Multicam Selected as New Afghanistan Uniform

[MADAMESINCERE]

Secretary of the Army John McHugh has approved a new camouflage pattern for Army troops in Afghanistan.

The Army is changing the pattern under pressure from Congress, which heard complaints from dozens of soldiers who felt the existing UCP pattern is ineffective in the Afghan environments.

Monday’s edition of Army Times will have all the details of the new pattern, including who gets it and when and the wear rules that will come with it.



Hopefully they will change and give it to the entire Army, not just the Soldiers deploying.

[INGUARD]

http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/02/20/34738-soldiers-to-get-new-cammo-pattern-for-wear-in-afghanistan/index.html?ref=home-headline-link0

I will be out of here before the big summer push with the new issues. I will not get this since I always move by air and more of a FOBBIT now lol.

I saw UCP-Delta in Kuwait and they should give that to all soldiers and the deployed soldiers multi-cam.

[INGUARD]

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/02/army_multicam_030110w/

Army to replace camo pattern in Afghanistan

By Matthew Cox - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Feb 20, 2010 14:57:35 EST

The Army will begin fielding MultiCam, a more effective camouflage pattern for Afghanistan, in August. Soldiers deploying in late summer will be the first to receive the new versions of the Army Combat Uniform; soldiers already in theater will begin getting them in the fall.

MultiCam, made by Crye Precision LLC, bested the existing digital pattern and others in multiple Army tests.

MultiCam was “21 percent less detectable than UCP,” the pattern used in ACUs, said Col. Bill Cole, project manager for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment.

“MultiCam was the clear winner,” he said.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey was convinced of MultiCam’s effectiveness based on that statistic, Cole said.

“He’s an infantryman ... when he saw that, he said, ‘You mean I can get this much closer to the enemy before I’m seen?’” Cole said. “That’s what he wanted.”

Secretary of the Army John McHugh approved Casey’s recommendation Feb. 19.

The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, at Fort Polk, La., and the Iowa National Guard’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, will be the first to receive MultiCam. The new uniforms will also feature other improvements slated to be incorporated in all future ACUs over time, including an improved collar and buttons to replace some Velcro.

Soldiers will receive four sets of MultiCam uniforms, four combat shirts and matching combat gear, Cole said.

“Anything they would wear on a dismounted combat patrol will be in MultiCam,” Cole said.

The Feb. 19 announcement came after a multiphase effort that culminated with soldiers from Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Campbell, Ky., and Fort Drum, N.Y., evaluating hundreds of calibrated photos of the Army’s Universal Camouflage Pattern and five alternative patterns taken in different settings in Afghanistan.

[VFFSSGT]

Pretty sad when the civilian leaders have to tell the military leaders what proper CAMOUFLAGE to wear when in war...

[SSGArtillery]

wow, and they act like they didnt know that multicam was that more effective.... I dont know how many years its been since folks on these forums and across the service have been saying "hey multicam does this much better and ACU just plain sucks".... and to pretend like this is something new that has just been discovered is rubbish to say the least.... garbage commanders trying to cover for their mistakes... says a lot about the folks that went along with the ACU program.

[Yggdrasil]

As I understand it, Soldiers had FAR more complaints about the ACU's than the colors/camo pattern - including, but not limited to: velcro, rank on the chest, pin-on badges, and berets.

Looks like the change in camo pattern will be all for naught if the other complaints aren't addressed.

[INGUARD]

Today's ARMY TIMES piece.

Camo

change

Army to begin replacing digital in Afghanistan



By Matthew Cox

mcox@militarytimes.com
The Army will begin fielding MultiCam, a more effective camouflage pattern for Afghanistan, in August. Soldiers deploying in late summer will be the first to receive the new versions of the Army Com*bat Uniform; soldiers already in theater will begin getting them in the fall.

MultiCam, made by Crye Preci*sion LLC, bested the existing digi*tal pattern and others in multiple Army tests.

MultiCam was “21 percent less detectable than UCP,” the pattern used in ACUs, said Col. Bill Cole, project manager for Soldier Pro*tection and Individual Equipment. “MultiCam was the clear win*ner,” he said.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey was convinced of Multi*Cam’s effectiveness based on that statistic, Cole said.

“He’s an infantryman ... when he saw that, he said, ‘You mean I can get this much closer to the enemy before I’m seen?’” Cole said. “That’s what he wanted.” Secretary of the Army John McHugh approved Casey’s recom*mendation Feb. 19.

The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, at Fort Polk, La., and the Iowa National Guard’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, will be the first to receive MultiCam. The new uniforms will also feature other improvements slated to be incorpo*rated in all future ACUs over time, including an improved col*lar and buttons to replace some Velcro.

Soldiers will receive four sets of MultiCam uniforms, four combat shirts and matching combat gear, Cole said.

“Anything they would wear on a dismounted com*bat patrol will be in Multi*Cam,” Cole said.

The Feb. 19 announcement came after a multiphase effort that culminated with soldiers from Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Campbell, Ky., and Fort Drum, N.Y., evaluating hundreds of calibrated photos of the Army’s Universal Camouflage Pattern and five alternative patterns taken in different settings in Afghanistan.

The results from the com*puterized, photo-simulation test showed MultiCam as the “No. 1 performer.” Tests included pho*tographs taken in desert, woodland, crop*land and mountain ter*rain settings, Cole said.

Cole could not put a precise price tag on the effort, estimating the cost “in the tens of mil*lions” of dollars. But in September, Brig. Gen.

Peter Fuller, com*mander of Program Executive Office Soldier, put the cost of outfitting all soldiers in Afghanistan with MultiCam at about $300 million.

What’s next

Now the Army must decide what to do for other parts of the world.

The next challenge for the Army is to develop a camouflage strategy for the future.

A preliminary strategy for Army-wide camouflage is scheduled to be ready this fall, uniform officials said.

The camouflage controversy ignited in June, when the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., directed the Army to look at new camouflage patterns after “a dozen” Army sergeants complained that the pattern used in ACUs was ineffective in Afghanistan.

Among soldiers who tested the alternative camouflage patterns in the field, those who used MultiCam liked it substantially more than those who tested UCP*Delta, which added brown to the existing UCP color scheme.

“The unit that got MultiCam loved it,” Cole said, with 93 per*cent saying they “would like to wear it full time.” By con*trast, 74 percent spoke similarly about UCP-Delta. MultiCam features seven shades of brown, tan and green. It had already been a top performer in two previous Army studies.

One of the tests, “Photo*simulation Camouflage Detection Test,” conducted by U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Develop*ment and Engineering Center from March 2007 to March 2009, showed that MultiCam and three other patterns outperformed the existing UCP.

A previous Natick study, called “Computerized Visual Camouflage Evaluation,” conducted from November 2005 to July 2006, found that “MultiCam performed significantly better than the UCP in most conditions.” Separately, Army Special Opera*tions Command has also tested MultiCam in different environ*ments worldwide, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and found that it outperformed the Army’s standard pattern. Army special operations units such as Delta Force, some of the 75th Ranger Regiment and some Special Forces teams wear the MultiCam pattern instead of the UCP in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For the most recent photo-simu*lation test, a special team spent 17 days in Afghanistan, taking more than 1,000 photographs of camou*flage uniforms and equipment in desert, woodland, cropland and mountain settings between Kan*dahar and Bagram. Each photo*graph was calibrated to show the correct color despite varying day*light conditions.

The nine-man team — made up of representatives from multiple commands — went outside the wire nearly every day, providing




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


BRENNAN LINSLEY/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ROB CURTIS/STAFF






The MultiCam uniforms issued to soldiers in Afghanistan will be fire resistant and include several design changes to make them more durable and easier to wear.

The design changes:

■ Buttons replace Velcro fasteners on trouser cargo pockets.

■ The collar has been redesigned to lie flatter.

■ The crotch has been redesigned for strength.

■ The Velcro fasteners on the zipper flap of the blouse are resized for easier opening.

■ The first Velcro fastener on the blouse has been adjusted to improve the appearance when the collar is worn open.

■ The glint tape on the shoulder pocket has been relocated to the tuck-away tab to protect against wear and make it easier to remove for a direct exchange.

The changes are part of a separate effort uniform officials began working on in 2008 and presented to the Army Uniform Board last April.

The design changes were prompted by soldiers' com*ments about their Army Com*bat Uniforms, and their sug*gestions became part of a program to improve the ACU. — Matthew Cox

[Seasons]

As I understand it, Soldiers had FAR more complaints about the ACU's than the colors/camo pattern - including, but not limited to: velcro, rank on the chest, pin-on badges, and berets.

Looks like the change in camo pattern will be all for naught if the other complaints aren't addressed.

Hell, I'm not even a soldier and *I'll* complain about the rank on the chests. Do you know how hard it is to spot officers in bad light conditions? Had one try to bitch me out over it. I just apologized, told him his rank was hard to see, saluted, and left.

[INGUARD]

Hell, I'm not even a soldier and *I'll* complain about the rank on the chests. Do you know how hard it is to spot officers in bad light conditions? Had one try to bitch me out over it. I just apologized, told him his rank was hard to see, saluted, and left.

Finally we see eye to eye. ;) :D

[Seasons]

Finally we see eye to eye. ;) :D

"Uniforms: Well at least they unified something."

[Hawk Driver]

Now, they just need to field Multicam to the rest of the Army and we'd be good to go.

[MCGYVER]

Hell, I'm not even a soldier and *I'll* complain about the rank on the chests. Do you know how hard it is to spot officers in bad light conditions? Had one try to bitch me out over it. I just apologized, told him his rank was hard to see, saluted, and left.

If you aren't a Soldier why would you salute an officer?

[Seasons]

If you aren't a Soldier why would you salute an officer?

Cause I'm an Airman. I did miss capitalizing Soldier, I see now.

[NMWH1985]

Hopefully they will change and give it to the entire Army, not just the Soldiers deploying.

Not quite following here.

Do you wish they would give it to the entire Army because it makes logistical sense to wear the same uniform on deployment as you do in garrison, or because you'd rather walk into Golden Corral on your lunch break in a better looking pattern?

If it's the first reason, then I concur.

If it's the second, then I would submit that it doesn't really matter what we wear in garrison, as long as its functional for the job being performed. This is the same sense of entitlement that led Shinseki to adopt the black beret. The soldier makes the uniform, not the opposite.

[MCGYVER]

Cause I'm an Airman. I did miss capitalizing Soldier, I see now.

Oh, okay now I understand.

[MADAMESINCERE]

Not quite following here.

Do you wish they would give it to the entire Army because it makes logistical sense to wear the same uniform on deployment as you do in garrison, or because you'd rather walk into Golden Corral on your lunch break in a better looking pattern?

If it's the first reason, then I concur.

If it's the second, then I would submit that it doesn't really matter what we wear in garrison, as long as its functional for the job being performed. This is the same sense of entitlement that led Shinseki to adopt the black beret. The soldier makes the uniform, not the opposite.

For the first reason. I try to avoid Golden Corral because I end up stuffing myself on the rolls :cool:

[INGUARD]

For the first reason. I try to avoid Golden Corral because I end up stuffing myself on the rolls :cool:

Exactly, there is no Golden Corral for the soldiers in Europe lol