The Army’s pixelated camouflage uniform is getting scrapped — after costing $5 billion and making soldiers easier targets because the design stood out in nearly every environment they were worn in, according to a report in The Daily. Researchers at the Natick Soldier Center in Natick, Mass. told The Daily that the gray-green uniform debuted in 2004 after Army brass interfered in the selection process, choosing looks and politics over science,
Researchers are now testing new patterns to replace the gray Universal Camouflage Pattern, known as UCP, and troops in the field have been given a greenish, blended replacement called MultiCam, according to The Daily.
“Essentially, the Army designed a universal uniform that universally failed in every environment,” an Army specialist who served two tours in Iraq, wearing UCP in Baghdad and the deserts outside Basra, told The Daily. “The only time I have ever seen it work well was in a gravel pit.”
“As a cavalry scout, it is my job to stay hidden. Wearing a uniform that stands out this badly makes it hard to do our job effectively,” he said. “If we can see our own guys across a distance because of it, then so can our enemy.”
Source: The Daily ["$5B CAMO SNAFU: Army ditches failed combat uniform that put a target on grunts’ backs for 8 years" by Erik German on Sunday, June 24, 2012]
Poster Comment:
Excerpts from thedaily.com article:
“It got into political hands before the soldiers ever got the uniforms,” said Cheryl Stewardson, a textile technologist at the Army research center in Natick, Mass., where most of the armed forces camouflage patterns are made. The fact that the government spent $5 billion on a camouflage design that actually made its soldiers more visible — and then took eight years to correct the problem — has also left people in the camouflage industry incensed. The total cost comes from the Army itself and includes the price of developing the pattern and producing it for the entire service branch.
“They went to Home Depot, looked at paint swatches, and said, ‘We want that color,’ ” said Anabelle Dugas, a textile technologist at Natick who helped develop the pattern. That particular hue, she added, was part of a paint series then sold by Ralph Lauren.
Without enough desert-specific gear to go around, soldiers were going to war in three-color desert fatigues but strapping dark green vests and gear harness over their chests. At rifle distances, the problem posed by the dark gear over light clothing was as obvious as it was distressing.
Kristine Isherwood, a mechanical engineer on Natick’s camouflage team, said simply, “It shows where to shoot.”
The problem, the researchers said, was an oddly named branch of the Army in charge of equipping soldiers with gear — Program Executive Office Soldier — had suddenly ordered Natick’s camouflage team to pick a pattern long before trials were finished.
“They jumped the gun,” said James Fairneny, an electrical engineer on Natick’s camouflage team.
The brigadier general ultimately responsible for the decision, James Moran, who retired from the Army after leaving Program Executive Office Soldier, has not responded to messages seeking comment.