. The uniform design is identical to the Woodland MARPAT uniform.
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MARPAT Urban
This 4 color pattern was designed by the Marines for an urban
uniform. This design has never gone into full production runs.
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ACUPAT
In 2004 the U.S. Army began to trial the new Army Combat Uniform
(ACU) with a new digital pattern called ACUPAT, also known as Universal
Camouflage Pattern (UCP) and officially designated as ARPAT. Based on
the Marines' MARPAT, ACUPAT is composed of three colors: sage-green
(woodland), grey (urban environments) and sand-brown (desert). Black was
omitted since it is not a color commonly found in nature. Nonetheless,
it is a color that creates depth, and in nature, shadows are often
perceived as black. The military feels there is no one camouflage that
is fool-proof in every situation, but ACUPAT does a very good job.
During development, it was speculated that with this pattern,
soldiers would need half as many uniforms, thereby saving
government spending. The problem of course, is that the uniforms
will still wear out at the same rate as the old one and end up
costing the government the same amount. The ACU has some radical
design changes compared to the BDU, such as canted pockets, hook
& loop fastener closures (in-place of buttons), wrinkle-free
material, and a Nehru collar. The ACU became standard issue for
all deployed troops in 2005.
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MultiCam
MultiCam is a modern multi-environment camouflage pattern
developed by Crye Associates in conjunction with U.S. Army
Soldier Systems Center (also known as U.S Army Natick labs). The
pattern was on the race to replace the 3-color
desert and Woodland patterns, but originally lost to
the Universal Camouflage Pattern in 2004, seen in the Army
Combat Uniform. However, it was commissioned in 2010 and will be
replacing the UCP pattern over time for use by US Army Units
serving in Afganistan. According to the Army’s test
results, MultiCam was the only camo pattern to rank first in all
three categories of the Army’s photosimulation evaluation.
MultiCam has background colors of a brown to light-tan gradient
and lime green blending in between, the main part consist of
green to yellowish green gradient and finally dark brown and
light pinkish blotches spread throughout the pattern. This
allows for the overall appearance to change from greenish to
brownish in different areas of the fabric, while having smaller
blotches to break up the bigger background areas. MultiCam hides
volume and form by tricking the human eyes perception of color.
MultiCam allows the object it covers to blend into the back
ground with the camo pattern. |
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Real Tree™
Widely used by hunters, this natural pattern works extremely well
for one specific environment. Real Tree is made specifically for the
North American environment. It has found its way onto many things other
than uniforms, such as rifles, vehicles, casual wear, and even women's
sleepwear (perfect for the wife of a redneck).
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Mossy Oak™
Widely used by hunters, this natural pattern works extremely well
for one specific environment. Mossy Oak is also made specifically for
the North American environment. It has found its way onto many things
other than uniforms, such as rifles, vehicles, casual wear, and even
women's sleepwear (perfect for the wife of a redneck). |
