WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 31, 2014) -- The Army has confirmed
what Soldiers have been hearing rumors of for months now -- a new
camouflage pattern for combat uniforms is on the way with a number of
improvements.
Beginning in the fall of 2015, the Army will begin issuing to new
Soldiers an Army Combat Uniform that bears the Operational Camouflage
Pattern. That same uniform will also become available in military
clothing sales stores in the summer of 2015.
Soldiers are expected to retire their current uniform and begin wearing the new pattern by the summer of 2018.
The uniform bearing the new pattern will be largely the same as what
Soldiers wear now, except that the lower leg pockets will be closed by a
button instead of the "hook and loop" fabric fastener on the current
Army Combat Uniform, or ACU. Soldiers complained that fastener made too
much noise in combat environments, officials said. The insert pockets
for knee pads and elbow pads will also be removed from the new uniform,
according to Program Executive Office Soldier.
Other changes that will be considered by the 2015 Army Uniform Board include:
-- elimination of the mandarin collar and replacement with a fold-down design
-- change of the infrared square identification for friend or foe, known as the IFF tab
-- removal of one of three pen pockets on the ACU sleeve
-- elimination of the drawstring on the trouser waistband
These last four potential changes have not yet been approved but are being considered, according to PEO Soldier.
Currently, Soldiers wear ACU with the Universal Camouflage Pattern, or
UCP. By 2018, they will be wearing an Army Combat Uniform with the
"Operational Camouflage Pattern." The fabric of the uniform, the cut,
the placement of pockets and other details, for instance, will remain
the same. It is only the geometry and palette of the camouflage pattern
printed on the fabric that will change.
The cost of uniforms with the new pattern will be comparable to the
current uniform. At the Fort Myer, Virginia, military clothing sales
store, for instance, an ACU top now sells for approximately $45. The
pants sell for around $45 as well. A cap sells for about $8.
According to the 2014 pay charts, online at dfas.mil, enlisted Soldiers
receive between $439 and $468 annually to buy new uniforms -- that
includes replacing the outgoing UCP ACU with the Operational Camouflage
Pattern ACU.
Soldiers will have about three years -- the time between the first
availability of the uniform in military clothing sales in 2015 and the
time they are required to wear it in 2018 -- to transition the contents
of their clothing bag to the new look. They will also have more than
$1,300 in clothing allowance at their disposal to make that happen.
The new pattern is different, but visually compatible with what Soldiers
wear now in Afghanistan. It does have the same acronym, however. In
Afghanistan, Soldiers wear the "Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage
Pattern," called OCP for short. The new uniform pattern is also called
OCP.
"The Army is naming the pattern the Operational Camouflage Pattern to
emphasize that the pattern's use extends beyond Afghanistan to all
combatant commands," said one senior Army official in a July 31 press
release.
The new pattern is borne from efforts to meet a 2009 directive by
Congress to develop a camouflage uniform suitable for the Afghanistan
environment. That initiative, along with Soldier feedback, led the Army
to develop the Operational Camouflage Pattern.
As part of that program, the Army was directed to develop and evaluate
camouflage patterns that will provide effective concealment in a wide
variety of terrains and environments. The Operational Camouflage Pattern
is a result of that effort. As part of the program two "bookend
patterns" of OCP are being optimized and evaluated for possible use on
Flame Resistant ACUs that would be worn by Soldiers deployed in either
arid or heavily wooded terrains.
All organizational clothing and individual equipment, referred to as
OCIE, such as MOLLE gear, protective vests, ruck sacks and plate
carriers and non-flame resistant ACUs and will be offered in the OCP
pattern only.
The Army has also said that following rigorous testing and evaluation,
the OCP was proven "the best value for the Army. Soldier force
protection and safety was the Army's primary decision criteria," a
senior Army official said.
"The Army has selected a pattern as its base combat uniform camouflage
pattern," explained the official. "The Army has confirmed through
testing that the pattern would offer exceptional concealment, which
directly enhances force protection and survivability for Soldiers."
The senior official said the Army's adoption of OCP "will be fiscally
responsible, by transitioning over time and simply replacing current
uniforms and OCIE equipment as they wear out."
http://www.army.mil/article/131259/Soldiers_to_get_new_camo_uniform_beginning_next_summer/
By Army Public Affairs
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