The Great Camo Boondoggle

[Simon Tan]

Say, that kind of Commie talk is dangerous I tell you.

[shep854]

The bell bottoms had a functional purpose, so you could turn the trousers into an ersatz life preserver if push came to shove. Get the pants off while still wearing the shoes and easy movement.

The fact that someone went with a synthetic cloth uniform for navy shipboard wear means some committee needs to be FIRED and sent to work damage control on the worst ship in the navy. --rmgill

 

The original purpose of bell bottoms was so the sailor could roll up the legs to the knee while holystoning the old wooden decks; they usually worked barefoot. Getting them off over shoes for an impromptu life jacket can certainly be a useful feature, though.

 

As for polyester uniforms, it was also tried in the '70s. Sailors burned.

[Kenneth P. Katz]

Sailors should be wearing Nomex onboard ship, just like aircrews do when in aircraft.

[Lionel Mandrake]

Sailors should be wearing Nomex onboard ship, just like aircrews do when in aircraft.

 

+1

 

Any idea why the USN never adopted RN style anti-flash kit (wool based?) which has not only endured almost unchanged for more than a 100 years but is used by most Commonwealth navies, the Royal Dutch Navy, etc., etc.?

[Lionel Mandrake]

Addendum - just Googled and the USN now dose indeed have RN style anti-flash gear (since when?) - seemingly worn in conjunction with the synthetic blend "Aquaflage". Talk about one step forward, two steps back...

[chino]

US is starting to look like those banana replublics where they have multiple camo uniforms.

 

Singapore is no different.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/new-combat-uniforms-for-air-force--navy-servicemen.html

 

For the longest time we had one type of camo for ground troops, and sailors and airmen wore dark blue overalls which made them look very smart and professional.

 

And then, the same stupidity began with the Navy and airforce all getting their own digital camo No. 4. Now they just look sloppy. My first question was also, "why do Navy men need blue camo?"

 

I quote:

“The colour (new camo) scheme is a better match against the commonly used colours of aircraft, ships and key installations,” it said in a statement. “This effectively blends the airmen and sailors in their respective operating platforms and enhances their survival by delaying enemy detection time.”

 

How asinine is that? Have militaries just gone stupid all over the world?

 

The Singapore police has also added a few more new uniform types, different coloured headgear, on patrol. On my annual short trips home I just wonder who these people are.

Edited May 14, 2013 by chino

[chino]

Old

 

 

 

New

 

 

 

 

This is not an improvement. This is a joke.

[Simon Tan]

No...it's just idiots aping one another.

[Panzermann]

Wouldn't bright orange or yellow coveralls make the most sense on an air field? On the the civilian side all people working outside wear some jacket or vest in bright colours with reflective tape.

[Dawes]

Looks like Congress settled the issue for all the services:

 

 

http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20130605/NEWS07/306050033/House-panel-votes-favor-common-combat-uniform-across-services

[rmgill]

wow...really? Some sanity?

[RETAC21]

wow...really? Some sanity?

 

"The measure passed by a 32-30 vote"

 

No, it was mere coincidence.

[BillB]

No wonder the British Army did so well in WW2.

 

You kind of have to reflect, why the concern over multiple different kinds of camoflage uniforms, in an era when thermal imagers are increasingly making them irrelevant anyway? Its almost like the absurdity surround 'la Pantalon Rouge'. Maxim guns didnt give a toss what colour they were.

Traitor, BD, cowpat hats & those sleeveless leather jerkins were the business. Along with the Denison smock and those camo two-piece windproof suits.

 

Ref the second bit, indeed, but worrying about Maxim guns wasn't going to keep the French madder dye industry afloat, was it. And horizon bleu wasn't compatible with all that stuff about elan vital and offensive à l’outrance...

 

BillB

[shep854]

Wouldn't bright orange or yellow coveralls make the most sense on an air field? On the the civilian side all people working outside wear some jacket or vest in bright colours with reflective tape.

That's why the reflective belts of infamy and ridicule.

[Calvinb1nav]

Dunno know if it's true but I Marine Lt Col that I went to DLI with said that originally the Marines asked the Army to join in on their new camo and the Army told them that they weren't interested. Only after the Army said no, did they do the copyright thing. Judging by the Army buffonery I see on a daily basis in the joint SOF command I work at, I don't doubt this story for a minute...
The AF camo is the dumbest thing. Ever. What morons decided to to repeat the winter-weight BDU debacle?

 

How the services have the absolute unmitigated gall to whine about the budget with all the money they wasted on separate uniforms is simply beyond me....

[Dawes]

Supposedly the US Army was set to introduce their new camo this month. Now what - back to the drawing board?

[shep854]

Dunno know if it's true but I Marine Lt Col that I went to DLI with said that originally the Marines asked the Army to join in on their new camo and the Army told them that they weren't interested. Only after the Army said no, did they do the copyright thing. Judging by the Army buffonery I see on a daily basis in the joint SOF command I work at, I don't doubt this story for a minute...

The AF camo is the dumbest thing. Ever. What morons decided to to repeat the winter-weight BDU debacle?

 

How the services have the absolute unmitigated gall to whine about the budget with all the money they wasted on separate uniforms is simply beyond me....

It would be grand if the Marines 'just happened' to have a way to drop the EGAs and graciously offer to help the Army out now, with a Congressional mandate...

[mnm]

 

Its almost like the absurdity surround 'la Pantalon Rouge'.

 

...

 

Vive Le Elegance.

 

Your foreign language abilities are enviable

[Kenneth P. Katz]

Play close attention, DoD. If you don't want to be micromanaged by the clowns in Congress, then don't be such a bunch of buffoons that by comparison Congress looks sensible.

 

Looks like Congress settled the issue for all the services:

 

http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20130605/NEWS07/306050033/House-panel-votes-favor-common-combat-uniform-across-services

[Kenneth P. Katz]

I get to differ, and defend the honor of the USAF. The new Navy cam is the dumbest thing. Unbelievably ugly and worse, it tends to conceal a sailor who falls overboard. The new USAF camo is merely the second dumbest thing ever.

 

The AF camo is the dumbest thing. Ever.

[shep854]

 

I get to differ, and defend the honor of the USAF. The new Navy cam is the dumbest thing. Unbelievably ugly and worse, it tends to conceal a sailor who falls overboard. The new USAF camo is merely the second dumbest thing ever.

 

The AF camo is the dumbest thing. Ever.

Second the squids. I believe the RAN had reflective strips sewn into their naval cam uniforms for just that reason. The USAF added to their dumb score with the green boots, tho.

[Calvinb1nav]

I have to wear that stupid ABU everyday and trust me, it's beyond stupid. As for the Navy, at least they had some rationale (it hides grease stains) for the colors beyond "it looks cool" . As for it hiding you when you fall overboard, I thought most Navy guys wear a water-activated strobe light when they are working outside on the deck.

 

 

I get to differ, and defend the honor of the USAF. The new Navy cam is the dumbest thing. Unbelievably ugly and worse, it tends to conceal a sailor who falls overboard. The new USAF camo is merely the second dumbest thing ever.

 

The AF camo is the dumbest thing. Ever.

[TonyE]

 

Remember: worst dressed Army wins the war.

No wonder the British Army did so well in WW2.

 

You kind of have to reflect, why the concern over multiple different kinds of camoflage uniforms, in an era when thermal imagers are increasingly making them irrelevant anyway? Its almost like the absurdity surround 'la Pantalon Rouge'. Maxim guns didnt give a toss what colour they were.

"Red trousers are France!" makes way more sense than the current US uniform debate.

[A2Keltainen]

"Red trousers are France!" makes way more sense than the current US uniform debate.

I thought it was: "Brown-stained trousers, and white flags, are France!" (Ducking to avoid all the incoming snails and empty wine bottles.)

[Simon Tan]

The Murricans did the whole Zouave thing in the ACW.