The US Army’s Universal Camouflage: A Terrible Mistake

Video written by Adam Chase

[squiddler]

The idea of the US military having copyright disputes with itself over camouflage patterns is both dystopian and hilarious

[ChenAnPin]

Probably just as bad was the US Navy's blue camouflage uniform which worked great at making a sailor that fell overboard blend very well into the ocean.

[jopo]

As a Canadian, I’m shocked by the idea of two military branches of the same country working so separately that one copywrited technology in order that the other didn’t get it.

[airborneshodan]

I was an instructor at the Special Warfare Center in the aughts. I wore the UCP uniform on the patrol exercises because I literally glowed at night compared to my students wearing old woodland camouflage. It was easy for the students to find me at night for change of leadership briefings since I stood out like a sore thumb. Being a FOB bound staff officer in multiple Iraq and Afghanistan tours, I took comfort that the pattern did blend in with the gravel used throughout the bases and I could dissappear by going flat on the gravel deck.

[hippotripo]

We’ve actually made really good camouflage, we just can’t find where we left the designs.

[evanhale]

The fact that the U.S. military is paid for with taxes and yet the different branches are scamming each other with patents on effective military designs is so beyond stupid and frustrating

[zNEKOMARUz]

Army: "This camo pattern works. We want to use it."
Marines: "You can't. We have copyright on the pattern. If you use it we'll sue."
Army: "Aren't....we on the same side?"

[gwfowler]

I was sitting in my helicopter waiting for two soldiers to take a leak in nearby woods. One was wearing the ACU flight uniform, the other the new flight uniform. I could easily see the guy in the ACUs, the other guy I could not see unless he moved. Seems it would have been easy to see that pattern was crap before buying.

[nebuchadnear]

What I've learned is that the different branches of the US military operate like giant individual corporations

[TheCoastalAVENGER]

the US Army not being able to use the US Marine's Camo because of copyright is possibly the most American thing I've ever heard

[thomas]

It's interesting to me they would create a camouflage pattern uniform yet cut clothing to include straight lines and sharp corners. Straight lines and sharp corners are very rare in nature so tend to catch the eye.

[Alex-xhkv]

I remember a very specific instance when the UCP's camouflaged a soldier perfectly. We had a couch with a UCP cover. A soldier fell asleep in uniform on it & his NCO was looking for him. It took the NCO awhile to find him there as the soldier's boots were out of sight.

The BN CSM ordered the UCP cover removed but it was replaced after he retired.

[mace]

My friend in the navy wears green camo on his boat. Kinda funny. I asked him about it one time and he said “the thing about boat camo is, they already know we’re on the boat”

[ananthropomorphictalkinggo]

This channel single handedly keeps the stock footage industry in business.

[sgwilsonmd]

The Marine Corps had been buying BDUs through the Army at very high prices. The development cost and production costs for Marpat was about 1/2 the cost of BDUs. Natick Labs (the Army's gear and MRE development center in Natick MA) refused to help the USMC develop Marpat which is part of the reason the Marines said "FU" and slapped a copyright on it.

[ReroutedYearAD]

"... trick the enemies eyes more better."

Goddang, Cledus, that thur sure is some much gooder speak you'z got!

[tequilacollins]

I'm surprised they didn't mention the Navy's camo attempt, nicknamed "the blueberries". They felt left out and developed their own camouflage uniform. This wasn't for their Seals. It was the standard working uniform. You know, the ones walking around on giant ships that you can see miles away. But if a man falls overboard, then, yes, he's going to be hard to find.

[KiloIndia]

When we arrived in Afghanistan I was in a quick response unit. Which meant that we spent a lot of time standing by on some random hill hiding from the enemy until we were called. Eventually we realized how easy we were to spot, so what we started to do is to dip our uniforms into a mixture of dirt and water which helped change the ACU (our digital uniforms) into a different color and something less visible in the afghan terrain.

[johnathonlivingston]

The Marines’ refusal to share its pattern with the Army is as astonishing as the Army’s failure to produce an effective pattern.

[GeminiKnight]

One additional terrible design flaw of the UCP is the fucking velcro pocket closures which never stayed closed. There's nothing like the sound of tearing velcro to give away your position to the enemy.