(Newswire.net — May 12, 2013) Lynden, WA — In 2002, there were just two Camouflage patterns in use by U.S. Forces; Brown and Desert. Then the Marines kick-started the pursuit for the perfect pattern, and promptly the Army, Air Force and Navy followed suit.
Since then seven more patterns have been added and the Army will be adding another in 2013. The disconcerting side of this is that some branches of our military are too proud to share the results of their multi-million research with each other. This had each branch conducting their own research and developing patterns distinctive to them.
Copying another design is not acceptable.
In 2011 the Navy designed three new patterns. Their Desert pattern was too close to the Marine Corps Desert and this caused plenty of controversy which resulted in the Navy limiting the use of their new desert pattern to only the Navy SEALS.
But amid all this spending and controversy there remain the experts in the Military that know how camouflage works and are constantly adapting their camo to the environment they are working in.
These are the Army and Marine Corps Snipers.
Sniper will spend much time learning about the art of camouflage; their lives depend on it. Above the standard issue BDU’s that they wear, they will build and learn the use of a Ghillie Suit. Ghillies have been used since Vietnam and are still a necessity for our Snipers today.
Snipers know that one pattern will not work in all terrains, so they constantly adapt their Ghillie Suit to their surroundings.
This is a lesson the Army learned with their Universal Camouflage at the cost of 2.63 million. The Universal Digital design did not work so well in Afghanistan and another 2.9 million was spent designing the Multicam pattern specifically for that country.
And they aren’t finished yet. The Army’s current research into a new design has cost 4.2 million so far. They’re expected to spend up to $4 billion over a 5 year period to replace the current uniforms and miscellaneous protective gear associated with it.
But then again, a few tips from their experienced Snipers could have reduced their expensive learning curve.
Sources
http://www.milestactical.com/ghilliesuits.html