Versus, why do they do it?

[AshleyO]

What's the advantage of the ACU camo pattern?

Just... what the hell matches those colors?

[Versus]

[AshleyO]

I take it that Iraq and Afghanistan's terrain looks like an old granny's couch?

Interesting.

BTW, I always thought the digi patterns such as this was brilliant.

When I was in Lackland AFB, there was a Marine walking around in the desert get up. A lot of the buildings were colored in such a way that you seriously did not see him coming up on you til it was too late.

Why do you think that pattern is so effective?

[Renatus]

From what I've seen and can imagine, it's designed to work at long distances in an average set of terrain, and at close to long range in places with shrubs and other plant life. The same can be said of a lot of animal camouflage. In general those are pretty much the only situations where camo would really be of use in the first place. Allow me to provide some examples

Mountain dirt area, no shrubs just a few rocks, solution? camo that matches the particular mineral composition of the rock and hide infront of it, or hide behind a rock.

Close range, no shrubs, plain land, solution? Dirt colored camo, lie motionless on the ground, gun hidden under your body, hope they don't see you since you won't be able to quickly return fire if they do, or simply don't bother trying to hide.

So you see, it's not a matter of the fact that it supposed to blend in with everything, it's a matter of blending in when it's actually going to make a positive difference compared to the alternative. At least that's what I imagine.

[Versus]

Versus' guide to being sneaky.

Target indicators are anything a soldier does, or fails to do, that could result in detection. The most important are:

Sound:

Sound typically comes from movement, equipment rattling, and talking and is most noticeable during hours of darkness. Proper noise discipline comes from:

Movement techniques: Taking measured and controlled movements such as walking on the balls of your feet, or crawling with your fingers and the soles of your feet; literally inches at a time.

Properly secured equipment: Tape on the bottom of your magazines to prevent rattling, traveling with either completely full or completely empty water sources to avoid sloshing, as well as load-bearing equipment that is fastened tightly to the body.

Communication: Properly use and memorize hand and arm signals. While small noises can be dismissed as part of the environment, talking CAN NOT.

Movement:

Movement will attract the human eye quicker then anything else, at any distance. It is most noticeable during hours of daylight. Some methods to defeat this are proper movement techniques, utilizing cover and concealment, and making movement during hours of darkness.

Movement: Movement should be slow and deliberate. Unnecessary movement heightens the risk of detection. When moving, always remember these rules:

1) Assume that all areas you move through are under visual observation

2) Move slowly. Measure your progress by feet and inches.

3) Practice situational awareness. Your movement interacts with the environment often in subtle ways, such as overhead shaking of trees or grass.

4) Stop, look, and listen often.

5) Move during disturbances, such as wind or other distractions.

Cover and Concealment: Cover is anything that both provides protection from direct fire and obscures line of sight. In essence, hiding behind something, or carefully using the terrain to mask avenues of approach. Concealment is anything that only protects against visual observation, such as camouflage, vegetation, fog, rain, dust, or smoke.

Camouflage:

The key factors of camouflage are shine, outline, and contrast. When considering camouflage, it is essential to address all of these elements because a lapse in either one will degrade upon the others and increase the chance of detection.

Shine: Shine is anything that reflect light in an unnatural manner, such a clean pieces of glass within a pile of dirty ones. It is important to make sure that anything exposed to line of sight matches it's environment. Some common techniques to diminish shine are to muddy uniforms and equipment, or cover/tape reflective surfaces.

Outline: Outline is anything that a person could use to identify an object. Humans naturally recognize the shape of weapons, or the shape of a person's head and shoulders, as well as the human body in a standing position. Some ways to defeat this are to break up the silhouette by wearing a veil, utilizing camouflage patterns separate the body into segments, and to arrange equipment in an asymmetrical manner.

Contrast: Contrast is the difference in color between an object and it's environment. Camouflage should utilize colors proportionately to the way that they are naturally found in one's surroundings. Something to remember is that, with the exception of during hours of darkness, black is never found in nature.

The types of camouflage are natural camouflage, such as leaves and other forms of vegetation, as well as dirt and mud , and artificial camouflage, such as face paint. When applying artificial camouflage, it is important to remember that some techniques should be prioritized. Stripes are good for heavily wooded areas where vegetation is scarce,



and blotching is good for when vegetation is heavily present.



Disturbance of Wildlife:

Sometimes, it is not necessary for you to be detected by people to have your presence compromised. It is entirely possible for your environment to reveal you, such as dogs barking, birds fleeing, animals becoming scared, or when animal noises cease completely. The quick and dirty is to avoid wildlife. It may be necessary to consider what time of day wildlife is active in your area.

Odor:

Something often neglected is one's own smell. While it is sometimes easy to overlook, it is a dead give away to anybody not expecting it. Common smells in the field come from cooking, smoking, lotion/shampoo, insect repellant, and the opposite sex.

TL;DR While ACU pattern is very good for breaking silhouete, it is garbage because it's color scheme is very hard to find naturally. It was meant to be a universal camouflage pattern, but what ends up happening is that you can see gray blobs at a distance. Typically gray colors in conjunction with FLAT, single color patterns, are reserved for urban environments, but there is such a thing as over camouflage and the ACU pattern does it remarkably well.

Marine MARPAT patterns are typically must more effective.

[Versus]

This could be improved, but it is a better example of striped face paint.



White people tend to be easier to spot, so you typically have to cover all of your skin.

Hey! There you go! People of color have privilege when it comes to camouflage!

[Renatus]

I don't suppose you have any idea how to remain stealthy while accompanied by Han Solo.

[AshleyO]

I always knew the gray camo was bullshit.

What's pretty funny though is the blue camo the Navy wears now.

While it totally looks slick as hell, a man going overboard is fuckin' fucked.

[Versus]

Originally Posted by AshleyO

I always knew the gray camo was bullshit.

Most of the time. The advantage to neutral patterns like grey is that they very easily take on the characteristics of the environment. I would often not wear clean uniforms because it helped tremendously to be dirty.

What's pretty funny though is the blue camo the Navy wears now.

While it totally looks slick as hell, a man going overboard is fuckin' fucked.

Don't rescue helicopters use thermals? And from my understanding, sailors who are at risk to being thrown overboard wear reflective vests.

[Versus]

Hrm. Some pictures to show that ACUs aren't always horrible.

[Renatus]

Originally Posted by Versus

Don't rescue helicopters use thermals? And from my understanding, sailors who are at risk to being thrown overboard wear reflective vests.

Well then whats the point if they're not going to be in a situation where it helps them blend in?

[Versus]

1) Not all sailors work on ships.

2) Something is better then nothing.

3) Many uniforms help mask thermal signatures at range.

[Solumina]

You forgot 4) It looks damn good and 5) It's better than crackerjacks (although those are adorable)

On a more serious note it does promote more of a sense of unity and uniformity throughout the military, while still differentiating them from other branches.

[Versus]

Uniformity is very important to the military.

[AshleyO]

They just want to be cool like that Marines.

I'm not sure if those officially got rid of the working blues and whites though.

Last I remember, they were meant to replace working blues, whites, and utilities.

Utilities... god damn it.

[Versus]

I'm not familiar. Is that anything like our coveralls?

[Versus]

[Versus]

[AshleyO]

Originally Posted by Versus

I'm not familiar. Is that anything like our coveralls?

Blue "slack" pants, a light blue blouse shirt, black work boots, and a black baseball cap that said "Navy".

Also, nice photobomb.

[Solumina]

I think those got replaced by khakis, which used to just be for chiefs and now I think chiefs just have different hats, but I'm not completely sure. The Navy had some uniform changes in the last year or so and I haven't been paying that much attention

[Murder.Of.Crows]

Nah, those a the penut butters, which is black slacks, khaki shirt, and black cover. But, I never wear those, we use the blue digis mostly.

[carakitty]

Originally Posted by Versus

OMG I am going to be staring at this all night looking for those 8 SEALS.

Damn you, Versus!

[Grausamkeit]

Mmmmmm, camo....... *droolz*

[AshleyO]

I always had a tough time identifying rank in the Navy. I felt it was bullshit that chiefs look basically like officers.

I can't tell you how many times they got pissed at me for saluting chiefs or not saluting officers.

[Versus]

I hear you. Army E-8s and E-9s are really difficult to tell apart unless you're basically standing an arm's length away, and god forbid you address a sergeant major as "first sergeant."

And I hate navy insignia. E-3s look like our O-6s. I can't tell you how many I saluted in Kuwait before I realized it. They were wearing ACU pattern uniforms so it was a mind fuck.