Multi-environment?  Hardly.

Foliage Green, the primary color of the uniform?  It's actually gray.

At the middle of 2004, the Army announced that its soldiers would get a new uniform. No longer would G.I.s have to keep separate outfits for desert or woodland combat. The new, "digital" Army Combat Uniform, or ACU, would be capable of blending into them all.

Making the ACU as invisible as possible required developing an entirely new "digital" camouflage pattern, derived from the Marine Corps' so-called "MARPAT" camo scheme, which was launched in 2001. MARPAT is pixilated—bit-mapped on a computer, and then "printed" directly onto nylon... Unlike the old camo, digital camo suggests shapes and colors without actually being shapes and colors—like visual white noise. While it may serve a hunter well to appear to be part of a tree, a contemporary soldier needs to be on the move, and so his camouflage must help him blend into the "flow of space."

But how much does it help, really? The ACU has now been in service for a while now, and some soldiers are complaining that the "universal" cammos aren't really suited to every environment. Yeah, the outfits do a good job of hiding people in cities, but there's very little noticeable green in the ACU's pattern, they argue. So the things stick out like a sore thumb wherever there's even a bit of vegetation.

"I just came back from a range, where there was dry sandy areas, grassy areas and a wooded area behind it. Many soldiers still had BDUs [Battle Dress Uniforms, the old green outfits] and the rest had ACUs. Throughout the day I couldn't help but notice that no matter what the backgound was, the ACU attracted the eye and stood out quite obvious, whereas the BDU really only stood out in the sandy areas. What was also quite obvious was the fact that I wasn't the only one that noticed it. From the colonel on down, there were rather drastic remarks on the uniforms ineffectiveness. Not so much bitching about durability, velco, etc., just the colors. It was obvious that at some time, some place, this garbage will get soldiers killed."

"I just returned from A-stan where we were on of the last units to be issued DCU's [the old Desert Combat Uniforms]. When the ACU's started showing up there was quite a stink about the "multi environment" claim as it stuck out badly. The SF guys would wear the "target identification cloth" (ACU) inside the wire but when on an operation would wear BDU or DCU depending where they were going. Only the office and supply pogues at Bagram thought the ACU's were the "hip" thing to wear.

Then there's the conspiracy theory. Different uniform designs were tried out, including a "multicam" pattern from Brooklyn's Crye & Associates, before the Army picked its digital camos. Some say Crye's design did a far better job hiding soldiers –– but wasn't picked, regardless.

"During testing the ACU was thrown out during the first round at Natick [Soldier Systems Center]. A Multicam type of uniform had won in the final testing. As was told by Natick labs, all research was set aside... the final "choice" [was made] with absolutely no soldier feedback or testing... There are hundreds of emails and letters daily as to the ineffectiveness of the ACU. However, leadership is turning a blind eye to these very valid complaints. For what reason is unknown. Political I would guess."










So let's hear it: Is the ACU a bust?  Or do you think it's working like a charm?

As for me, I think the overall design is good to go, but, like the Marines, they need two sets –– one for woodland, and one for desert.  The gray coloration needs to go.

I personally think the choice of uniform was brilliant.

If you know you're going to be involved in two insurgencies for the better part of a decade, why not give the troops a uniform that really doesn't blend into any environment and that the crotch blows out and with velcro that everyone hates. That way instead of bitching about long deployments to the Middle East they'll bitch about the crappy uniform.


BRILLIANT!

I hate the colors, the velcro for patches are a great idea but not sensible.
badges that pin on are stupid as hell. I dont know how many times i have lost a backing(damn it) and stabbed the shit out of my chest or ribs. I like the pocket locations. The whole idea was for the uniform to be cheaper for the soldier. I have spent more money buying more patches, and badges than i did for the BDU's.

I think MultiCam would have been a more viable option. Plus I think it looks more professional.

How much did BDU's cost?

I was issued the only sets I have, and my first unit wore DCUs year round. I didn't buy ACUs until late 2006, but they were $40 for the top and bottom then, so $80 per set without patches or name tapes.

That ain't too cheap.    I thought service personnel got a discount on their gear.

Yep, that's what it was at clothing sales on post anyway. That also why I waited for quite a while before getting them. I was going to get the most out of my DCUs before shelling out the bucks for ACUs.

I did end up getting ACUs before I absolutely had to though, because I PCS'ed and I think everyone in my next unit was wearing ACUs, and I didn't want to stand out. My first unit though, the 1SG and I both always told people we would never buy ACUs until it was absolutely mandatory. When I left, I'd say maybe 1/4 or less of the battalion was still wearing DCUs.

I think our MARPATS got it right. The one thing about the ACU's I envy is how lightweight they are. MARPAT uniforms are heavy and really suck in hot or humid climates until you get then broken in so they breathe better. My deserts are basically white but at least they finally breathe.

Ya know… Something bugs me about the military.

Back when I was playing paintball and making minimum wage I had several colors of camouflage for different environments. No one pattern can possibly work in all environments, at least it won’t work as well as a pattern specifically tailored to that environment. And we are talking cloth here, it’s not that expensive. The military spends billions on other stuff and won’t shell out a little money on things like this.

Well… I guess it will cut down on friendly fire since no one else would wear anything that looks like the ACU into combat, at least it’s got that going for it.

Multi-CAM ftw.

MARPAT, I haven't seen it to be any more or less effective than the old woodland BDU's. Desert MARPAT kicks ass for blending in to the desert.

ACU blends in with my mother's couch and not much else. I've seen the photos. Guy in ACU's in the desert? He has to roll around in the sand to 'season' it so it doesn't stand out as much, and it still fails to blend in. Foliage? Still stands out. It's supposed to be great in urban environments, but I've yet to see a photo of troops in an urban environment where it actually blended with anything in the background. What the fuck is ACU supposed to blend in with?

Multicam, while not perfect, is FAR better than ACU and actually will blend in with a wide variety of terrains. Its weak point is REALLY green foliage, and then it still blends in better than ACU does. If the reason for ACU is political/financial (government pattern rather than a commercial pattern), then why didn't they go with the desert brush pattern? That one scored slightly better than Multicam in their tests and was designed by the .gov just like the ACU did. WTF?

The air force tigerstripe ACU's look like they would blend in better because of the pattern change, but the colors are still the same. The only place I've seen them in use is the grocery store, so I've no idea how badly they stand out in the real world.

Might as well go back to white trousers and red wool uniforms.

i like how the marine corps does it. there camo seems to blend better

You rang?

Marpat(before it was called Marpat) was made for the Army.  Army was dead set on the ACU colors, just at the time were looking at a woodland style pattern in those colors.

So Gen Jones Commandant of the USMC adopted Marpat.

I personally think Marpat desert is the best of the bunch that the mil commonly uses.  After that, Choc Chip Desert.  Desert works well in the woodline if you darken it up a little, ie roll in the dirt.  I have spent 2 years running around VA in desert cammies and I can attest to their work.

Multicam is cool and all, and no one disputes that it works, but it costs well over twice as much as other patterns.  I think for an all around camouflage our troops would be better off with Marpat desert.

Same price as the ACU, at least from my wholesaler, in 50/50 NyCo Ripstop.

Tactical Couch

You've posted that pic a few times in other threads and honestly the first time I did not see you at all in it.

Personally, I like the pants, just need buttons instead of velcro.  I'd rather have the older BDU style blouse, as I could access lower pockets with armor on, and those shoulder pockets seem to hang up on everything I put on.

As far as teh actual colors..... Isn't fratricide way down now?

Wonder what division of Haliburton designed the Multicam??.

My two bitches about ACUs are that the velcro on the neck chafes like crazy and that I can't figure out why with all that damn velcro they couldn't put a piece there for your badges.  Command wants you to wear your wings but you can't wear pin on stuff on the helicopter.  Its a FOD issue.  SO I never wear my wings and just take the abuse from command  since its stupid to take the badges off and then back on every time I fly.

My opinion is that the digitals were designed be be MORE effective at LONGER ranges, because most camo patterns tend to turn "black" at long ranges, and militarys around the world are going to more and more "standoff" weapons.

Look at how popular the Advantage and Mossy Oak patterns were. They work pretty well out to about 70 yards or so, then they turn dark to black. If you have some, check out what I'm talking about.

Have you noticed that even the civilian stuff is now lighter in color and the print is not as dense as before?

All that being said, I still prefer the original woodlands pattern and I'm becoming quite fond of the British DPM as well.

NO camo works well in ALL situations.

The theory behind digitals is they work better at hiding movement, than the more standard patterns.

all of the funeral escorts I have talked to say they hated the ACU. wore out too fast, velrco sucks, collar sucks, pants split in the crotch too fast.

They did like the boots though.

My personal preference is Woodland BDUs.

most of the 1st gen digital patterns were designed to be most effective from 50-300m.  the exception is the desert CADPAT which has a larger macropattern to make it effective out to 600m.



the problem with positive space camos like Advantage and Mossy Oak, etc is that they are made to work in a hunting environment where a person is next to a rock or a tree.  the digital patterns are negative space camos...they work best when the soldier/Marine is between objects.








 

ACU sucks.  

thats strange...the MARPAT patent makes no mention of an Army pattern.  it does however mention that it used CADPAT as its basis in the Prior Art section; as well as dicussing the Dual-Tex pattern the Army worked on in the 70's for vehicles





 

The ACU sucks balls. All the velcro on mine has failed miserably, and I've had two pairs of trousers blow out so far.

Why not make the uniform in woodland and do away with the fucking velcro?

A couple of years ago I was out at an FTX with One Shepherd, a volunteer organization that does field training for ROTC in Missouri, and myself and some other cadre were playing the role of "OpFor".  My fire team had set up a hasty OP on the military crest of a ridge and were observing the area below us when one of us suddenly spotted a lone "BlueFor" member moving across the opposite ridge, left to right.  He was wearing the Army ACU and he stood out like The Lone Klansman or something.  It looked like a white sheet out there.  Range was probably 150 yards or so and tracking towards us steadily.

We were all whispering to each other "why is this guy out by himself, what's he doing?" because in an FTX you don't even go take a piss by yourself, you always have support even if its just one other guy to watch your back.  The point of the whole exercise is realistic training, you don't just wander out into the woods by yourself.  We continued to observe him, and soon it dawned on us that he wasn't alone, he was with a fireteam totalling five members, of which three were Marine ROTC wearing Marpat and one was wearing some other camo (I think the old woodland, I can't recall right now).  The guy wearing ACU was actually in the middle of the column, we had failed to observe the two or three guys in front of him because we were fixated on his ACU!  We had observed him for maybe 20 seconds before realizing there were other people there at all!

Anyway, at a range of about 50 yards my OP "ambushed" them with blank ammo to see how they would react.  They did a great job, set up a base of fire with two of their guys and bounded with the other three, flanked us quickly, and I was soon "killed."   Before we had MILES we used an honor system of colored armbands, and one of the Marines had "called my color" at fairly close range.  Since I was "dead" I stood up, took off my boonie cap to signal I was out of the fight, and walked over to where ACU guy was shooting from around a tree, and snapped a quick pic of him with my digicam.

This is how well the ACU blends into Missouri forest:


I don't know about anywhere else, but in Missouri this uniform is laughable, and boy did we laugh about it.  The Army guys just refer to it as "uniform, suck".

Here's the One Shepherd webpage if anyone's interested.  Aside from the field training for ROTC cadets, they are now also offering a battle simulation training game for anyone who wants to play, under the name "Firefight!".  One Shepherd is the first civilian organization in the world to be allowed to purchase the very cool MILES 2000 system, which works way better than the old armband system but is insanely expensive.

Here's some videos from One Shepherd on YouTube.  BlueFor and OpFor each have two post-sample "squad automatic weapons", BlueFor gets some very heavy M16s (we wanted them to weigh as close to a 249 as possible) and OpFor has two RPKs.  The AK blanks are much louder than the AR blanks, but reliability with the ARs is better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ6Ct-8uizc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Tom_1ujk0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sH2h_xfd20&feature=related

so why does ACU some times look pink?
Has anyone else seen this or is it just me?

Multicam FTW

It gets even worse after a few months of washings and is starts to fade and turn white. The velcro...er, excuse me..."hook and loop fasteners" suck, especially if you are in and out of the pockets all the time, like for your wallet. The shoulder pockets were a good idea, but they suck balls if you have anything bulkier than a piece of paper in them, especially when getting in and out of the IBA or the rucksack. The pen pocket on the sleeve was the best idea, but they should have taken it from the flight suit and put the flap over it to keep the pens from falling out. They also should have put a pen pocket either on the leg or inside one of the pockets for those of us who work without the top and still need a pen/pencil. And where the hell did my lower pockets on the top go? The pin-on badges were dumb! Can't wear them on the flightline, can't wear them under the armor, can't wear them while deployed, and they get scratched after awhile. They should have either allowed us to sew them on, or given us a big square of hook and loop fastener to attach them to. Or smaller squares conforming to how many badges we have. I would have gladly paid to have extra velcro sewn on for that.

The only good thing about the ACU and boots is that we no longer have to press and shine. Yeah, I semi-agree that it is a loss, and that it takes a point of pride away, but at the same time it frees up my spare time for other things. Especially since if you remove the insoles you can machine-wash the boots, takes a day and a half or so to fully dry.

Hey it doesnt matter what I think. If the man wants us to wear them, then we are going to wear them. I dont think they are terrible as alot of people say they are but they definately arent great. And I am not too big on the velcro.

IIRC, both multicam and a different ACU-color scheme, scored higher than the current ACU-color scheme.

Even if you accepted that the ACU PATTERN itself was superior to multicam, there was another color-scheme (light green/light brown) that completely outclassed this grey shit. It scored a few percentage points lower than the grey pattern though in NV, so they went with the grey.

Too bad it had beaten the shit out of the grey in every other test..

Probably had a red t-shirt or something in the wash with it.

This couch ... ?

GammaPat!!! (created by Gamma762 a while back)

The pattern is fine, the colors are ass.

I've noticed that with ACU and DCU actually.

I think the color is not that big of a deal however the sturdiness and function of the uniform is far more important. There are some good things about this uniform but I think they need to go back to sew on patches and badges. Whoever thought velcro was a good idea is an idiot.

ACU vs Multicam in multiple environments

ACU:






Holy shit, it blends with something!









Multicam (I tried to avoid Crye's advertisement photos, which show it blending in pretty darn near everywhere)

wut is everybody complaining about I can just barely make out his silhouette.

this was the pattern that won the trials that included Multicam...








they later decided to jump on the digital bandwagon...

Yeah, who cares if it'll draw fire, just so long as that crotch doesn't rip again!

Don't know about combat, but they are the best dove-hunting pattern for West Texas I have ever seen.

U.S. Army universal camouflage trials

What pattern is that? Never seen it. Doesn't look like that desert brush stuff that was mentioned in the last ACU vs Multicam thread.

those are the flame retardant ACU's.  totally fucking gay.  they arent nomex material but supposedly have some flame resistant quality.  they have a slight pink tint which gets worse after a few washings.

the only uniform I care for made with this pattern is the 2 piece ACU nomex.  i think we should adopt this uniform with a different patter service wide.  On deployment I only wore my ACU nomex or CVC nomex, because they were both a lot more breathable and durable than my ACU's.  if I could get away with wearing either in garrison I would most definately do so.


ACU nomex


CVC nomex

MARPAT for the win.

Its not really about the pattern, but the colors.  Coyote brown is 100% win!  And yes, BLACK blends in fine.  The old woodland pattern with the new Marpat colors would work just as well.

There may be very little actual black in nature, but your brain recognizes shadows as being black, and its purpose is to add depth,

My own personal theory:

They didn't get the Multicam because it was developed by a company based here in NY, and our senators Schumer and Clinton both suck ass and failed to bring home the bacon.

Let me start by saying I've never worn the ACU.  I like the concept but understand the problem with the pattern.  The ABU is worse.  Horrible pattern, excessively heavy fabric (so as to make it permanent-press), and poorly designed.  It seems the Air Force decided it needed "to keep up with the Jones's" and create their own unique utility uniform.  They succeded, and we despise it.

That's great!  That something you did?  If so, try it out on a lone, geared up and posing soldier––I'd like to see how that looks.  I was thinking of drawing something up, but computers are so much more efficient.