WTF was up with the thought process behind that brilliant idea. Maybe think about camouflaging your ships first. Then worry about the uniforms of the tiny figures manning them.
@@charlesmartin1121 because all the Cool Kids were getting digital camo, and the Navy wanted some too. But to top it off, it wasn't approved for shipboard use. Then they replaced the Blueberries with GREEN(ish) digital camo. WTAF? If I wanted to wear green camo, I would have joined the Crayon Eaters or the Army.
@@rickn8or I could see naval aviators or riverine guys using the green camouflage. Then again if your sailing in plankton rich, steel green waters--the green camouflage will probably make it as hard to spot someone in the drink as the blueberry uniform in blue waters. Or maybe not.
Instead of making a camo that can only blend in in one area such as desert or woodland, the army just decided to make an all purpose camo that blends in to nothing.
B.S. DMac! Didn't you see the soldier wearing ACUs on grandma's couch? No, you didn't because the soldier blended in PERFECTLY on grandma's couch, making him invisible to the SGM hunting for him.
It's been some 45 years since I served, but I remember our uniform choices were green, green and green. Solid green, cotton pants, shirts, t-shirt, jacket and a hat. Everything was green. Lots and lots of green. Our plate carrier was a 12 ounce cotton shirt. Want more protection? Put on your field jacket. Basic black combat boots. Bates brand. Want boots for cold weather? Add a second layer of socks. Hot weather gear? Take off your field jacket. Need waterproof boots? Try to stay out of the water. As to additional gear... basic pack, no molle (alice system), a canteen, a poncho, your rifle, etc. If you were lucky, you might find a pair of gloves. Advanced weapon's optics? Well, I remember some guys wore glasses. Does that count? I served during the transition from c-rats to the first MRE's. Fewer calories and no self-heating chemicals. You want hot food? Build a fire. The accessory pack came with a small pack of cigarettes. I'm guessing the military doesn't issue those anymore. Things have certainly changed.
Would've preferred that to the endless amount of gear and equipment they threw at us. Except the MRE's. I'd still keep my MRE's over the C-RAT's. I know those were bad for the most part... Then again, if a soldier is hungry enough...
My SF company hated the ACU. So much so that, prior to deploying to Afghanistan, the company secured funds to buy the desert patterned BDUs and then sent them away to get them modified by removing the lower packets of the uniform top and placing them on the shoulders. Also, the pockets at the chest and shoulders were angled for easy access. Each of us got four sets of these.
That was pretty much the Group Standard for a long time; well that and standing around in our PCs with our hands in our pockets leaned up against a wall.
Local National tailor shop did that for us when we were in country, but RIP back to our duty station, CSM told us we'd have to alter them back to they were. Why? We're gonna wear BDUs and we'd just need to alter just one set for the welcome home ceremony. Nope, all 4 four sets and to be back to default settings. What BS.
@@robertsmith6068 and the "Don't get caught walking around looking like you're some kind of SF Operator" speech from the CSM was hot on its tail I bet.
last year, I was on a hill looking for my Marines. I asked my E4 where they were. They said, I dunno, but they are probably by those Army guys on that hill (about a mile away). Could see those army guy in their camo like they were human Flares. We pulled out a scope and noticed the MARPAT guys next to them. How in God's Name did the army make a camo pattern visible from outer-space for $300,000,000?????????????
It's meant for urban areas. Go walk around a major city in ACU and you'll die. low light setting you can't pick them out against the concrete roads, or buildings. ACU is the best camo ever if we're fighting in American cities....the issue is Iraq cities do not look like American cities. So yea keep a few pairs of ACU's around incase you ever need to fight in an American city.
Never was in the military but played a lot of paintball. Guy had a set of this camo he got surplus. Everyone else had hunting camo or old-school green/brown/black military camo. He stuck out no matter where he was, literally could not hide. Worst camo I've ever seen. He could have worn a dark color t-shirt and blue jeans and probably been harder to spot.
The first time I saw the UCP pattern was on a training manoever when some of the HQ brass wearing the new stuff came out to the field to observe the BDU-wearing troops. They stuck out like a sore thumb against the environment, and it was immediately obvious to even the newest and dumbest troops that the UCP was terrible. Did nobody in charge ever LOOK at this stuff? But I am confident that the folks responsible got big promotions.
You can thank a US Army officer who designed the MARPAT and tried selling the design and patten to the US Army which they turned down but the USMC was happy to accept.
From what I understand the idiots in charge wanted it because they thought it looked "cool" not even kidding that was why this trash was put into service.
The Marine Corps got two cool new camouflage patterns, and the Army was upset that we looked better than they did (helpful hint: we always do. That's why y'all come out with new service/dress uniforms every 15 minutes while ours have been more or less the same for the last century), so, in trying to keep up, they rushed some new shit that sounded kinda cool into service without actually stopping to think about if it would be any good.
@@NYG5 we weren't really supposed to starch them, as far as wear and tear....summer BDU would rip on anything, winter BDUs would last, and that's all I used to buy at clothing and sales.
They never actually tested the UCP pattern. During testing, a pattern called “all over brush” in desert pattern won for the most effective camo, and then, for literally no reason, they made UCP pattern and issued it. They said it was a digitized version of another pattern they tested in Urban camo but it’s pretty obvious it’s just a MARPAT re-color, and even if it was a digitized version of another pattern, it was literally the worst pattern out of all of the ones they tested, so that didn’t even make sense.
@@warmonkey3216 Kind of sort of. From what I read, they took the best light, dark, and medium colors from testing under IR/night vision and combined those on a MARPAT/CADPAT template and made UCP out of it. As I understand it, UCP was never really tested as a whole pattern, just the separate colors individually.
@@GruntProof But that's the uniform cut/manufacture and not the camo pattern. Weren't the original OCPs/Multicam just a slightly modified ACU pattern/cut uniform? From what I understand, since the adoption of the original ACU in UCP, the Army has stuck with the ACU cut uniform but with incremental improvements over the years.
I kinda like the beret, but just because I think it looks cool. But I understand that in the US Military it’s not traditional, can be very uncomfortable in the heat, and has no history outside of special units. Also, we’re not allowed to stow it folded under our epaulettes like the British and it’s easier to tuck a garrison cover under one’s belt. Is it too late to give it back to the Rangers?
🤣🤣🤣 Battle Dress Uniform: usually woodland and the army's best uniform ACU: Army Combat Uniform. Includes all of our current patterns. UCP: Universal Cammo Pattern, the grandma's couch pattern. OCP: Operational Cammo Pattern, the newest pattern that looks like Multicam. I know....🤣
@Based F To this day I don't understand how ANYONE thought that 'chocolate chip' DCU would camouflage anyone out in the desert! Same goes for the three-color DCUs that followed after the Gulf War - if you want to be camouflaged out in the desert, then a plain khaki uniform works best.
MARPAT is like the improved ACU that was actually field tested. Two patterns that actually make sense, buttons that can be replaced in the field, sewn on name tapes, and ditching the million extra pockets you don't need.
I'm from the BDU generation 1988 to 2001 and there was no reason to switch from the BDU it was perfectly fine and it actually worked very well. For Desert environment I can see something different but even then we use the chocolate chip pattern which seem to work fine.
It was an incredibly effective pattern, in the event you dove overboard. Except you couldn't wear it on a ship due to no flame resistance. In the field it's stupid for different branches to wear different uniforms, makes it super easy to identify who is the jtac or other embedded. At garrison wear whatever works for your branch.
@@0xFF48 My dad was issued BDUs in 91"... As was every Soldier, Sailor, Marine, and Airman. I think all branches need to bring back OD garrison wear for all branches.
@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 actually after the ocp disasters Congress said ok no more ever branch wareing different camo so the air force,army,and space force ware ocp aka scorpion the us military version of mulit cam the marines mrapt and navy a modified version of mrap . The cost guard is technically in home land security
Never had a uniform that was fire resistant. Coveralls lost that shit after the first wash. You had to wear a fire fighting suit anyway and if you were on S.C.A.T team you were on the skin of the ship manning a gun anyway. Stupid shit ever.
And there's a foreign military that has an obnoxious cyan to gold gradient digital camo with some fucking white star-looking flecks all over it. Can't remember for the life of me what country that was... all I remember was seeing that shit and thinking to myself "oh my god, a worse camo pattern than UCP"
If I remember someone told me one big reason why the Army went with this pattern was for urban environments for urban warfare. But turned out mostly deployments during its run were out in the desert or the woods thus making this camouflage stick out like a sore thumb….
I wore BUD's my entire enlistment, yeah I'm old, I had no issues with them. Fairly comfortable, especially the summer BDU, durable and looked sharp all pressed up. Ease of repair was nice too. Huge rip? No problem, a patch and a Frankenstein stitch, back in service. My NCOs hated me.
I am not exaggerating when I say that I ripped the crotch of ever ACU's I had except for one or two garrison sets of uniform. The rest were stitched and always ripping, especially in the field when you are on the move playing GI Joe. The crusties would not shut up about the DCU and BDU; I missed that uniform by a literal month. I was one of the first classes that were issued those monstrosities.
Just bought some ACU a couple of months ago. Cheap military issued suit. Use dark green dye....1/2 cup salt....1/2 cup vinegar....bring to a boil....add suit and let rest for a hour. Turns out a good green camo pattern. Buying discontinued British DPM uniforms now.
"Don't be thinking logically in the army, that'll get you into trouble" 🤣 very true mate, very true. Same thing in the British army. Don't think logically, don't even think, just follow orders and take the bollocking that comes after, because you followed orders! Loving your videos man, glad I found your channel 👍
You are absolutely right about the vest being insufficient against insurgents in sandals. There was a recent video that surfaced on the web showing Turkish soldiers fully armed and armored with modern equipment getting completely obliterated by several insurgents in sandals. They were pretty much equal in number but the turkish soldiers were hiking up a mountain and got ambushed and was too tired and slow to react. What ended up happening was the entire squad got decimated from less than 30 meters away, all from the gopro footage uploaded by insurgents.
The US should have maybe stuck with the PASGT vest. And just optionally wear a plate carrier and or load bearing vest on top of it. Maybe upgraded the Kevlar to a better fibre as the years went on.
We wore plain green uniforms post Vietnam era in service in OZ. All buttons. No zips, no velcro. We had no trouble disappearing into the bush, and had plenty of pockets. All items of clothing, webbing and boots were a one for one swap if damaged and without complaint from the QM. Seemed like a good system.
I remember when the stupid beret decision was made in 99' It was an insult to the Rangers and a TOTAL waste of the taxpayers money. The sad fact is that a lot of troops look utterly stupid wearing a beret. The BDU cap was far better.
Not only rangers but infantry air borne,and green berets.those are earned not issued.I totally agree with you, if you didn't earn it ,then its a Patrol cap for you
Berets look good if they are properly shaped. American berets are far too big, the flap should only reach as far as the top of the ear, perhaps about a third of the way down.
Never been in the Army, but my dad joined late in life and was in the territorial Army for 12 years, so in the late 70's and early 80's i was running around in some gear he brought home. I always loved the camo pattern the British Army had back then, especially some of the slightly lighter shades of it.. It worked perfectly, and i still think it was one of the most affective camo patterns. Apologies for lack of technical names 😅.
I was thinking about getting the MEDIUM RUCK!! Now that I saw that you think it rocks, I definitely will!! Are you planning on making a video about it? Your thoughts, pros and cons, etc... ? By the way, congrats on the 10,000 subs!!! Your videos are great!!
I second that. Please make a video on the medium ruck it is really hard to find educated views and informed opinions on it, and I think that you would do an excellent job.
Medium may not as big as you think. Large holds what most campers packs do. See if you can see one first before you buy. They are good packs actually. You will need the frame also its one size fits all. Parts are becoming scarce now that all the new packs are phased in.
When you referred to "pogue" at 13:06 I immediately subbed. Being Australian, I didn't know Americans used that term too! Reminded me of the good old days : ) Keep up the good work!
I've often wondered if I missed being a grunt, or just missed being young enough to do it. Then I heard you say "The army decided to make it better" and I remembered why I don't miss army POGs.
As bad as the ACU was, at least the Army did eventually listen and (from what I understand) gradually made improvements to it. Compare that to the Air Force who sent their prototype ABUs to their Spec Ops guys like the PJs, for field testing and ignored all of their advice. And, as far as I know, they made no changes for the longest time to them until they finally ditched them once the Army went over the OCP uniform.
When I was in Iraq from 2004-2005, I followed every update of the upcoming uniform pattern. From what I saw, multicam was ahead of the rest, I expected this to be the new pattern. I was shocked when out of nowhere, the ACU was announced. It looked like a dumb ass attempt to copy the marine uniform. I had the same gripe about the chest pockets, they slant the wrong way. I was pissed that they removed the lower shirt pockets, I used those all the time even with body armor. I thought the idea for the collar was interesting, so I put my collar up (I was wearing DCUs at the time) to try out the concept. That was a huge mistake, I never had chafing that bad. After that, I folded my collar under the shirt so none of it touched my neck. For the velcro, I always bought extra nametapes and patches for each uniform and just left them on. While everyone else had problems with their patches falling off, mine held strong. It was totally worth the cost of a few extra patches vs a completely new shirt every few weeks or months. Towards my last few years in, the army finally decided to allow sewn on patches. I immediately made the alterations. One good thing about the change was the patrol cap. I never liked the winter patrol cap because it always looked like garbage. During my first week on deployment to Iraq, while we were staged in Kuwait, my platoon sergeant insisted that we wear the patrol cap (remember, DCUs only had a winter patrol cap) instead of the boonie cap because he thought it looked better. He did not care at all that it was hot during the day and it absolutely sucked to wear that damn thing. I never understood the desire to place looks over function in the army.
I have to admit I snickered a few times with some of your comments and felt for you and your buddies over other comments. But what I came away with from everything you said was How much I missed my one color OD green Fatigues I wore in the USAF. I hated those things when I was in, I miss them now though. Simple and to the point and they worked (at least for me they did). But I guess it is the plight of all enlisted (and maybe a few officers) to commiserate or complain about their conditions. I completely enjoy your channel. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with family, friends and fellow brothers and sisters in arms. Carry on Mister. May God watch over you and keep you safe.
@@GryphonIndustrial OHHH NOOOO I am NOT sexy in OD, not even when I was younger LOL. Those darn uniforms wore like iron though. I can remember working on a B-52 one day and instead of walking all the way around the nose to the other side. I figured I would just go under. So I did, I looked up and thought I was clear of the belly to stand up. When I did I jammed my back right into one of the many belly antennas. I ended up with a hole in my back, a hole in my T-Shirt with blood and my OD shirt looked as if nothing happened. Not even a slight tear or scuff or fabric pull. I was amazed to say the least. I learned a very valuable lesson that day. From then on everytime I approached a B-52 I would come over and scratch its chin and say good morning. I never had an accident from then on. I miss my toys.
@@sambrandt3688 Thats an impressive beast to work around! I'm always running into things. Mostly with my head but its nice and hard. Only in museums but I'm glad I got to see my two favorite aircraft in person. F4 Phantom and F8 Crusader.
I remember seeing the ACU/UCP uniform in Shannon Airport when I was there with The Irish Army. US Troops were stopping off in Ireland on the way to Iraq. Me and my buddies couldn't believe what we were seeing and had a joke with some of the Americans who were saying they would trade uniforms with us and give us a hand job to balance the deal 🤣.
@@CombatMedic00 I was at Shannon in 06 and 07. Remember the first glimpse of US Army Personnel in the new uniform and was thinking where are they deploying now? Can't be a desert! That shot glass had seen some mileage by the time it was decommissioned by the sounds of it, Sláinte!
When I stopped at Shannon on the way back from Iraq, it was the middle of the night, and the only people there were two bartenders who were clearly not happy to have to serve 400-odd Marines who hadn't had a drink in seven months.
In Al Rhamadi with 2/28 BCT July 05 -Jun 06 and the ACU's fell apart as we wore them. Plus it was a great signal that we were the "new guys" since 2/2 before us wore DCUs!!
There's something to be said for old school uniforms. I love the old bdu's. I have reproduction WWII field gear. It's better at camoflage than that stuff you have there. Saw a video where someone was testing various camo's from history and OD still works surprisingly well.
I wish i could have seen that vidéo several years ago before i bought four set of each apparel you showed us today for my "zombie" kit war... wore them several times as a tourist in a private range with military collectors buddies then replaced them all with OCP or plain colors... people were mostly laughing at me because of the camo but were assured not to lose me as i was the only one they could clearly spot in the middle of the field...
Alice ruck with frame and full set up is roughly 9 pounds for medium…large pack is 11. The frame is no more than 3 pounds tops. I know I had to supply troops with the damn things for 20 years. Of all the military and tactical packs I ever used, the Alice pack is still my go to. Even though I’ve been retired for 15 years.
I used mine for the straw man that guards my chickens. His name is joe and he does a good job. He never sleeps, and is always watching out for predators. The chickens appreciate joe and roost on his shoulder.
I used and still use BDU's. Simple design, very loose fit, enough pockets, sturdy fabric and buttons. The buttons never came off. I wore them on my hikes into Hurtgen Forest many times. The Woodland camo pattern worked well in fall and winter, because of the brown and tan colors. Woodland was a bit pattern, so it worked a medium and long ranges well, less and short ranges. Alice medium backpack worked well, only the waist band did not relieved the shoulder straps sufficient. So I lifted the packed up, while carrying it, behind my butt. In the end, not too comfortable. Enough room for a 3 days hike with tent, mattress and sleeping bag. The open frame at your back ventilated well. The pack sagged outwards and that made the pack more heavy to carry. Because the point of gravity moved outward to much. Causing me to walk like an old man, leaning forward.
The one time I had a button come off, it took me all of 5 mins (if that) to sew a new one back on. So much better than the shit zipper that loved to break
Hello, I'm not nor have ever been a soldier, but I often wear certain items of kit, and I'm always thinking to myself exactly what you said re velcro vs buttons! Velcro is great for five minutes, buttons are just great! This was very interesting to me, Thanks.
Good video sir , thanks a million for ur service I'm proud to say u kept us safe in usa when .deployed to overseas again thank you I like you guys deeply
exscuse my ignorance, I got out in the mid 80's. But did that large ruck not replace the duffle bag? We kept a basic load out in the med alice pack everything else went into the duffle bag when in the field. if in a armored unit we tied it ontop the APC (M113) . otherwise ( straight leg units) it got carted off in a duese an a half. Which we often did not see for a month. a grunt thats not bathed for 30 days can out funk a skunk!
Sorry, big Army, but I always thought those ACU's just looked like a digital computer threw up all over those guys. I hated the stupid velcrow patches. Just dumb. And I used to see guys walking around Bragg wearing those things and I thought they were just so hideous. And then I saw the new digital uniform that the AF was going to start making us wear.... Uuugghh. Good lord, where's my woodland and desert BDU's? Stop changing shit!
I use the ACU for winter , I think it’s a good winter camo with the cold weather system mixed with white camo . I never served in the military unfortunately but BDU in the summer and ACU both work for me . As for the ruck sack with the patrolmans back pack is perfect for me , I’m able to pack what I need then able to down size to make my load lighter once I meet me choice of camp . Of course I’m not out on military 2 week excursion but the medium is also nice on certain circumstances . I kinda just grew out of the ALICE system personally but Thanks for the great videos , your channel is cool and the information from someone that has the knowledge of all the gear is helpfull . Thanks
Biggest POS I was ever issued... I would agree that a lot of the snivel gear was much better than when I first came in. Especially as an 11B it would have been nice to have had the new stuff.
“You can’t roll your sleeves because that’s for holding your pens…” was the explanation I always got… My unit was also one of the ones that got to field test the new interceptor plate carrier with the side armor and the pull chord that people would yank on just to fuck with each other. Field test as in a deployment in Iraq no less. Because you loaded the plates from underneath the plates would slide down because you know gravity is a thing and running would only shake them down faster and they’d no longer be covering the vital areas they were supposed to be covering. All that held the plate up was a two inch piece of Velcro that often wouldn’t align properly with the other piece of Velcro. I ended up having to use a safety pin to hold my plate in the proper position. Was in the DFAC in Kuwait about to hop on the C130 into Iraq. A major sat at my table and so we struck up a small conversation. Apparently he was in charge of the program for fielding these vests and the civilians he was sitting with were the contractors selling them to the Army. I took the opportunity to mention this issue. This upset the contractor and he snidely told me “you should’ve paid attention to your training…” 1) the training lasted all of 15 minute and talked mostly about the pull chord. 2) no amount of training would’ve changed the fact that there wasn’t enough Velcro to hold the plate in properly. Let alone the fact Velcro wears out or that the materials themselves would stretch. 3) while I was smart enough to identify and resolve the problem how many other people do you think had the same issue, how many POGs do you think didn’t take the same measures I did. How many people might’ve died because they designed it poorly and got upset when they received actual feedback about a potentially serious issue. I mean when the plate would slump down the top was about halfway exposing my heart let alone my upper lungs. Honestly the fix was as easy as using bigger pieces of Velcro. But no… the problem wasn’t poor design choice it was because a stupid enlisted soldier didn’t pay attention in training. One principle the army taught me is you need to idiot proof everything because if something stupid can be done someone is going to do it. How many soldiers do you know who were half awake going 48+ hours without sleep during training anyways. If it’s an issue for one how many more do you think are having the issue and don’t recognize it or do nothing about it. These are our vests too so we are talking about lives. This was when I realized military contractors were absolute pieces of shit.
I got out before all of this garbage. The beret was the issue going on and they wanted to replace our field jackets with Goretex. I still accidentally refer to ALL CAMO as BDU because the name says it as Battle Dress Uniform. We had woodland and desert pattern and "jungle boots" were no longer acceptable at some point.
I absolutely hated the plastic ruck frames. They flex under load and compress your spine. Everyone in my team replaced them with metal alice frames because the plastic frames would flex, warp, and break with the loads we were carrying.
All your complaints about the ACU are spot on, but the number one sign to me that the ACU was designed by civilians was that the flag and "US ARMY" tapes were velcro-ed on. Like, honestly, was I going to switch over to the Polish army mid deployment? and I would be in such a hurry I couldn't bother to get a new flag sewn on? Likewise with the US ARMY tapes. Newsflash: No other branch wore ACUs. Even the ANP and ABP had better uniforms lol
Reminds me of what we (the Albanians) dealt with when our ACU switched over early last decade: going from hand me down BDUs to BDUs with the bad decisions of the US ACU - Velcro closures, the arse pingers on cargo pockets, zips on the both the trews and the shirt. Thank God someone realised that some of those were silly ideas eventually.
When i was at Ft Leonard Wood for seabee equipment operator "A" school we wore the old utilities blue pants and sky blue shirt. The army instructors wore ACUs and were easier to spot than us in our uniforms.
When I was a West Point cadet I got to meet the guy who created the ACU pattern and he despised it more than anyone I ever met. He said ACU was selected because some higher up's spouse said the soldiers looked the nicest in it, everyone else hated it and was speechless when it was selected. The only place ACUs blend in is West Point walls.
Go walk around any city in the US around dusk and you are invisible. That uniform is perfect for low light ops in developed cities, the number of times I almost got him in a cross walk going to work is insane. You can't see it against concrete roads. I think the issue is it's an urban camo designed with western urban areas in mind, not middle eastern.
@@michag4337 West point walls are a dark granite grey so that makes sense. Living in Nevada desert, an area very similar to Iraq and Afghanistan, it doesn't blend in at all.
@@news_internationale2035 Nothing blends in with concrete like ACU, and I can say that with 100% certainty because you never had to wear a glow belt with any BDU's to avoid getting hit by cars state side.
I still find it comical that the military set out in trying to make a universal camo that would work for deserts and forests, but ended up walking away with a camo that only works in a half frozen quarry.
I was in Iraq wearing DCU's when I saw the first units come in sporting the ridiculous ACU's. I quit bitching about having a BDU Interceptor vest after that. Put the whole, this doesn't look right into perspective. Most of our DCU's by that time had been "Modded" at the local sewing shop, taking off the lower set of front pockets and reattaching them on the shoulders where we could actually get to them. Buttons beats Velcro. Buttons not only could be repaired in the field, but they also allowed ventilation, and up until we had shoulder pockets allowed for our sleeves to be rolled up, albeit it was an an overly complicated "Army" fashion, where you had to fold the last bit over to keep them 'fully camouflaged' (not including your bare arms, my being GLOW IN THE DARK WHITE with Freckles). Didn't get my first set of ACU's until I returned to the states, and God what crap they were. Everything you said about them is dead on. I would add they RETAINED HEAT like a bitch, especially under the armor. Far more than the cotton BDU's (lightweight) and DCU's (also, lightweight). To the point I'd say more than a few Soldiers fell out or even died from Heat Stroke due to them. That rolled cuff wasn't a fashion statement, it was a desperate attempt to get 'some' ventilation into the damned things. As luck would have it, I never was forced with the indignation of wearing ACU's in combat. In 2008 we deployed to Pakistan for Inspired Gambit '08, and wore BDU's to better blend with the Pakistani (Special Service Group & Air Assault) Troops. Something about being a stone's throw from Peshawar (Al-Queda Central) and not wanting to make it "too easy" for their Snipers. By the time I deployed to Afghanistan, as a SOT-A member. We pretty much wore whatever made us happy. For me that was back to the BDU's, and on occasion an FSU sweatshirt. The OCP's (we referred to as MultiCam's) were popular with some of the ODA members, but they never got around to issuing them to all of us by the time we deployed (mid-2010). So completely missed out on that. I was still sporting ACU's in the FL-ARNG by the time I was medically retired in 2015. Never once being issued the "New Stuff". Always a Brides Maid... SSG. U.S. Army (Medically Retired) Infantry / Sniper / SOF Intel (SOT-A), multiple tours
Have you seen the video covering these by Brent0331? His buddy died some ACU's with Rit Brand, Apple Green color and the results were amazing! You should look up others videos on dyeing the ACUs. Apple Green is the color that really makes them blend in with the foliage and grasses. I am left wondering why apple green is not part of the uniform color scheme.
The flaw of this camo wasn't the camo itself; it was great camo in environments that have grey rocks. It's that the US military decided this would be their one and only camo and deployed it to environments that it was unsuited for, like Afghanistan and Iraq where those colors were out of place. I am not military or former military, but I collect camo patterns from around the world and have tested a number of them in civilian wargames. I have developed a good eye for determining if a particular pattern is effective and under what conditions. UCP absolutely can be made to work in many environments if you have a bush to help break up your outline; crouch down and people will think you are a rock. I have actually made this work on multiple occasions. However, the US needs to take a cue from Russia and develop more specialty camo and hold it in reserve storage until needed; Russia seems to have perfect patterns for virtually any environment, but the US never has more than one or two total in circulation at any given time. Standard Multicam / OCP (they are functionally the same pattern) works acceptably in most environments except pine forests. In dense pine forests, Russian Digital Flora is honestly king. There are some US civilian patterns which work very well in woodland environments, but currently no official military ones.
i miss my BDUs, sold most after active/reserve time ended, still have desert bdu top from gulf war. we got them before we got on plane to come home, had to hand sew on tags for plane right back to our base, so the press saw us getting off plane with desert uniforms on that we didn't have for the war lol
I was in the Texas Guard where I had complained about the ACUs before I got the OCPs. I was in it from 2014-2020 where I did the transition from ACUs to OCPs so I can tell you my experience with the uniforms. My first personal complaint about the ACUs is there are no buttons on the sleeve pockets, which can make the pocket flaps not parallel with the main sleeve pocket. Another personal complaint of the ACUs is the Patrol Caps. They don't have ventilation holes and lots of layers, which can trap lots of heat on the head during the hot summer months. The final complaint is the Army Regular AR-670-1 won't allow me to roll up the sleeves in the hot summer months like the old BDUs. The worst is we still cannot roll up the sleeves on the OCPs and it had to be approved by local Leaders at their discretion. The uniform design of the OCPs is better than the ACUs. The only complaint is the OCPs Blouse still uses the zippers over the buttons, which made the heat isolated and it was bad for use in the Texas Heat.
Personally, I think the UCP digital pattern would have worked if they kept the BDU construction , and added black to the pattern. "Digital Tiger stripe" BDU' s basically. Always liked that Nam pattern, Fierce looking and definitely would cover up oil stains
The problem with Universal Camo Pattern is the colors. They are not commonly found in nature and especially the light colors really stand out if there is any vegetation around. It should tell you something that UCP works best as a mediocre snow camouflage - definitely does not seem ideal for uniform meant for every environment from lush forests to fields and deserts.
The Air Force fielded a digital UCP tiger stripe pattern like what you mentioned minus the black and it was a BDU cut with buttons. Unfortunately, ABUs (Airman Battle Uniform) were 100% a garrison uniform. Whenever we went to the sandbox we were issued multicam/OCP because big Air Force knew that ABUs were junk in real combat. You didn't blend in with shit, even on the flightline where your background is a grey hangar with a grey concrete apron, maybe some asphalt. I still have mine and have some fond memories in them but I'm glad we use OCPs now.
Look, I've heard that trying to design something that appeals to everyone appeals to no one, but this is ridiculous! Makes me think the REAL place the military was trying to save money wasn't on reducing the number of uniforms, but rather reducing expenditure on medical supplies...if you catch my meaning!
I remember when we changed from the lightweight "rip stop" cammies to the woodlands. Hated the woodlands with a passion. Heavy. Hot. Water sponging. Especially in the tropics (Okinawa). It was like wearing a sweat suit in the jungle. The rip stops would dry out by body heat within 30 minutes or so.
BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) is a type of uniform cut. The pattern is M81 Woodland. BDUs can be found in other patterns including some early uniforms in UCP.
As a civilian I love the surplus ACU trousers. I recently got a second pair. Especially the huge cargo pockets I find very useful, I can cram a whole bunch of things in them, even water bottles.. I do find the camo quite fashionable too. Luckily I don’t need to blend into the environment xD. I use these in the outdoors while hiking or camping. Also, the waist cord/strap whatever it’s called, works pretty good for me so I don’t necessarily have to put a belt in, which I mostly still do anyway.
I worked commercial nuclear security for a number of years. I ran our OPFOR team. Never served in the military. Fortunately, we had wide latitude on uniform selection depending on the exercise scenario. Everything from Woodlands, DCU, ACU, MULTICAM, MARPAT knockoffs, actual MARPATS, for my Maroots, if they wanted them, even civvie stuff, kakhis, polos, jeans, t-shirts, business casual, business formal, hunting orange, farmer bibs, waders. Hell, one time I had a guy wear a dress, a wig, and lipstick. I myself dressed in something that more or less resembled a security officer uniform from stuff I could approximate from Walmart stuff. If you could fake regional accents credibly, even better. Every team had something they were best at, whether it was sneaking around in the boonies, running "slick" (civvies, concealed pistol, couple small charges), etc. It was a weird, wild time.
When I was deployed in Iraq, we saw the Air Force guys with their tiger stripe uniforms, funny part was, after about a month of sun bleaching their boots and Uniforms would turn a bright baby blue... We called them the Smurf Brigade and would whistle the song when we would walk past them LOL... But to be Honest, the only thing my ACU could conceal me on, was my grandmothers old floral pattern couch LOL
When you said "a lot of guys were going commando and we'd still rip our crotches out" dude, that happened to me at motorpool once. We were running 9 line med drills and practicing buddy carrying... of course it was raining and it was ft Campbell in feb... cold af... keep that in mind... i swear that the acu when wet might as well be toilet paper because i kneeled down to shoulder carry my buddy and my pants split from one end to the other. Of course, I'm a cool guy and i don't let underwear slow me down ever... so everything was on display. We had everyone attending that day; grunts, pog's, men, women... the whole family... i didn't realize that my shit split until after i started running with my buddy on my shoulders. My battle buddies were cringing and laughing in front of me, they were pointing at me... i couldn't figure it out until my platoon sgt screamed "lehane! Your dick is out!"... i stopped, looked down, then dropped my buddy flat on the ground (he was fine, he let me know my ass was showing too, before busting out laughing.) Didn't get ptsd from Afghanistan, but i still have nightmares from that🤣
Jeez. I am simultaneously amused and heart broken to think what war could be like in the near future. Forget new weapons and vehicles, forget battlefield tactics. The side that's gonna win is the one who is able to sh*tpost about the other faction's uniform the most. Can you imagine how toxic a second USA Civil War could be? You not only have to worry about dying, but also being MURDERED.
Unpopular opinion, but imo the army switching to OCP was at least as idiotic as the switch to UCP. Not because OCP is a terrible pattern but because we literally almost had a family of camouflage patterns like US4CES for desert, transition, and woodland, and the Army conducted a bunch of camouflage trials, but then decided to ditch all the research and go with OCP even after if was shown that multiple patterns will always be more effective than one. Hyperstealth has a bunch of good articles on it if anyone is interested in more info, just google "US4CES" I also think the problem with the velcro isn't really a fault in the design but the quality of the materials and the way it was used. Crye Precision and other companies have been making the very highest quality of combat uniforms for years now, and they all use velcro pockets and I have never heard anyone complain about those, and how they wish they had buttons (although recently zipper pockets have become popular for the shoulders such as on the gen 4 Crye combat top). Also these uniforms are only technically suppose to have a service life of 6 months so of course the velcro will fail if soldiers are using the same uniform for multiple years.
I had the same problems with my gear in wilderness SAR. I had enough of the modern "plastic" gear and was researching what the old timers wore. Waxed or oiled canvas, leather, silk, wool, toggles and buttons.
To be fair, the choice of uniform/camo was left out of the soldiers' hands and in the hands of top brass and defense contractors for kickbacks and paydays. Many people, including civilians, wondered what was the purpose of that kind of camo; were they going to send soldiers to fight a war on the moon? What wasn't discussed was that the uniform could be dyed certain colors to blend in with various backgrounds. (Which kinda doesn't make sense if the dyes can be washed out with industrial grade bleach and clothing detergents.) As for camo, it doesn't make much sense when it makes the person stand out much more than civilians with standard issue clothing. Cammies might make sense in combat, but a more civilian attire might make more sense in garrison or FOB's or discreet operations while amongst the civilian population.
@@news_internationale2035 No money in it. Much cheaper, more available, better quality at uniform supply companies. $25 slip-grip black shoes (6-12mths per), Four $40 wrinkle-free trousers (durable - good care can last 5 years), Two or Three $10 pack of 4 or 5 t-shirts; $30 for 12 to 15 t-shirts. (appearance wise - good ones for garrison/FOB, slightly worn for PT, worn down for dirty jobs). Can wear an ID Card on a lanyard or clip it to belt loop. $280/yr. 3 pairs of $70 boots (one pair for garrison/FOB, one pair for PT/field training, one for combat). Four $50 camo trousers (2 garrison/FOB, 2 field training, and two $70 flame-retardant combat). Four $50 camo jackets (2 garrison/FOB, 2 field training, and two $70 flame-retardant combat). Three $14 3 pack of USGI t-shirts; $42 for 9 t-shirts. $832/yr.
I got out of the Army in 97. So glad I didn't have to wear ACUs. The idea of Velcro on uniforms cannot be criticized enough! The stretchy cords, the Velcro, the pattern............ It is 2022 and I STILL have three sets of BDUs (woodland) that I use as work clothes. They are durable, repairable, and comfortable. And buttons never wear out.
I blend very well in the norwegian snowy granite mountains with pine woods in my ucp ecwcs gen3. When US troops are joining the winter training up here with their new OCP uniforms, they need to pull a white wintercamo over it. By the way, my profile picture was taken on a spot where navy seals were training every spring in Norway.😁
Agreed, works well in winter woods in Alaska too. Only time I wear it. OCP for “shoulder seasons” between killing frost and first snowfall or breakup and leaf out in the spring, then woodland patterns for the summer. Multicam Tropic looks interesting tho.
Back in 89 we had the woodland camo field jacket with a button in liner. In the 82nd it was never once authorized as acceptable uniform. We wore the winter bdu shirt and hid that jacket liner underneath. I never got cold. We did everything with the absolute minimum of gear back then.
Yeah, but it falls apart quicker than the old BDUs. So you might actually save money with older, but stronger stuff. I know the trashmen around here use them a lot for the reasons you mentioned.
@@kekelaward I have a ton of BDU's awesome pieces of gear.If you never heard of it check out the PCU (Protective Combat Uniform) it's the special forces precursor gear before the gen three ecwcs.
Excellent spot on review! As a Veteran of both the US and Estonian Armies Military Police, I got to say that the US Army ACU, was the most inefficient worst designed Tactical Combat uniform, that I have worn in my career's serving in the militaries for two different countries. The most efficient best designed Tactical, Combat Field uniform design that I have worn was the, Estonian 1995+ Zipper Pocket system series. In my Active EDF service time, I wore 3 designs generations thereof. All of the 1995+ EDF Zipper Pocket tactical uniforms had excellent very large vertical chest zipper pockets where one could fit a Glock 17 pistol in or a Cell Phone, or a 30 round M16 and Galil 35 round magazines. Wearing my EDF M1995 zipper pocket field tactical uniforms in all types of physically stressful conditions, I never had any breakage of the zippers on the pockets or jacket opening. I see big-time Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Corruption in the US Army Uniform and Personal Gear procurement programs. 'Where in the end it's the Soldiers who ultimately receive ineffective uniforms and equipment because of this greedy institutionalized corruption.
The UCP pattern wasn't bad after ten months of daily wear/getting it filthy. It kind of turned colors closer to the local dirt. But the difference between it and multicam is night and day. And, big surprise, the ACU has button pockets again! Still has the zipper though 🧐
"All seven layers of the ecwcs wasn't meant to be worn at the same time" Me, remembering nighttime training in fort drum, ny: No, I think you're mistaken 🤣😭
I served from 84-93 in BDUs we would roll the sleeves with the cuff covering, doesn't look like you can do that with pockets on your upper arm. During the Persian Gulf War we couldn't roll or sleeves because of sunburn.
Army: The Marines got a cool new uniform that works well and has futuristic digital camo? We want one too! So let's just basically do the same thing then-- Army: NO! Only one pattern! And buttons are a thing of the past, it's got to have velcro, lots of velcro!
You can thank a US Army officer who designed the MARPAT and tried selling the design and patten to the US Army which they turned down but the USMC was happy to accept.
Better than the Navy's blue camo, which only is good at making sailors that fall overboard difficult to see.
WTF was up with the thought process behind that brilliant idea. Maybe think about camouflaging your ships first. Then worry about the uniforms of the tiny figures manning them.
@@charlesmartin1121 because all the Cool Kids were getting digital camo, and the Navy wanted some too. But to top it off, it wasn't approved for shipboard use. Then they replaced the Blueberries with GREEN(ish) digital camo. WTAF? If I wanted to wear green camo, I would have joined the Crayon Eaters or the Army.
@@rickn8or I could see naval aviators or riverine guys using the green camouflage. Then again if your sailing in plankton rich, steel green waters--the green camouflage will probably make it as hard to spot someone in the drink as the blueberry uniform in blue waters. Or maybe not.
And the uniforms were not fire retardant. They melted when exposed to fire.
Smurf Berry! 😁 .... I'd say the "tiger stripe" style USAF format was 🤔. Were 🐯 a big deal on USAF bases?
Instead of making a camo that can only blend in in one area such as desert or woodland, the army just decided to make an all purpose camo that blends in to nothing.
They should have just gone all black like a ninja
It blend in well with the moon environment.should give it to space force
B.S. DMac! Didn't you see the soldier wearing ACUs on grandma's couch? No, you didn't because the soldier blended in PERFECTLY on grandma's couch, making him invisible to the SGM hunting for him.
@@Seongbin-0 Holy shit you might have just found a use for Ucp xD
I did training in Utah and it was perfect camouflage for the sage brush.. The only place it ever worked
It's been some 45 years since I served, but I remember our uniform choices were green, green and green. Solid green, cotton pants, shirts, t-shirt, jacket and a hat. Everything was green. Lots and lots of green. Our plate carrier was a 12 ounce cotton shirt. Want more protection? Put on your field jacket. Basic black combat boots. Bates brand. Want boots for cold weather? Add a second layer of socks. Hot weather gear? Take off your field jacket. Need waterproof boots? Try to stay out of the water. As to additional gear... basic pack, no molle (alice system), a canteen, a poncho, your rifle, etc. If you were lucky, you might find a pair of gloves. Advanced weapon's optics? Well, I remember some guys wore glasses. Does that count? I served during the transition from c-rats to the first MRE's. Fewer calories and no self-heating chemicals. You want hot food? Build a fire. The accessory pack came with a small pack of cigarettes. I'm guessing the military doesn't issue those anymore. Things have certainly changed.
Would've preferred that to the endless amount of gear and equipment they threw at us. Except the MRE's. I'd still keep my MRE's over the C-RAT's. I know those were bad for the most part... Then again, if a soldier is hungry enough...
Well there was that rebellious 'chocolate chip' phase, when you guys went into a sandbox 'coz Israel was getting antsy....
Wasn't that around the time when a soldier's issued toilet paper was a fobbit Sgt. Major's printed orders?
The infantry has long changed since 1865 grandpa, you can go to sleep now
@@nostalgicvibes3122 apparently manners have changed too
I think those would blend in really great in the blue-ish mountains of Nowherestan
They actually worked pretty well in Korengal
They look like they would blend in pretty good in snow environments
It works pretty well in the United States desert southwest like Arizona. DCU doesn’t work there at all. We should have a conversation about DCUs.
It would work in a 100sq mi area of Eastern Europe 20yr ago, after a combat engagement.
@@Maryland_Kulak Yeah let us know when the army needs to deploy in Arizona, that thought process is how we end up with this UCP/ACU garbage.
My SF company hated the ACU. So much so that, prior to deploying to Afghanistan, the company secured funds to buy the desert patterned BDUs and then sent them away to get them modified by removing the lower packets of the uniform top and placing them on the shoulders. Also, the pockets at the chest and shoulders were angled for easy access. Each of us got four sets of these.
That was pretty much the Group Standard for a long time; well that and standing around in our PCs with our hands in our pockets leaned up against a wall.
Local National tailor shop did that for us when we were in country, but RIP back to our duty station, CSM told us we'd have to alter them back to they were. Why? We're gonna wear BDUs and we'd just need to alter just one set for the welcome home ceremony. Nope, all 4 four sets and to be back to default settings. What BS.
RAID mod, for the win.
@@resolute123 we had a US brigadier general get all upset because a couple of guys had sleeve pockets on their BDUs.
@@robertsmith6068 and the "Don't get caught walking around looking like you're some kind of SF Operator" speech from the CSM was hot on its tail I bet.
last year, I was on a hill looking for my Marines. I asked my E4 where they were. They said, I dunno, but they are probably by those Army guys on that hill (about a mile away). Could see those army guy in their camo like they were human Flares. We pulled out a scope and noticed the MARPAT guys next to them. How in God's Name did the army make a camo pattern visible from outer-space for $300,000,000?????????????
It's meant for urban areas. Go walk around a major city in ACU and you'll die. low light setting you can't pick them out against the concrete roads, or buildings. ACU is the best camo ever if we're fighting in American cities....the issue is Iraq cities do not look like American cities.
So yea keep a few pairs of ACU's around incase you ever need to fight in an American city.
“$”
Remember the Bradley IFV development debacle? This is about par for the course.
Never was in the military but played a lot of paintball.
Guy had a set of this camo he got surplus. Everyone else had hunting camo or old-school green/brown/black military camo.
He stuck out no matter where he was, literally could not hide. Worst camo I've ever seen. He could have worn a dark color t-shirt and blue jeans and probably been harder to spot.
The first time I saw the UCP pattern was on a training manoever when some of the HQ brass wearing the new stuff came out to the field to observe the BDU-wearing troops. They stuck out like a sore thumb against the environment, and it was immediately obvious to even the newest and dumbest troops that the UCP was terrible. Did nobody in charge ever LOOK at this stuff? But I am confident that the folks responsible got big promotions.
Yep, so right !
You can thank a US Army officer who designed the MARPAT and tried selling the design and patten to the US Army which they turned down but the USMC was happy to accept.
From what I understand the idiots in charge wanted it because they thought it looked "cool" not even kidding that was why this trash was put into service.
The Marine Corps got two cool new camouflage patterns, and the Army was upset that we looked better than they did (helpful hint: we always do. That's why y'all come out with new service/dress uniforms every 15 minutes while ours have been more or less the same for the last century), so, in trying to keep up, they rushed some new shit that sounded kinda cool into service without actually stopping to think about if it would be any good.
It’s way more likely that brown paper bags, cash, a nod and a wink were involved.
We had the BDU woodland ..Those were the days when the Army was actually camouflaged.
from what I hear BDUs were also durable as hell and pretty comfortable, just had the drawback of having to starch them
@@NYG5 we weren't really supposed to starch them, as far as wear and tear....summer BDU would rip on anything, winter BDUs would last, and that's all I used to buy at clothing and sales.
@@NYG5 I use BDUs as my camping and bushcraft clothing, they're fairly cheap and yes they are very durable/practical
@@LoneWolf051 surplus or new production bdus?
Summer bdu was the best
They never actually tested the UCP pattern. During testing, a pattern called “all over brush” in desert pattern won for the most effective camo, and then, for literally no reason, they made UCP pattern and issued it. They said it was a digitized version of another pattern they tested in Urban camo but it’s pretty obvious it’s just a MARPAT re-color, and even if it was a digitized version of another pattern, it was literally the worst pattern out of all of the ones they tested, so that didn’t even make sense.
Pretty sure they selected it because it worked the best under night vision. Obviously though the taliban werent using night vision
@@warmonkey3216 no they actually tested that too and multicam was the best at that
I liked multicam but it wasn't very tough. I destroyed 1 uniform per month in Afghanistan.
@@warmonkey3216 Kind of sort of. From what I read, they took the best light, dark, and medium colors from testing under IR/night vision and combined those on a MARPAT/CADPAT template and made UCP out of it. As I understand it, UCP was never really tested as a whole pattern, just the separate colors individually.
@@GruntProof But that's the uniform cut/manufacture and not the camo pattern. Weren't the original OCPs/Multicam just a slightly modified ACU pattern/cut uniform? From what I understand, since the adoption of the original ACU in UCP, the Army has stuck with the ACU cut uniform but with incremental improvements over the years.
I thought the black beret for everybody and every uniform was the dumbest thing that the Army came out with, until the ACUs.
"hold my beer, Shinseki" 😂
I kinda like the beret, but just because I think it looks cool.
But I understand that in the US Military it’s not traditional, can be very uncomfortable in the heat, and has no history outside of special units. Also, we’re not allowed to stow it folded under our epaulettes like the British and it’s easier to tuck a garrison cover under one’s belt.
Is it too late to give it back to the Rangers?
@@nonpartisangunowner4524 Not to mention, doesn't keep the sun out of your eyes like a patrol cap would.
Lol
@@ZildjianMan30 Lol.
BDU, ACP, PCP... I’m confused
🤣🤣🤣
Battle Dress Uniform: usually woodland and the army's best uniform
ACU: Army Combat Uniform. Includes all of our current patterns. UCP: Universal Cammo Pattern, the grandma's couch pattern. OCP: Operational Cammo Pattern, the newest pattern that looks like Multicam. I know....🤣
phenylcyclidine is the best one there.
Me2
British Army changed cammo pattern twice in 60 years.DPM to MTP, job done.Till we go Space Army this will work,DPM Black/Grayish will work.
@Based F To this day I don't understand how ANYONE thought that 'chocolate chip' DCU would camouflage anyone out in the desert! Same goes for the three-color DCUs that followed after the Gulf War - if you want to be camouflaged out in the desert, then a plain khaki uniform works best.
MARPAT is like the improved ACU that was actually field tested. Two patterns that actually make sense, buttons that can be replaced in the field, sewn on name tapes, and ditching the million extra pockets you don't need.
I'm from the BDU generation 1988 to 2001 and there was no reason to switch from the BDU it was perfectly fine and it actually worked very well. For Desert environment I can see something different but even then we use the chocolate chip pattern which seem to work fine.
The navy still beats the army for the most useless camo pattern of all time(the dreaded blueberry blue digital camo)
It was an incredibly effective pattern, in the event you dove overboard. Except you couldn't wear it on a ship due to no flame resistance.
In the field it's stupid for different branches to wear different uniforms, makes it super easy to identify who is the jtac or other embedded. At garrison wear whatever works for your branch.
@@0xFF48 My dad was issued BDUs in 91"... As was every Soldier, Sailor, Marine, and Airman.
I think all branches need to bring back OD garrison wear for all branches.
@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 actually after the ocp disasters Congress said ok no more ever branch wareing different camo so the air force,army,and space force ware ocp aka scorpion the us military version of mulit cam the marines mrapt and navy a modified version of mrap . The cost guard is technically in home land security
Never had a uniform that was fire resistant. Coveralls lost that shit after the first wash. You had to wear a fire fighting suit anyway and if you were on S.C.A.T team you were on the skin of the ship manning a gun anyway. Stupid shit ever.
And there's a foreign military that has an obnoxious cyan to gold gradient digital camo with some fucking white star-looking flecks all over it. Can't remember for the life of me what country that was... all I remember was seeing that shit and thinking to myself "oh my god, a worse camo pattern than UCP"
If I remember someone told me one big reason why the Army went with this pattern was for urban environments for urban warfare. But turned out mostly deployments during its run were out in the desert or the woods thus making this camouflage stick out like a sore thumb….
That and only American cities look remotely like ACUs. Iraq is mostly mud brick or cinderblock. ACU did not blend in with Iraqi cities and towns.
I wore BUD's my entire enlistment, yeah I'm old, I had no issues with them. Fairly comfortable, especially the summer BDU, durable and looked sharp all pressed up. Ease of repair was nice too. Huge rip? No problem, a patch and a Frankenstein stitch, back in service. My NCOs hated me.
I am not exaggerating when I say that I ripped the crotch of ever ACU's I had except for one or two garrison sets of uniform. The rest were stitched and always ripping, especially in the field when you are on the move playing GI Joe.
The crusties would not shut up about the DCU and BDU; I missed that uniform by a literal month. I was one of the first classes that were issued those monstrosities.
Just bought some ACU a couple of months ago. Cheap military issued suit. Use dark green dye....1/2 cup salt....1/2 cup vinegar....bring to a boil....add suit and let rest for a hour. Turns out a good green camo pattern. Buying discontinued British DPM uniforms now.
"Don't be thinking logically in the army, that'll get you into trouble" 🤣 very true mate, very true. Same thing in the British army. Don't think logically, don't even think, just follow orders and take the bollocking that comes after, because you followed orders!
Loving your videos man, glad I found your channel 👍
Truth. Thanks!
Same thing is in Finnish army. Don't use own brains😅
Velcro wears out and breaks by it's very nature and design. Either the hooks break or the loops break.
Then you get bitched out for cuffing your floppy sleeves
people who earned money with that abomination should go to jail. 20 years minimum.
Better yet, 5 winters of field maneuvers at Graf with old shelter halves.
There should be an investigation into that. I am sure purchasing agent never had to wear that sticky and flammable uniform.
There was, but of course no one was actually charged
Nonsense! Our government is infaliable!
@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 too big to fail? xD
You are absolutely right about the vest being insufficient against insurgents in sandals. There was a recent video that surfaced on the web showing Turkish soldiers fully armed and armored with modern equipment getting completely obliterated by several insurgents in sandals. They were pretty much equal in number but the turkish soldiers were hiking up a mountain and got ambushed and was too tired and slow to react. What ended up happening was the entire squad got decimated from less than 30 meters away, all from the gopro footage uploaded by insurgents.
The US should have maybe stuck with the PASGT vest. And just optionally wear a plate carrier and or load bearing vest on top of it.
Maybe upgraded the Kevlar to a better fibre as the years went on.
@@MarekSVK81 Key words "plate carrier".
We wore plain green uniforms post Vietnam era in service in OZ. All buttons. No zips, no velcro. We had no trouble disappearing into the bush, and had plenty of pockets. All items of clothing, webbing and boots were a one for one swap if damaged and without complaint from the QM. Seemed like a good system.
I remember when the stupid beret decision was made in 99' It was an insult to the Rangers and a TOTAL waste of the taxpayers money. The sad fact is that a lot of troops look utterly stupid wearing a beret. The BDU cap was far better.
Thank god they brought the cap back
Not only rangers but infantry air borne,and green berets.those are earned not issued.I totally agree with you, if you didn't earn it ,then its a Patrol cap for you
Berets look good if they are properly shaped. American berets are far too big, the flap should only reach as far as the top of the ear, perhaps about a third of the way down.
Never been in the Army, but my dad joined late in life and was in the territorial Army for 12 years, so in the late 70's and early 80's i was running around in some gear he brought home. I always loved the camo pattern the British Army had back then, especially some of the slightly lighter shades of it.. It worked perfectly, and i still think it was one of the most affective camo patterns. Apologies for lack of technical names 😅.
I was thinking about getting the MEDIUM RUCK!! Now that I saw that you think it rocks, I definitely will!!
Are you planning on making a video about it? Your thoughts, pros and cons, etc... ?
By the way, congrats on the 10,000 subs!!! Your videos are great!!
Thank you sir! Yes, the MED MOLLE ruck is awesome!
I love the medium ruck Just wish it had more pockets.
I second that. Please make a video on the medium ruck it is really hard to find educated views and informed opinions on it, and I think that you would do an excellent job.
Get a large ruck. Medium is still kinda short on space.
Medium may not as big as you think. Large holds what most campers packs do. See if you can see one first before you buy. They are good packs actually. You will need the frame also its one size fits all. Parts are becoming scarce now that all the new packs are phased in.
When you referred to "pogue" at 13:06 I immediately subbed. Being Australian, I didn't know Americans used that term too! Reminded me of the good old days : ) Keep up the good work!
Pretty sure its a term US infantry came up with in vietnam POG "Person Other than Grunt
@@warmonkey3216 Thanks for the clarification. I never knew the origin. I thought REMF's was more a more common used by the US Army.
Pogue is also used to refer to someone useless. It is used by USN & USMC, also.
When I played paintball, one guy showed up in a gray shirt and gray pants.
We laughed, and then he disappeared once he was in the brush.
I've often wondered if I missed being a grunt, or just missed being young enough to do it. Then I heard you say "The army decided to make it better" and I remembered why I don't miss army POGs.
As bad as the ACU was, at least the Army did eventually listen and (from what I understand) gradually made improvements to it. Compare that to the Air Force who sent their prototype ABUs to their Spec Ops guys like the PJs, for field testing and ignored all of their advice. And, as far as I know, they made no changes for the longest time to them until they finally ditched them once the Army went over the OCP uniform.
I never understood why woodland BDUs needed to be replaced.
When I was in Iraq from 2004-2005, I followed every update of the upcoming uniform pattern. From what I saw, multicam was ahead of the rest, I expected this to be the new pattern. I was shocked when out of nowhere, the ACU was announced. It looked like a dumb ass attempt to copy the marine uniform. I had the same gripe about the chest pockets, they slant the wrong way. I was pissed that they removed the lower shirt pockets, I used those all the time even with body armor. I thought the idea for the collar was interesting, so I put my collar up (I was wearing DCUs at the time) to try out the concept. That was a huge mistake, I never had chafing that bad. After that, I folded my collar under the shirt so none of it touched my neck.
For the velcro, I always bought extra nametapes and patches for each uniform and just left them on. While everyone else had problems with their patches falling off, mine held strong. It was totally worth the cost of a few extra patches vs a completely new shirt every few weeks or months. Towards my last few years in, the army finally decided to allow sewn on patches. I immediately made the alterations.
One good thing about the change was the patrol cap. I never liked the winter patrol cap because it always looked like garbage. During my first week on deployment to Iraq, while we were staged in Kuwait, my platoon sergeant insisted that we wear the patrol cap (remember, DCUs only had a winter patrol cap) instead of the boonie cap because he thought it looked better. He did not care at all that it was hot during the day and it absolutely sucked to wear that damn thing. I never understood the desire to place looks over function in the army.
I have to admit I snickered a few times with some of your comments and felt for you and your buddies over other comments. But what I came away with from everything you said was How much I missed my one color OD green Fatigues I wore in the USAF. I hated those things when I was in, I miss them now though. Simple and to the point and they worked (at least for me they did). But I guess it is the plight of all enlisted (and maybe a few officers) to commiserate or complain about their conditions. I completely enjoy your channel. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with family, friends and fellow brothers and sisters in arms. Carry on Mister. May God watch over you and keep you safe.
OD is just sexy. Austrians still field a solid OD uniform last I checked.
@@GryphonIndustrial OHHH NOOOO I am NOT sexy in OD, not even when I was younger LOL. Those darn uniforms wore like iron though. I can remember working on a B-52 one day and instead of walking all the way around the nose to the other side. I figured I would just go under. So I did, I looked up and thought I was clear of the belly to stand up. When I did I jammed my back right into one of the many belly antennas. I ended up with a hole in my back, a hole in my T-Shirt with blood and my OD shirt looked as if nothing happened. Not even a slight tear or scuff or fabric pull. I was amazed to say the least. I learned a very valuable lesson that day. From then on everytime I approached a B-52 I would come over and scratch its chin and say good morning. I never had an accident from then on. I miss my toys.
@@sambrandt3688 Thats an impressive beast to work around! I'm always running into things. Mostly with my head but its nice and hard.
Only in museums but I'm glad I got to see my two favorite aircraft in person. F4 Phantom and F8 Crusader.
I remember seeing the ACU/UCP uniform in Shannon Airport when I was there with The Irish Army. US Troops were stopping off in Ireland on the way to Iraq. Me and my buddies couldn't believe what we were seeing and had a joke with some of the Americans who were saying they would trade uniforms with us and give us a hand job to balance the deal 🤣.
Good one.
Yup, Shannon was the stop there and back
Nice haha I was one of them in UCP 13 years ago. The shot glass I got fell into the garbage disposal a few years ago. Cheers!
@@CombatMedic00 I was at Shannon in 06 and 07. Remember the first glimpse of US Army Personnel in the new uniform and was thinking where are they deploying now? Can't be a desert! That shot glass had seen some mileage by the time it was decommissioned by the sounds of it, Sláinte!
When I stopped at Shannon on the way back from Iraq, it was the middle of the night, and the only people there were two bartenders who were clearly not happy to have to serve 400-odd Marines who hadn't had a drink in seven months.
In Al Rhamadi with 2/28 BCT July 05 -Jun 06 and the ACU's fell apart as we wore them. Plus it was a great signal that we were the "new guys" since 2/2 before us wore DCUs!!
There's something to be said for old school uniforms. I love the old bdu's. I have reproduction WWII field gear. It's better at camoflage than that stuff you have there. Saw a video where someone was testing various camo's from history and OD still works surprisingly well.
I hated ACU. Started out with BDU, no problem.
I wish i could have seen that vidéo several years ago before i bought four set of each apparel you showed us today for my "zombie" kit war... wore them several times as a tourist in a private range with military collectors buddies then replaced them all with OCP or plain colors... people were mostly laughing at me because of the camo but were assured not to lose me as i was the only one they could clearly spot in the middle of the field...
Alice ruck with frame and full set up is roughly 9 pounds for medium…large pack is 11. The frame is no more than 3 pounds tops. I know I had to supply troops with the damn things for 20 years. Of all the military and tactical packs I ever used, the Alice pack is still my go to. Even though I’ve been retired for 15 years.
Just discovered your channel and it is my new “favorite”! Thank you for service and thank you for the knowledge about the gear you lived with
They're pretty decent when you dye them with Rit Dye. Brown for winter, apple green for summer
That dude blending in with the granny couch. Yay contractors!
I remember being told that the light spots on ACU’s would pick up local soil and stain to match the environment. That was not the case.
I used mine for the straw man that guards my chickens. His name is joe and he does a good job. He never sleeps, and is always watching out for predators. The chickens appreciate joe and roost on his shoulder.
I’d be interested to hear your views on the British MTP as opposed to Desert DPM clothing.
The US Army: If it doesn't make sense, we're doing it...........those words always describe it!
You should do a vid on the old issue bdu/dcu systems and the old gen Molle/Alice gear👍
I used and still use BDU's. Simple design, very loose fit, enough pockets, sturdy fabric and buttons. The buttons never came off. I wore them on my hikes into Hurtgen Forest many times. The Woodland camo pattern worked well in fall and winter, because of the brown and tan colors. Woodland was a bit pattern, so it worked a medium and long ranges well, less and short ranges.
Alice medium backpack worked well, only the waist band did not relieved the shoulder straps sufficient. So I lifted the packed up, while carrying it, behind my butt. In the end, not too comfortable. Enough room for a 3 days hike with tent, mattress and sleeping bag. The open frame at your back ventilated well. The pack sagged outwards and that made the pack more heavy to carry. Because the point of gravity moved outward to much. Causing me to walk like an old man, leaning forward.
The one time I had a button come off, it took me all of 5 mins (if that) to sew a new one back on. So much better than the shit zipper that loved to break
Dude I just hiked and camped in the Hürtgen forest last summer. Amazing place!
@@GruntProof You are welcome. I live in the Netherlands, only 200 km/ 125 miles away from the Hürtgen Forest.
Cool! I have a friend in Boxtel. Holland is awesome!
Hello, I'm not nor have ever been a soldier, but I often wear certain items of kit, and I'm always thinking to myself exactly what you said re velcro vs buttons! Velcro is great for five minutes, buttons are just great!
This was very interesting to me,
Thanks.
that velcro on the ACU's...
Love Tutorial , Thank You for your service, sacrifice and courage 🇺🇸
Good video sir , thanks a million for ur service
I'm proud to say u kept us safe in usa when .deployed to overseas again thank you I like you guys deeply
exscuse my ignorance, I got out in the mid 80's. But did that large ruck not replace the duffle bag? We kept a basic load out in the med alice pack everything else went into the duffle bag when in the field. if in a armored unit we tied it ontop the APC (M113) . otherwise ( straight leg units) it got carted off in a duese an a half. Which we often did not see for a month. a grunt thats not bathed for 30 days can out funk a skunk!
It could have, but no
Free ballin' all the way to Baghdad! 😂
Sorry, big Army, but I always thought those ACU's just looked like a digital computer threw up all over those guys. I hated the stupid velcrow patches. Just dumb. And I used to see guys walking around Bragg wearing those things and I thought they were just so hideous. And then I saw the new digital uniform that the AF was going to start making us wear.... Uuugghh. Good lord, where's my woodland and desert BDU's? Stop changing shit!
I use the ACU for winter , I think it’s a good winter camo with the cold weather system mixed with white camo . I never served in the military unfortunately but BDU in the summer and ACU both work for me . As for the ruck sack with the patrolmans back pack is perfect for me , I’m able to pack what I need then able to down size to make my load lighter once I meet me choice of camp . Of course I’m not out on military 2 week excursion but the medium is also nice on certain circumstances . I kinda just grew out of the ALICE system personally but Thanks for the great videos , your channel is cool and the information from someone that has the knowledge of all the gear is helpfull . Thanks
Cool! I agree they work in dirty snow areas. I argue that the quality dropped with that generation. They fell apart after 1 month of use for us.
Biggest POS I was ever issued... I would agree that a lot of the snivel gear was much better than when I first came in. Especially as an 11B it would have been nice to have had the new stuff.
“You can’t roll your sleeves because that’s for holding your pens…” was the explanation I always got…
My unit was also one of the ones that got to field test the new interceptor plate carrier with the side armor and the pull chord that people would yank on just to fuck with each other. Field test as in a deployment in Iraq no less. Because you loaded the plates from underneath the plates would slide down because you know gravity is a thing and running would only shake them down faster and they’d no longer be covering the vital areas they were supposed to be covering. All that held the plate up was a two inch piece of Velcro that often wouldn’t align properly with the other piece of Velcro. I ended up having to use a safety pin to hold my plate in the proper position.
Was in the DFAC in Kuwait about to hop on the C130 into Iraq. A major sat at my table and so we struck up a small conversation. Apparently he was in charge of the program for fielding these vests and the civilians he was sitting with were the contractors selling them to the Army. I took the opportunity to mention this issue. This upset the contractor and he snidely told me “you should’ve paid attention to your training…”
1) the training lasted all of 15 minute and talked mostly about the pull chord.
2) no amount of training would’ve changed the fact that there wasn’t enough Velcro to hold the plate in properly. Let alone the fact Velcro wears out or that the materials themselves would stretch.
3) while I was smart enough to identify and resolve the problem how many other people do you think had the same issue, how many POGs do you think didn’t take the same measures I did. How many people might’ve died because they designed it poorly and got upset when they received actual feedback about a potentially serious issue.
I mean when the plate would slump down the top was about halfway exposing my heart let alone my upper lungs. Honestly the fix was as easy as using bigger pieces of Velcro. But no… the problem wasn’t poor design choice it was because a stupid enlisted soldier didn’t pay attention in training. One principle the army taught me is you need to idiot proof everything because if something stupid can be done someone is going to do it. How many soldiers do you know who were half awake going 48+ hours without sleep during training anyways. If it’s an issue for one how many more do you think are having the issue and don’t recognize it or do nothing about it. These are our vests too so we are talking about lives. This was when I realized military contractors were absolute pieces of shit.
Damn! That guy was leggit camo on Grandma's couch
I got out before all of this garbage. The beret was the issue going on and they wanted to replace our field jackets with Goretex. I still accidentally refer to ALL CAMO as BDU because the name says it as Battle Dress Uniform. We had woodland and desert pattern and "jungle boots" were no longer acceptable at some point.
I absolutely hated the plastic ruck frames. They flex under load and compress your spine. Everyone in my team replaced them with metal alice frames because the plastic frames would flex, warp, and break with the loads we were carrying.
All your complaints about the ACU are spot on, but the number one sign to me that the ACU was designed by civilians was that the flag and "US ARMY" tapes were velcro-ed on. Like, honestly, was I going to switch over to the Polish army mid deployment? and I would be in such a hurry I couldn't bother to get a new flag sewn on? Likewise with the US ARMY tapes. Newsflash: No other branch wore ACUs. Even the ANP and ABP had better uniforms lol
I was issued that crap when I went to Afghanistan in 2011 as active duty Navy. They wanted us to blend in with the Army.
PS Replacement "snap on" zippers are .50 cents at Walmart... And they come in grey!
BDU’s and DCU’s was the best uniform in army history.
Reminds me of what we (the Albanians) dealt with when our ACU switched over early last decade: going from hand me down BDUs to BDUs with the bad decisions of the US ACU - Velcro closures, the arse pingers on cargo pockets, zips on the both the trews and the shirt. Thank God someone realised that some of those were silly ideas eventually.
Beret sucks if you are gonna wear a hat even in garrison it should keep the sun or rain out of your eyes.
When i was at Ft Leonard Wood for seabee equipment operator "A" school we wore the old utilities blue pants and sky blue shirt. The army instructors wore ACUs and were easier to spot than us in our uniforms.
When I was a West Point cadet I got to meet the guy who created the ACU pattern and he despised it more than anyone I ever met. He said ACU was selected because some higher up's spouse said the soldiers looked the nicest in it, everyone else hated it and was speechless when it was selected. The only place ACUs blend in is West Point walls.
Go walk around any city in the US around dusk and you are invisible. That uniform is perfect for low light ops in developed cities, the number of times I almost got him in a cross walk going to work is insane. You can't see it against concrete roads. I think the issue is it's an urban camo designed with western urban areas in mind, not middle eastern.
@@michag4337 West point walls are a dark granite grey so that makes sense. Living in Nevada desert, an area very similar to Iraq and Afghanistan, it doesn't blend in at all.
@@michag4337 The blue version of the BDU Woodland is better at night and you don't have to be in a city to have night benefits.
@@news_internationale2035 Nothing blends in with concrete like ACU, and I can say that with 100% certainty because you never had to wear a glow belt with any BDU's to avoid getting hit by cars state side.
I still find it comical that the military set out in trying to make a universal camo that would work for deserts and forests, but ended up walking away with a camo that only works in a half frozen quarry.
I was in Iraq wearing DCU's when I saw the first units come in sporting the ridiculous ACU's. I quit bitching about having a BDU Interceptor vest after that. Put the whole, this doesn't look right into perspective. Most of our DCU's by that time had been "Modded" at the local sewing shop, taking off the lower set of front pockets and reattaching them on the shoulders where we could actually get to them.
Buttons beats Velcro. Buttons not only could be repaired in the field, but they also allowed ventilation, and up until we had shoulder pockets allowed for our sleeves to be rolled up, albeit it was an an overly complicated "Army" fashion, where you had to fold the last bit over to keep them 'fully camouflaged' (not including your bare arms, my being GLOW IN THE DARK WHITE with Freckles).
Didn't get my first set of ACU's until I returned to the states, and God what crap they were. Everything you said about them is dead on. I would add they RETAINED HEAT like a bitch, especially under the armor. Far more than the cotton BDU's (lightweight) and DCU's (also, lightweight). To the point I'd say more than a few Soldiers fell out or even died from Heat Stroke due to them. That rolled cuff wasn't a fashion statement, it was a desperate attempt to get 'some' ventilation into the damned things.
As luck would have it, I never was forced with the indignation of wearing ACU's in combat. In 2008 we deployed to Pakistan for Inspired Gambit '08, and wore BDU's to better blend with the Pakistani (Special Service Group & Air Assault) Troops. Something about being a stone's throw from Peshawar (Al-Queda Central) and not wanting to make it "too easy" for their Snipers.
By the time I deployed to Afghanistan, as a SOT-A member. We pretty much wore whatever made us happy. For me that was back to the BDU's, and on occasion an FSU sweatshirt. The OCP's (we referred to as MultiCam's) were popular with some of the ODA members, but they never got around to issuing them to all of us by the time we deployed (mid-2010). So completely missed out on that.
I was still sporting ACU's in the FL-ARNG by the time I was medically retired in 2015. Never once being issued the "New Stuff".
Always a Brides Maid...
SSG. U.S. Army (Medically Retired) Infantry / Sniper / SOF Intel (SOT-A), multiple tours
Have you seen the video covering these by Brent0331? His buddy died some ACU's with Rit Brand, Apple Green color and the results were amazing! You should look up others videos on dyeing the ACUs. Apple Green is the color that really makes them blend in with the foliage and grasses. I am left wondering why apple green is not part of the uniform color scheme.
I will look. Thanks!
The flaw of this camo wasn't the camo itself; it was great camo in environments that have grey rocks. It's that the US military decided this would be their one and only camo and deployed it to environments that it was unsuited for, like Afghanistan and Iraq where those colors were out of place. I am not military or former military, but I collect camo patterns from around the world and have tested a number of them in civilian wargames. I have developed a good eye for determining if a particular pattern is effective and under what conditions. UCP absolutely can be made to work in many environments if you have a bush to help break up your outline; crouch down and people will think you are a rock. I have actually made this work on multiple occasions. However, the US needs to take a cue from Russia and develop more specialty camo and hold it in reserve storage until needed; Russia seems to have perfect patterns for virtually any environment, but the US never has more than one or two total in circulation at any given time. Standard Multicam / OCP (they are functionally the same pattern) works acceptably in most environments except pine forests. In dense pine forests, Russian Digital Flora is honestly king. There are some US civilian patterns which work very well in woodland environments, but currently no official military ones.
i miss my BDUs, sold most after active/reserve time ended, still have desert bdu top from gulf war. we got them before we got on plane to come home, had to hand sew on tags for plane right back to our base, so the press saw us getting off plane with desert uniforms on that we didn't have for the war lol
I was in the Texas Guard where I had complained about the ACUs before I got the OCPs. I was in it from 2014-2020 where I did the transition from ACUs to OCPs so I can tell you my experience with the uniforms.
My first personal complaint about the ACUs is there are no buttons on the sleeve pockets, which can make the pocket flaps not parallel with the main sleeve pocket.
Another personal complaint of the ACUs is the Patrol Caps. They don't have ventilation holes and lots of layers, which can trap lots of heat on the head during the hot summer months.
The final complaint is the Army Regular AR-670-1 won't allow me to roll up the sleeves in the hot summer months like the old BDUs. The worst is we still cannot roll up the sleeves on the OCPs and it had to be approved by local Leaders at their discretion.
The uniform design of the OCPs is better than the ACUs. The only complaint is the OCPs Blouse still uses the zippers over the buttons, which made the heat isolated and it was bad for use in the Texas Heat.
I’m so disgusted that majority of my army time was spent with this crap even as a kid I thought it looked silly
17:42 That’s just brutal honesty. Never had it made clear like that before.
Personally, I think the UCP digital pattern would have worked if they kept the BDU construction , and added black to the pattern. "Digital Tiger stripe" BDU' s basically. Always liked that Nam pattern, Fierce looking and definitely would cover up oil stains
The problem with Universal Camo Pattern is the colors. They are not commonly found in nature and especially the light colors really stand out if there is any vegetation around. It should tell you something that UCP works best as a mediocre snow camouflage - definitely does not seem ideal for uniform meant for every environment from lush forests to fields and deserts.
The Air Force fielded a digital UCP tiger stripe pattern like what you mentioned minus the black and it was a BDU cut with buttons. Unfortunately, ABUs (Airman Battle Uniform) were 100% a garrison uniform. Whenever we went to the sandbox we were issued multicam/OCP because big Air Force knew that ABUs were junk in real combat. You didn't blend in with shit, even on the flightline where your background is a grey hangar with a grey concrete apron, maybe some asphalt.
I still have mine and have some fond memories in them but I'm glad we use OCPs now.
Look, I've heard that trying to design something that appeals to everyone appeals to no one, but this is ridiculous! Makes me think the REAL place the military was trying to save money wasn't on reducing the number of uniforms, but rather reducing expenditure on medical supplies...if you catch my meaning!
I remember when we changed from the lightweight "rip stop" cammies to the woodlands.
Hated the woodlands with a passion.
Heavy. Hot. Water sponging. Especially in the tropics (Okinawa). It was like wearing a sweat suit in the jungle.
The rip stops would dry out by body heat within 30 minutes or so.
Yep. The highland ERDL pattern hides you the best in any kind of foliage.
BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) is a type of uniform cut. The pattern is M81 Woodland. BDUs can be found in other patterns including some early uniforms in UCP.
right, but we usually refer to BDUs as the woodland pattern and ACUs as the garbage
As a civilian I love the surplus ACU trousers. I recently got a second pair. Especially the huge cargo pockets I find very useful, I can cram a whole bunch of things in them, even water bottles.. I do find the camo quite fashionable too. Luckily I don’t need to blend into the environment xD. I use these in the outdoors while hiking or camping. Also, the waist cord/strap whatever it’s called, works pretty good for me so I don’t necessarily have to put a belt in, which I mostly still do anyway.
The cord was made so that you could pull it hard and make it whip your buddies leg.
I worked commercial nuclear security for a number of years. I ran our OPFOR team. Never served in the military. Fortunately, we had wide latitude on uniform selection depending on the exercise scenario. Everything from Woodlands, DCU, ACU, MULTICAM, MARPAT knockoffs, actual MARPATS, for my Maroots, if they wanted them, even civvie stuff, kakhis, polos, jeans, t-shirts, business casual, business formal, hunting orange, farmer bibs, waders.
Hell, one time I had a guy wear a dress, a wig, and lipstick. I myself dressed in something that more or less resembled a security officer uniform from stuff I could approximate from Walmart stuff. If you could fake regional accents credibly, even better.
Every team had something they were best at, whether it was sneaking around in the boonies, running "slick" (civvies, concealed pistol, couple small charges), etc.
It was a weird, wild time.
That grandmas couch pic was hilarious.
When I was deployed in Iraq, we saw the Air Force guys with their tiger stripe uniforms, funny part was, after about a month of sun bleaching their boots and Uniforms would turn a bright baby blue... We called them the Smurf Brigade and would whistle the song when we would walk past them LOL... But to be Honest, the only thing my ACU could conceal me on, was my grandmothers old floral pattern couch LOL
When you said "a lot of guys were going commando and we'd still rip our crotches out" dude, that happened to me at motorpool once.
We were running 9 line med drills and practicing buddy carrying... of course it was raining and it was ft Campbell in feb... cold af... keep that in mind... i swear that the acu when wet might as well be toilet paper because i kneeled down to shoulder carry my buddy and my pants split from one end to the other. Of course, I'm a cool guy and i don't let underwear slow me down ever... so everything was on display. We had everyone attending that day; grunts, pog's, men, women... the whole family... i didn't realize that my shit split until after i started running with my buddy on my shoulders. My battle buddies were cringing and laughing in front of me, they were pointing at me... i couldn't figure it out until my platoon sgt screamed "lehane! Your dick is out!"... i stopped, looked down, then dropped my buddy flat on the ground (he was fine, he let me know my ass was showing too, before busting out laughing.)
Didn't get ptsd from Afghanistan, but i still have nightmares from that🤣
Did you get any smiles and winks from women? From men?
@@oscargrouch7962 more pointing and laughing 😆... like i said; it was a cold rainy day. The groundhog was staying in for winter.
Jeez. I am simultaneously amused and heart broken to think what war could be like in the near future. Forget new weapons and vehicles, forget battlefield tactics. The side that's gonna win is the one who is able to sh*tpost about the other faction's uniform the most. Can you imagine how toxic a second USA Civil War could be? You not only have to worry about dying, but also being MURDERED.
Unpopular opinion, but imo the army switching to OCP was at least as idiotic as the switch to UCP. Not because OCP is a terrible pattern but because we literally almost had a family of camouflage patterns like US4CES for desert, transition, and woodland, and the Army conducted a bunch of camouflage trials, but then decided to ditch all the research and go with OCP even after if was shown that multiple patterns will always be more effective than one. Hyperstealth has a bunch of good articles on it if anyone is interested in more info, just google "US4CES"
I also think the problem with the velcro isn't really a fault in the design but the quality of the materials and the way it was used. Crye Precision and other companies have been making the very highest quality of combat uniforms for years now, and they all use velcro pockets and I have never heard anyone complain about those, and how they wish they had buttons (although recently zipper pockets have become popular for the shoulders such as on the gen 4 Crye combat top). Also these uniforms are only technically suppose to have a service life of 6 months so of course the velcro will fail if soldiers are using the same uniform for multiple years.
I think the biggest factor the Army went with when deciding on one pattern vs multiple ones was cost of issue to all the troops.
I'm a civilian and I'm glad that all branches of the military now have one decent camo pattern, not several ineffective patterns.
I wear the ECWCS lvl 3 too sleeping in fuzzy fleece jacket is awesome
I had the same problems with my gear in wilderness SAR. I had enough of the modern "plastic" gear and was researching what the old timers wore. Waxed or oiled canvas, leather, silk, wool, toggles and buttons.
I wear my old C--- Cap when I wear my old Class A's on veterans day to talk to school kids. NOT wearing the stupid beret.
Not wearing it because it's... French?
Nah, Garrison Cap looka so much better.
To be fair, the choice of uniform/camo was left out of the soldiers' hands and in the hands of top brass and defense contractors for kickbacks and paydays.
Many people, including civilians, wondered what was the purpose of that kind of camo; were they going to send soldiers to fight a war on the moon?
What wasn't discussed was that the uniform could be dyed certain colors to blend in with various backgrounds. (Which kinda doesn't make sense if the dyes can be washed out with industrial grade bleach and clothing detergents.)
As for camo, it doesn't make much sense when it makes the person stand out much more than civilians with standard issue clothing.
Cammies might make sense in combat, but a more civilian attire might make more sense in garrison or FOB's or discreet operations while amongst the civilian population.
I don't get why they don't give non-combat a plain drab uniform or an everyday dress.
@@news_internationale2035 No money in it. Much cheaper, more available, better quality at uniform supply companies.
$25 slip-grip black shoes (6-12mths per), Four $40 wrinkle-free trousers (durable - good care can last 5 years), Two or Three $10 pack of 4 or 5 t-shirts; $30 for 12 to 15 t-shirts. (appearance wise - good ones for garrison/FOB, slightly worn for PT, worn down for dirty jobs). Can wear an ID Card on a lanyard or clip it to belt loop. $280/yr.
3 pairs of $70 boots (one pair for garrison/FOB, one pair for PT/field training, one for combat). Four $50 camo trousers (2 garrison/FOB, 2 field training, and two $70 flame-retardant combat). Four $50 camo jackets (2 garrison/FOB, 2 field training, and two $70 flame-retardant combat). Three $14 3 pack of USGI t-shirts; $42 for 9 t-shirts. $832/yr.
Buttons on the back pockets so you don't sit as much.
I got out of the Army in 97. So glad I didn't have to wear ACUs. The idea of Velcro on uniforms cannot be criticized enough! The stretchy cords, the Velcro, the pattern............ It is 2022 and I STILL have three sets of BDUs (woodland) that I use as work clothes. They are durable, repairable, and comfortable. And buttons never wear out.
I blend very well in the norwegian snowy granite mountains with pine woods in my ucp ecwcs gen3. When US troops are joining the winter training up here with their new OCP uniforms, they need to pull a white wintercamo over it. By the way, my profile picture was taken on a spot where navy seals were training every spring in Norway.😁
Cool! Yea like the ICS tents in UCP they'll work in snowy woods. My arguments against how well they hold up remain though.
Agreed, works well in winter woods in Alaska too. Only time I wear it. OCP for “shoulder seasons” between killing frost and first snowfall or breakup and leaf out in the spring, then woodland patterns for the summer. Multicam Tropic looks interesting tho.
Back in 89 we had the woodland camo field jacket with a button in liner. In the 82nd it was never once authorized as acceptable uniform. We wore the winter bdu shirt and hid that jacket liner underneath. I never got cold. We did everything with the absolute minimum of gear back then.
I personally like it.My reasoning is I can get it dirt cheap for outdoors and camping stuff.
Yup, its half to 1/3rd the price of Woodland or DCU and nowhere near the OCP stuff. It looks decent if you dye it though.
Yeah, but it falls apart quicker than the old BDUs. So you might actually save money with older, but stronger stuff. I know the trashmen around here use them a lot for the reasons you mentioned.
@@kekelaward I have a ton of BDU's awesome pieces of gear.If you never heard of it check out the PCU (Protective Combat Uniform) it's the special forces precursor gear before the gen three ecwcs.
Excellent spot on review!
As a Veteran of both the US and Estonian Armies Military Police, I got to say that the US Army ACU, was the most inefficient worst designed Tactical Combat uniform, that I have worn in my career's serving in the militaries for two different countries.
The most efficient best designed Tactical, Combat Field uniform design that I have worn was the, Estonian 1995+ Zipper Pocket system series. In my Active EDF service time, I wore 3 designs generations thereof. All of the 1995+ EDF Zipper Pocket tactical uniforms had excellent very large vertical chest zipper pockets where one could fit a Glock 17 pistol in or a Cell Phone, or a 30 round M16 and Galil 35 round magazines. Wearing my EDF M1995 zipper pocket field tactical uniforms in all types of physically stressful conditions, I never had any breakage of the zippers on the pockets or jacket opening. I see big-time Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Corruption in the US Army Uniform and Personal Gear procurement programs. 'Where in the end it's the Soldiers who ultimately receive ineffective uniforms and equipment because of this greedy institutionalized corruption.
The UCP pattern wasn't bad after ten months of daily wear/getting it filthy. It kind of turned colors closer to the local dirt. But the difference between it and multicam is night and day. And, big surprise, the ACU has button pockets again! Still has the zipper though 🧐
Plus it made soldiers look dumpy.
"All seven layers of the ecwcs wasn't meant to be worn at the same time"
Me, remembering nighttime training in fort drum, ny: No, I think you're mistaken 🤣😭
I served from 84-93 in BDUs we would roll the sleeves with the cuff covering, doesn't look like you can do that with pockets on your upper arm. During the Persian Gulf War we couldn't roll or sleeves because of sunburn.
Army: The Marines got a cool new uniform that works well and has futuristic digital camo? We want one too!
So let's just basically do the same thing then--
Army: NO! Only one pattern! And buttons are a thing of the past, it's got to have velcro, lots of velcro!
You can thank a US Army officer who designed the MARPAT and tried selling the design and patten to the US Army which they turned down but the USMC was happy to accept.