The Army has axed “digital” camouflage, bringing an end to a uniform many soldiers loathed.
Its last day on duty was Tuesday. Officially termed the Universal Camouflage Pattern, the distinctive pixelated green and tan camouflage was standard attire between 2005 and 2014. The pattern was supposed to suit all environments but became disdained across the force. Soldiers will now be required to wear the Operational Camouflage Pattern, which includes the blacks and browns missing from the old UCP.
Farewell, UCP!
Starting today, the Army combat uniform (ACU) in the operational camouflage pattern (OCP) is now the daily uniform.
Learn more here: https://t.co/6LJ4PuvU9Y pic.twitter.com/S5flT57GPU
— U.S. Army Reserve (@USArmyReserve) October 1, 2019
“The only universal thing about it was that it was universally disliked,” Joe Karle, a former Army infantryman who served in Afghanistan, told the Washington Examiner. “You didn’t feel like a real soldier in it.”
Before the UCP, soldiers had for decades been forced to use the “woodland” and “chocolate chip” camouflages for wooded and desert environments. The UCP was introduced at a cost of $5 billion with great fanfare from military leaders.
“It was a camouflage pattern that was intended to be universal but ended up being subpar in most environments, causing the Army to move to a new camouflage pattern not drastically different from the one the [Army Combat Uniform] replaced,” Nick Smith, a U.S. Army reservist told the Washington Examiner.
The @usairforce will be adopting the @USArmy‘s OCP as its new combat uniform by 2021: https://t.co/n71iObl1ov pic.twitter.com/oxqsABhFum
— U.S. Army Reserve (@USArmyReserve) May 19, 2018
Troops despised it almost immediately. To make matters worse, the uniform faded easily and suffered from poor stitching, including a notoriously weak crotch seam.
Karle deployed to Afghanistan in MultiCam, a pattern with brown tones issued to soldiers operating in the country in 2010 after the UCP was judged to be deficient. “When we returned from Afghanistan, they made us go back to UCP. It was literally one of the most disappointing things,” Karle said. “I kept several copies of my MultiCam uniforms when I got out. I kept none of the UCP.”
Bidding farewell to the “blueberry camouflage uniform today” Capt. Deniston, Commanding Officer, Naval Health Research Center (NHRC), provided NHRC officers with an assortment of blueberry themed desserts. pic.twitter.com/dpng7Nkdv5
— Naval Health Research Center (@NH_RC) October 1, 2019
Navy personnel will also be bidding farewell to the equally controversial “blueberry” digital camouflage uniforms on Tuesday. Officially known as the Type I Navy Working Uniform, the blueberry is a digital camouflage that features various shades of blue. It was introduced in 2008 in order to present a unified look across enlisted and officer personnel. It will be replaced by the Type III, which features a green and black digital camouflage first introduced in 2010.
