Anyway (or "'weigh.")
As a retired Army NCO with a blog I am expected to maintain a certain level of harassment of the other services, all in a sense of fun, of course. I have most recently twitted the Air Force for fielding a camouflage uniform and getting all wee-wee'd up when folks called it a "Battle Dress Uniform": "The US Air Force does not engage in ground combat, this is the Airman Barracks Uniform." Except that there are Air Force personnel who engage in ground combat, and they are now calling it the Airman Battle Uniform anyway. Here are a couple of pictures:
I like the super-hero-ish vibe of this one... Also, the fact that it clearly shows the sage green boots.
RUMINT had it that the ABU was supposed to have blue in the pattern, because it is, after all, the Air Force. Obviously, more sober heads prevailed on that issue...
Wikipedia has an article on the ABU here.
Apparently
There are supposed to be a "predominantly blue" and "predominantly gray" versions; not clear which version is worn under what conditions...
Meanwhile, the Army is supposed to be working on a replacement for the Army Camouflage Uniform; the uniform itself is said to be very popular, but the camouflage itself is less than ideal. Which is foolish: At the time of the ACU's adoption, it was pointed out that, in the course of a four hour patrol in Iraq, one could easily transition from urban, to desert, to woodland conditions; no single camouflage pattern is going to serve in all conditions. But, someone whined to his congresscritter, who launched an investigation...
4 comments:
Why we trust occifers to make decisions regarding uniform changes is beyond me. I'm just glad I got out before the ABU was introduced. It was bad enough to have to put up with all the changes to the dress uniform.
As for the navy, one can only pity them having to wear that getup.
The marines are the only ones who got it right; their desert pattern uniforms are possibly the best camo that has ever been designed. When they get more than 50 ft or so away they can literally disappear into the environment. I haven't seen how well their woodland pattern works, but I imagine it's nearly as good.
I agree that the Marines have the best camouflage uniform out there.
I have to admit that I had reservations when the new Navy working uniform (what I affectionately like to call "aquatic camouflage") came out, but now that it's become ever-present, I'm warming to it.
It actually is the result of years of input from sailors and extensive testing. It is RIDICULOUSLY expensive, but the sailors like it as it is hugely more comfortable and easier to care for than the old utilities or the dungarees that I grew up in.
Compared to those uniforms... dungarees, of course, closely resembling that of a prison inmate's uniform and utilities that of your typical Jiffy-lube employee...aquatic camouflage is a huge improvement.
And, although expensive, the gore-tex jacket that comes with it is a HUGE improvement over the old, most distinctly not waterproof, field jackets, Navy utility jackets or Woolen pea coats.
Sailors aren't trying to be wanna-be ground-pounders which is why the pattern is not designed for camo...it's designed to look "military" while hiding the stains and grime that are inevitable when operating on the world's largest and most complicated machines.
As I said, when they first started coming out I had my reservations, but considering the support this uniform has in the fleet, the more I see them around, the more fond of them this old Chief is becoming.
Whatever happened to multicam?
I know the Navy doesn't issue EPIRBs, and working around heavy greasy equipment is messy on the clothes, but if you fall off into the water do you really want to become invisible?
That is a valid concern, but not really much more of one than the older uniforms.
Both dungarees and utilities were shades of blue as well.
When people are on deck during evolutions likely to result in someone going over the side (flight ops, unreps, heavy weather, etc), they are required to wear brightly colored flotation devices that include dye packs, flashing lights, whistles, etc.
Yes, it's possible someone could go over at other times, but it's extremely rare and, as I said, the aquatic camouflage isn't that much different than the older solid blue on blue colors.
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