Today it is one week from the 245th birthday of the United States of America. Celebration is already in the air and holiday plans are being made (for what will likely be another hot weather weekend here in Dallas). And yet there is something more somber, nothing to do with the country's political issues, which prompts today's post.
As of this month the Civil Air Patrol became the last US service organization to discontinue the Battle Dress Uniform in M81 Woodland. There are no doubt some elite commandos and other special units that have a few still wearing them, but as a standard on-the-books uniform the BDU is now gone for good after 4 decades of continuous American service. Yet its spirit is far-reaching and will likely live on for at least the rest of all our lives.
This post is not going to go into detail about the history of military camouflage, but rather make special emphasis on the distinct US-made classic patterns that remain effective, pertinent, and in use for many nations' military and police forces today. The BDU's "bush cut" itself with the 4-pocket jacket and 6-pocket trousers are also notable for setting a trend. Combined these elements built the legacy of the modern field uniform and will remain an ideal choice for both national military and citizen militia use.
First in regard to the BDU cut is acknowledgement that it is not so timeless. As they were first being issued back in the 80s many US servicemen saw them (along with the Rapid Deployment Forces uniform, immediate predecessor to the BDU) as a downgrade from the Vietnam-era jungle fatigues because the jacket pockets were now horizontal rather than angled thus more suitable for parade garrison use than quickly-retrieving needed items out in the field. When the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform and Army Combat Uniform cuts brought back angled pockets that was rightfully not faulted. In fact, a holy grail of modern militaria is surviving productions of the Close Combat Uniform (CCU) which were special issue "prototypes" of the ACU printed with standard woodland and desert patterns. For those wanting the balance between simple and practical, a CCU-like commercial ACU cut in M81 Woodland (which is commonly-found) would fit the mission nicely.
What the BDU did introduce new from its predecessors was the material of its build which is still baseline standard in US forces today: the 50-50% nylon-cotton blend in either twill or ripstop. While the Marines, Army, and some Air Force units today are investing towards a preference for fire-resistant field uniforms, utility uniforms for all sorts of services including police and EMS have proven favor towards the strong fabrics introduced with the BDU decades ago. While in military service as everyday wear any uniform will soon display signs of breakdown, a set of BDUs well taken care of should withstand years of volunteer service and be suitable for continual wear up to a full week in the field.
It should be noted that 50-50 nyco had been introduced way back in 1965 with the new field jacket, but in a poplin build that was service-standard for many field uniforms at the time. Ripstop was introduced in the Vietnam jungle fatigues before getting carried over into the RDF utility then later hot weather BDU, but all in 100% cotton which wore and faded more quickly (and was less suitable to wet weather). It was not until the mid-90s that 50-50 nyco was brought into the ripstop realm and remains perhaps the most popular fabric for today's BDU successors, as it strikes a balance between the durability of nylon-cotton blend with the lighter weight and greater breathability of the ripstop weave. Unless environmental or mission factors demand 100% cotton (and some do, such the as possibility of fire exposure since cotton is safer than a synthetic fabric such as nylon or polyester), 50-50% nylon-cotton ripstop is an ideal standard.
So what the build of the BDU brought that is carried on in its successors is the fabric blend, while not so much the general design principles as elements of that go as far back as WWII and were already-perfected (again, in the eyes of some) with the OG-107 hot weather ensemble introduced in Vietnam. The BDU cut looks great, while the jungle fatigues with their angled bush pockets were more useful in the field. This is no surprise as the design of the BDU (including the flat-top cap) hearkens back to the OG-107 utility from the 1950s, an era when US military uniform policies had much more of a "parade" mentality that General Patton would have approved. Life goes on, lessons get learned, and for the militiaman who need not conform to a service-wide standard for millions of troops has more options than ever before. Yet for its drawbacks that have now left it behind in 2021 it is still hard to go wrong with the regular old BDU.
This leaves 3 blends of fabrics that were made choice standards during the service life of the BDU:
1) Temperate BDU: 50-50% nylon-cotton twill, the original version introduced in the early 80s. After some deployments to hot climate zones (particularly Operation Urgent Fury) it was shunned for being uncomfortable in such temperatures which realized its shortcomings as a universal field uniform. While it is built strong and never stopped being viable for general use, for warmer conditions the US Army extended time allowed for wear of OG-107 and ERDL fatigues until they could be replaced by...
2) Hot Weather BDU: 100% cotton ripstop, basically an M81 version of the RDF uniform but as far as BDUs go this proved highly-popular. It was relatively-fragile but that was an inevitable issue with the fabric that existed on prior favored field uniforms as well. Because it is more comfortable in hot weather than any other option it remained available even after it was slated to be replaced by...
3) Enhanced Hot Weather BDU: 50-50% nylon-cotton ripstop, still providing adequate comfort in the field while addressing the durability issues of the original hot weather build. In this author's opinion it succeeds where the original version failed in providing a single fabric blend with universal application: in hot weather just wear the regular undershirt while in colder weather base layers are easily-added underneath. Because it was introduced much later, there is no known production for US-issue in this blend printed with the 6-color desert pattern.
Now onto the real focus of this post: the camouflage patterns. US forces had been using camouflage field uniforms since WWII, and ERDL had achieved service-wide deployment issue during the Vietnam War, however it was M81 and the BDU that not only made a camouflage utility uniform standard across all US services but also introduced a trend in patterns for much of the rest of the world to follow. Before going into detail there are a couple of historical notes: ERDL (of which M81 is derived from the highland variant) had been developed way back in 1948 but not used until Vietnam, and while tigerstripe patterns were popular with forces in Vietnam none were ever official US issue.
M81 Woodland: 4 colors, a real classic in more ways than is generally-known as it is the highland brown-dominant ERDL developed back in 1948 with the shapes enlarged for disruption at longer ranges. Today, of course, this remains the poster definition of "military camouflage" even as it has been superseded for military issue. The pattern itself (in differing colors) represents the bulk of issued camouflage for military forces worldwide and that is not set to change anytime soon.
"Chocolate Chip" Desert: 6 colors, also older than is generally-known as it achieved spotlight in the Gulf War of 1991 but had been in design since US forces were still in Vietnam. It was based on the backdrop of the semi-arid US southwest (hence why it was less effective in the Middle East) and finalized just in time to be used by special forces way back in 1980 (printed on a variant of the RDF utility since the BDU was still in development at the time). Counting worldwide variations, it is the second most popular camouflage pattern today under M81.
"Coffee Stains" Desert: 3-colors, believed to be the reaction to ineffectiveness of Chocolate Chip in the Gulf however it had actually been developed in 1989 and was not yet ready when Iraq invaded Kuwait. As the first deployment uniform of the Global War on Terror it is most-associated with that conflict. Technically a simplification of its 6-color predecessor, the fact that many militaries have adopted it directly (with relatively-little variance) is testament to how much of the world sees its effectiveness.
Not pictured (and not widely-adopted either) is the Night Desert pattern. Designed around the same time as the first daytime pattern and intended to be disruptive against night vision devices of that era, by the time it deployed it was already outdated for its intended purpose. For what it is worth, it is the only US-issue nylon-cotton ensemble for desert cold weather use (an M65 field jacket was produced in 3-color but never matching trousers or other foul weather gear until an ECWCS set much later), and its relative unpopularity makes it less expensive to acquire.
Having established the military value of these classic patterns, what is their application for the citizen-warrior? With commercial copies of the BDU (and other cuts) available in woodland and 3-color desert for the foreseeable future cheap relative to other designs, they rank among the more-accessible to newcomers (or those on tighter budgets) should a solid-colored field uniform not suffice. While the author prefers actual US-issue uniforms for their near-infrared camouflage properties, this is more a peripheral stipulation and with the final discontinuation of all these patterns the prices of surviving examples can expect to rise as they become collectible. With numerous commercial brands producing their own slight variations research is advised as the quality on some can be questionable (avoid Chinese-made). The most faithful current production appears to be the TRU-SPEC brand as it is assembled from remaining stocks of the original ripstop fabrics, but the author has yet to conduct extensive field testing of their woodland or desert BDU thus cannot speak on them personally. For those who can spare the money for quality design, TRU-SPEC has several other good options (such as being the official distributor for Tiger Stripe Products series of patterns) including M81 on an ACU-style cut they call the Tactical Response Uniform or TRU.
But what of their application in today's uncertain real world, particularly with so many options which may be more expensive but are superior for a range of mission purposes? For that answer a referral will be made to Brent0331, the YouTube star mentioned last post. While he covers a variety of infantry topics, in the mid-2010s when he was just finding his form he built his rep on camouflage effectiveness testing. It just so happens he conducted these tests around his home in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex which is this author's stomping grounds as well. He states few conclusions himself, just occasional reference to his own experience as a US Marine. As YouTube gun guru Paul Harrell would put it, "You be the judge":
M81 Woodland BDU in fertile conditions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNHKcMyzxXE
M81 Woodland BDU in semi-arid conditions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViONcCx8fsc
Desert BDU (6-color) in wintery woods: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoBHnB-tvcc
Desert Camouflage Uniform (3-color) in wintery woods: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckx-hAb3vYk
Night Desert in daytime woods (interesting): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNyF0A-YL8k
Desert patterns in desert terrain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUTIvWge0NM
My judgment between these and competing patterns is a few things: 1) there is no true "universal" pattern so if resources permit it is always better to invest in more than one camouflage; 2) except for those operating in an environment far different, within the continental United States a woodland pattern should be a first choice as it gives a viable option for blending into a variety of rural terrains; 3) either a desert or transitional pattern should be the secondary as those patterns are superior for more urban environments or vegetative terrain during dry seasons; 4) while it is ideal to know one's mission terrain in advance that is not always viable so a primary pattern with at least some usefulness for more than one environment should be the default field uniform; 5) camouflage patterns are generally-superior to solid colors ONLY if they are used correctly with additional methods to mask one's visibility (particularly avoidance of unnecessary movement), otherwise both are equally useless.
The BDU may have been superseded and M81 Woodland may be history now, but the classic US camouflage patterns leave quite a legacy, one that is set to last among citizen militias long after their day in the US military has faded into memory. US-developed woodland and desert patterns are the base standard now followed worldwide; even the BDU itself, while not an ideal modern combat uniform, is still greatly-utilitarian which is why it lasted through 4 decades of American service. Future posts will likely go into greater detail on some of the history and design, but for now this will be left as a fitting tribute to the classic Battle Dress Uniform and what it still means for today.
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