2/27/2007
Army Combat Uniform
Red2Alpha says,
The Army Combat Uniform (ACU) is the third bad idea to come out of the modern Army in the last few years. The other two, in no real order, are: issuing the black beret to every Soldier, and the introduction of the Combat Action Badge (C.A.B.). There are other bad ideas, but these are the top three that don’t include dumb ideas that kill people.
The first time I got a close look at Soldiers wearing the ACU was in October or ‘05, while coming home on leave from Iraq. I first thought was that the uniform just looked wrong. Everything about it, mostly the color. It seems to kind of glow, especially against the tans and browns of Iraq. I couldn’t figure out where the colors of the uniform would be effective. Maybe the grayish green and tans would work on some distant planet like LV-426 where Sigourney Weaver and her crew encounter a very nasty creature in the 1979 film ‘Alien’. Upon closer inspection I thought the uniform looked sloppy. Not sloppy as in unpressed or dirty but sloppy as in the name tapes and patches seemed to be in danger of falling off because they were ’secured’ by Velcro. The edges curled like old paper.
When I first learned that the Army was designing a new uniform I was excited, after all, the Marines had come out with their new MARPAT uniform which was functional and looked fantastic. I figured the Army would adopt something similar to the Marines. Boy, was I wrong. The ACU is kind of like the MARPAT in cut and style, pockets on the sleeves, angled chest pockets, and lacking the nearly useless lower pockets on the blouse ( yes, I just used the word blouse). There the similarity ends. Where the MARPATs digital camo pattern actually looks like it would work on this planet, the ACUs pattern doesn’t look like it would work anywhere on Earth. When the 101st Airborne Div. began to replace my unit in Iraq they were all outfitted with the ACU. On patrols with them I noticed how much they stood out against the buildings and soil of our sector. Our Soldiers, with their faded and worn, DCUs blended in much better, as much as you can in an urban environment.
Who came up with this pattern? I know, some computer program that I am sure is much smarter than I am worked long and hard up at NATICK to produce this pattern and color that is supposed to work in any environment. That’s why there is only one color for the ACU, as compared to the Marines that have one for both woodland and desert. Maybe they have something there, huh?
Beyond that, and here I will digress a bit. Maybe I am to concerned with looks. After being in Iraq and seeing combat I know it’s not about looking good but about surviving. However, a Soldier should feel good about his uniform, it should look neat and orderly. The ACU does not look good. It looks sloppy. It looks like someone’s idea of what a future uniform should look like, like something out of a movie. Velcro and fancy pockets on the lower legs, the crazy pattern and colors. Supposedly the uniform was designed with the in put of Soldiers. I can’t think of one Soldier I know that actually likes the uniform. It costs more, much more than a set of BDUs, the patches and name tapes cost more. The best I have heard about the ACU is it’s comfortable. Now that I own a set I will agree with that. They do fit nicely, but that’s about it. The buttons on the blouse have been replaced by a zipper. It used to be that if you lost a button or two in the field you could sew it back on. If a Soldier blows a zipper now what is he going to do? Secure his uniform with a few strips of 100mph tape? The Velcro patches and name tapes are supposed to make it easier for Soldiers to make their uniform ’sterile’, no names or unit ident but how many Soldiers, outside of SF, actually do that? Not many. Most COs and 1st Sgts I can think of would lose it if his men went around with nothing on their uniforms, even in combat.
In the end, I have learned that the Army is now reconsidering the ACU. Reports from combat zones are saying that the uniform does not hold up well in those conditions. The Velcro wears out, the camo pattern is not effective, and under observation under night vision the pattern actually stands out more than the old woodland or three color desert pattern. On top of that female Soldiers are complaining about the placement of the rank patches. Center chest, right at the bust line instead of on the collars like the old uniform.
If the Army wants to have new uniform, I say good. Do it. But please, make it practical, make it useful. Make it something we can use here, on this planet
23 Comments
