DivineHeretic
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This is indeed hilarious. Only posting the humorous parts of the main text. The quest for superiority has its pitfalls.
In 2002, the U.S. military had just two kinds of camouflage uniforms. One was-green, for the woods. The other was-brown, for the desert.
Today, there is one camouflage pattern just for-Marines in the desert. There is another just for-Navy personnel-in the desert.
The Army has its own "universal" camouflage pattern, which is designed to work anywhere. It also has-another onejust for Afghanistan, where the first one doesn't work.
Even the Air Force has its own unique camouflage, used in a new-Airman Battle Uniform. But it has flaws. So in Afghanistan, airmen are told not to wear it in battle.
At the Pentagon,-a GAO study commissioned by the Senate Armed Services Committee-found that the military services have spent more than $12-million on designing new camouflage patterns
the Army set out to duplicate what the Marines had done, spending at least $2.63-million on its own camouflage research. The Army produced what it called a-"universal" camouflage, in shades of green, gray and tan.
.It was not as universal as they said.After complaints that the pattern didn't work in Afghanistan, the Army had to spend $2.9-million to design a camouflage specific to that country.
The GAO found that the Army then spent more than $30-million to outfit troops with the new design, called-Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage.
Pattern No. 7 came from the Air Force. It was a "tiger stripe" pattern, a throwback to camouflage used in the Vietnam War.
"They were not designed to hide anybody. They were designed to look cool," said O'Neill, the West Point camouflage expert, giving his outside appraisal of the Air Force design. "It's what we call 'CDI Factor.' Which is, 'Chicks dig it.'-"
Finally, in 2010, the Air Force-ordered its personnel-in Afghanistan to ditch the Airman Battle Uniform and wear Army camouflage instead.-
The Marines had inserted tiny eagles, globes and anchors into the camouflage — betting that no other service would go to war with another branch's logo on its pants. It worked.The Navy spent more than $435,000-on a new design.
Sailors worried that it would hide them at the one time they would want to be found."You fall in the damn water and you're wearing water-colored camouflage. What the hell is that?" said one active-duty petty officer.
The rest of the Navy personnel who might serve in the desert — more than 50,000 of them — were issued a different camouflage pattern.This was pattern No. 10.
The Pentagon's long and expensive search for new camouflage uniforms had previously defied logic. Now it would defy camouflage itself.
It ended with U.S. service members wearing green in the desert.
With 10 patterns, U.S. military branches out on camouflage front - The Washington Post
In 2002, the U.S. military had just two kinds of camouflage uniforms. One was-green, for the woods. The other was-brown, for the desert.
Today, there is one camouflage pattern just for-Marines in the desert. There is another just for-Navy personnel-in the desert.
The Army has its own "universal" camouflage pattern, which is designed to work anywhere. It also has-another onejust for Afghanistan, where the first one doesn't work.
Even the Air Force has its own unique camouflage, used in a new-Airman Battle Uniform. But it has flaws. So in Afghanistan, airmen are told not to wear it in battle.
At the Pentagon,-a GAO study commissioned by the Senate Armed Services Committee-found that the military services have spent more than $12-million on designing new camouflage patterns
the Army set out to duplicate what the Marines had done, spending at least $2.63-million on its own camouflage research. The Army produced what it called a-"universal" camouflage, in shades of green, gray and tan.
.It was not as universal as they said.After complaints that the pattern didn't work in Afghanistan, the Army had to spend $2.9-million to design a camouflage specific to that country.
The GAO found that the Army then spent more than $30-million to outfit troops with the new design, called-Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage.
Pattern No. 7 came from the Air Force. It was a "tiger stripe" pattern, a throwback to camouflage used in the Vietnam War.
"They were not designed to hide anybody. They were designed to look cool," said O'Neill, the West Point camouflage expert, giving his outside appraisal of the Air Force design. "It's what we call 'CDI Factor.' Which is, 'Chicks dig it.'-"
Finally, in 2010, the Air Force-ordered its personnel-in Afghanistan to ditch the Airman Battle Uniform and wear Army camouflage instead.-
The Marines had inserted tiny eagles, globes and anchors into the camouflage — betting that no other service would go to war with another branch's logo on its pants. It worked.The Navy spent more than $435,000-on a new design.
Sailors worried that it would hide them at the one time they would want to be found."You fall in the damn water and you're wearing water-colored camouflage. What the hell is that?" said one active-duty petty officer.
The rest of the Navy personnel who might serve in the desert — more than 50,000 of them — were issued a different camouflage pattern.This was pattern No. 10.
The Pentagon's long and expensive search for new camouflage uniforms had previously defied logic. Now it would defy camouflage itself.
It ended with U.S. service members wearing green in the desert.
With 10 patterns, U.S. military branches out on camouflage front - The Washington Post
