Talk:Combat uniform

message: Hmmm. When I was in school cadets, we had five forms of attire:
*A combat uniform of jungle green cottons, known as "JGs" for obvious reasons. We were issued with two shirts and one pair of trousers, and strongly and well advised to buy a second pair of trousers. These were worn for most parades and for serious military exercises, and to firing ranges.
*A woollen dress uniform consisting of khaki trousers and jacket that buttoned together, worn with braces (issued) a khaki shirt (from our school uniform) and a khaki tie (issued). This was known as Battle Dress or BDs, and was worn for public parades and travelling to and from camp.
*A working set of old JGs or khaki clothing, called working dress or "WDs", issued when in camp and worn whenever JGs or BDs weren't required... work parties, less serious exercises.
*Dress kilt, a kilt worn with a BD jacket, khaki shirt and tie and white webbing for the most serious public parades. Not all cadets were issued with a kilt, it was an honour reserved for the senior platoons, the others just wore their BDs.
*Summer kilt, the same kilt worn with a JG shirt and white dress webbing, in summer whenever orders called for it. I never quite worked out why, perhaps it was to get us used to the kilt! Anyway, it was rather fun.
The kilt was always worn with a beret (not issued and compulsory, it was the price you paid for the honour), WDs with a slouch hat or giggle hat if you owned one (again, not issued and highly recommended), BDs with slouch hat (or beret possible in theory for kilted platoons but that was rare), JGs with whatever headware was ordered, if unspecified your choice of slouch or giggle. And always the same pair of black leather boots, shined for parades and dull for exercises, you either made good friends of them or suffered very badly. Ah, memories!
Anyway, the point of all that is that in the Australian armed services in the late 1960s, Battle Dress meant a dress uniform based on the battle dress of the world wars and of Korea, while what we wore into combat in theory was JGs or in more serious units camos (we didn't rate those).
Which isn't what this article says at all! Not quite sure how to update it. Suggestions? I'll have a go sometime after a bit more thought. Andrewa 17:38, 12 May 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, it seems that "battledress" (or "battle dress") means different things in different countries; on the other hand, the name each country uses for the uniform they wear in combat also differ. This seems to me to be a case of trying to find a generic encyclopedia article title that would cover the subject, i.e. the military uniform worn when continuing politics by other means. The article could easily have been called "Combat uniform" or some such. Even though "battle dress" does not fall into the Canadian military lexicon (at least since Korea), it seems to me to be an acceptable compromise, especially when the correct Canadian term is indicated. SigPig 01:25, 9 September 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Five forms of attire 

message: If no one has any objection, I'm going to delete the part about garrison dress. Other than the fact it had a camo pattern, the uniform had nothing to do with battle dress; combats are No. 5 order of dress, garrison was No. 4. Different uniform, different purpose. BTW, I think the official camo pattern of Garrison Dress was "Canadian Tire Duck Hunter Special." SigPig 01:30, 9 September 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: No objections observed here in the month, so I'm deleting the reference to garrison dress. SigPig 13:47, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Delete Garrison Dress (Canadian)

message: OPPOSE - Battle Dress Uniform, just like Battle Dress, is a specific type of battledress, and should be treated as a separate subject.  Cornell Rockey 13:34, 4 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  merger of articles 

message: Even in the US, Battledress is an Army term, not a Marine Corps term.  Given that the word has different meanings and appears here to be used in the branch specific US Army sense, perhaps this general article should use the universal term "fatigues"  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.239.253.2 (talk) 21:38, 12 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Move to Fatigues 

message: In the Battle Dress Uniform article, I read the following sentence: 
::BDUs may be either plain fatigues or in camouflage colors. 
I did not know the word "fatigues", so I clicked the link on 'fatigues'. Fatigues redirected me to Battledress, but nowhere in this article I found a definition of the word 'fatigues'. What is a fatigues? (and can anyone add that information to the article)? Is a fatigues a special kind of uniform? 
The only information I found here is that, "Fatigues" redirects here." I had already found that out by myself. 
Johan Lont (talk) 20:54, 17 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Who add a definition of "Fatigues" to this article? 

message: ===France===
Lizard pattern ( Leopard pattern for the French or TAP47) is a military camouflage used by the French Army on uniforms beginning in the 1950s up to the late 1980s.
A Lizard pattern has two overlapping prints, generally green and brown, printed with gaps so that a third dyed colour, such as a lighter green or khaki, makes up a large part of the pattern. In this, it is printed like earlier British patterns used on that country's paratroops' Denison smocks, and descends from those patterns. Lizard patterns have narrower printed areas than the British patterns, and strong horizontal orientation, cutting across the vertical form of a body.
Other patterns descend in turn from Lizard patterns, either by imitation such as Cuba's Lizard pattern, or innovation, such as the tigerstripe patterns produced during the Vietnam War.
===Germany===
 
The first uniforms of the Bundeswehr in 1955 showed a camouflage similar to the pre-war Splittermuster.BGS-Splinter (aka "Splittermuster") Battlefront.com. "Federal Republic of Germany". Retrieved 4 December 2011 These were replaced by a plain dark green in the early 1960s, which was in turn replaced by the modern Flecktarn in 1990. It is the basis for Bundeswehr Wüstentarn, a desert camouflage.
East Germany's forces (Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) and the Ministerium des Inneren (MdI)) used Flächentarnmuster from 1958 until it was replaced 1965 by the Strichtarnmuster camouflage.
:That particular pattern was chosen because of the high abundance of conifers in east germany.
===Italy===
The 1929 telo mimetico pattern was continued by the Italians. The colour selection changed somewhat with time, the post-war army version having a somewhat more red or rust brown, and the green being somewhat less grey. Other colour variants based on the same pattern was used for paratroopers, naval special warfare, and others. The pattern was continued into the 1990s, when it was replaced by pattern based on the US M81 Woodland. This makes the telo mimetico pattern not only one of the first, but also the longest used camouflage pattern in the world. The pattern has also influenced other camouflage patterns, like the Czechoslovakian Vz 60 mlok pattern, Norwegian M75 and Dutch M92 jungle pattern.
===United Kingdom===
Battledress continued until the late 1950s. In the Korean War (1950–53), troops found the combat uniform inadequate: too hot in summer, and not warm enough in winter. Soldiers were at first issued Jungle Green (JG) uniforms for hot weather, and battledress in winter, but this had to be augmented with warm clothing, as well as caps with ear flaps and fur linings. A solution was pursued, and towards the end of the war a windproof and water-repellent gabardine combat uniform was issued. The trousers followed the battledress design, while the bush jacket had pockets inside and out, closing with zips and buttons, a hip-length skirt with draw-strings to keep out the wind, and a similar arrangement at the waist. The uniform was produced in greyish green (OG), similar to the U.S. Army Olive Drab (OD).
With the end of National Service in 1961, the Army looked for a new uniform: smarter than battledress, but also more comfortable, while still having a military air. Using Korean War clothing as a basis, new items were developed for the 1960-pattern Combat Dress, including the so-called Canadian pattern combat jacket, which was made with a lining above the waist and reinforced elbows. The 1960s was a transition for the Army, reflected in changes in uniform.
====Disruptive Pattern====
The new, smaller, all-volunteer Army could now afford to equip every soldier with his own camouflaged uniform, and a pattern, based on the brushstroke of the Denison Smock, was designed in 1960, called Disruptive Pattern (DP). The camouflage is more commonly known by the name given to the cloth printed with the pattern: Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM). By the late sixties it was issued in limited quantities on 1960-pattern jackets and trousers, making Britain the first country to issue regular troops with a standard camouflaged combat uniform. Known as ‘66-Pattern, it was superseded by the ’68-Pattern, which had a slightly revised design on a new uniform, featuring minor changes over the preceding 1960/66-Pattern kit, most notably: a full lining for jacket and trousers. DPM became official army-wide issue only in 1972.
Various redesigns since 1984 changed the size of the pattern and the tone of the colours, but DPM is easily recognisable and remains effective. Many countries use it or a variation.
===United States===
Many war surplus "leopard spot" uniforms were sold to allied nations reforming their armed forces. Worn by French parachutists in the First Indochina War, the "leopard spot" was marketed to civilian hunters under the name "duck hunter".
The CIA supplied "leopard spot" or “duck hunter” camouflage for Brigade 2506 Cuban exiles in the Bay of Pigs Invasion and South Vietnamese and Montagnard Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) counter-guerrillas until the pattern was replaced by the tigerstripe pattern in the mid-1960s.Blechman H & Newman A, 2004
During the Vietnam War, U.S. troops were issued a "boonie suit" in a single dull green for blending into the jungle. From the late 1950s the US Marine Corps had been issued with a variation on their World War II reversible helmet cover and shelter half. This had a tan and brown “brown clouds” side (printed with large identification numbers) and a green jungle side with a jagged “wine leaf”  (a.k.a. “Mitchell”) pattern. Rangers and Special Forces units (aka Green Berets) adopted the Vietnamese "Tigerstripe" pattern with its distinctive horizontal slashes of black, green, and tan. Although this style became popular among the troops, it was not an official government issue uniform. It was procured by private purchase from civilian tailors. This is also called the "John Wayne pattern" as the design was featured in Wayne's 1968 film The Green Berets. Also in 1968, the brightly coloured division shoulder patches worn since World War I were gradually replaced with a "subdued" green and black version. Name tags and other insignia patches soon followed.
====U.S. Woodland pattern====
Another, four color U.S. pattern, designed in 1948 by the Engineer Research & Development Laboratory (ERDL) based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was later revisited for use in the Vietnam War. Named ERDL Leaf pattern, it was first issued to elite reconnaissance and special operations units in early 1967. It was initially produced in a lime dominant colorway, consisting of large organic shapes in mid green and brown, black ‘branches’, and light green ‘leaf highlights’. Shortly thereafter a brown dominant scheme (with the light green replaced by light tan) was manufactured. The two patterns are also known as ‘Lowland’ and ‘Highland’ ERDL respectively. The brown ‘Highland’ version was adopted as standard issue by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) from 1968, and later introduced on a wide scale in Southeast Asia by the U.S. Army, so that by the end of the Vietnam War American troops wearing camouflage combat dress had become the norm. Following the withdrawal of the U.S. Army from the Southeast Asian Theater in 1973, camouflage clothing was no longer routinely issued in that arm though the 1st Battalion 13th Infantry Regiment in Baumholder, Germany wore the Lowland ERDL in the early 1970s as an experiment.  The USMC continued wearing a transitional ‘Delta’ ERDL pattern that was issued in the mid-1970s.  It was not until 1981 that the U.S. Quartermaster Dept. approved another camouflaged uniform with the fielding, from September (not officially introduced until 1 October, however), of the battle dress uniform (BDU) in M81 Woodland pattern. Although based on the Vietnam era brown dominant ERDL Leaf camouflage, but enlarged (by 60%), and with the thicker black ‘shadows’ of the ‘Delta’ variant, the pattern was designed primarily for use in Europe. For the next two decades, this was the standard issue BDU for all arms of the U.S. military. Solid olive drab uniforms were rapidly phased out, such that by the time of Operation Urgent Fury in 1983, all participating units were clothed in M81 BDUs. The only exception was the Army Ranger Battalions who wore the olive drab uniforms until 1986.
====U.S. Desert pattern====
The formation of the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in 1979, with its remit to operate in the Middle East, and protect U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf region, saw the issue of the first U.S. desert camouflage clothing, a six colour Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU), originally designed in 1962. With a base pattern of light tan overlaid with broad swathes of pale olive green and wide two-tone bands of brown, the clusters of white-on-black spots scattered over it earned it the nickname "chocolate chip" pattern. It was worn by U.S. troops taking part in the biennial Bright Star exercises in Egypt during the 1980s, and by FORSCOM peacekeepers in the Egyptian Sinai, but the design contrasted too much with the terrain, and the six-colour pattern was expensive to manufacture, so the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center researched a substitute. Samples of sand and earth from the Middle East were measured for optical and infrared reflectance, and seven trial patterns were evaluated. The resulting "Desert Camouflage Pattern: Combat" was standardized in 1990, but was not used in the Gulf War of 1990-1991. Nicknamed the “Coffee Stain” pattern and officially issued with the new Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU) in 1993, it consisted of a subtle blend of large pastel green and light tan shapes, with sparsely placed, narrow, reddish brown patches.
I hope you guys can use some of this. Thimbleweed (talk) 19:07, 1 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Postwar uniforms

message: Many war surplus "leopard spot" uniforms were sold to allied nations reforming their armed forces. Worn by French parachutists in the First Indochina War, the "leopard spot" was marketed to civilian hunters under the name "duck hunter".
The CIA supplied "leopard spot" or “duck hunter” camouflage for Brigade 2506 Cuban exiles in the Bay of Pigs Invasion and South Vietnamese and Montagnard Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) counter-guerrillas until the pattern was replaced by the tigerstripe pattern in the mid-1960s.Blechman H & Newman A, 2004
During the Vietnam War, U.S. troops were issued a "boonie suit" in a single dull green for blending into the jungle. From the late 1950s the US Marine Corps had been issued with a variation on their World War II reversible helmet cover and shelter half. This had a tan and brown “brown clouds” side (printed with large identification numbers) and a green jungle side with a jagged “wine leaf”  (a.k.a. “Mitchell”) pattern. Rangers and Special Forces units (aka Green Berets) adopted the Vietnamese "Tigerstripe" pattern with its distinctive horizontal slashes of black, green, and tan. Although this style became popular among the troops, it was not an official government issue uniform. It was procured by private purchase from civilian tailors. This is also called the "John Wayne pattern" as the design was featured in Wayne's 1968 film The Green Berets. Also in 1968, the brightly coloured division shoulder patches worn since World War I were gradually replaced with a "subdued" green and black version. Name tags and other insignia patches soon followed.
====U.S. Woodland pattern====
Another, four color U.S. pattern, designed in 1948 by the Engineer Research & Development Laboratory (ERDL) based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was later revisited for use in the Vietnam War. Named ERDL Leaf pattern, it was first issued to elite reconnaissance and special operations units in early 1967. It was initially produced in a lime dominant colorway, consisting of large organic shapes in mid green and brown, black ‘branches’, and light green ‘leaf highlights’. Shortly thereafter a brown dominant scheme (with the light green replaced by light tan) was manufactured. The two patterns are also known as ‘Lowland’ and ‘Highland’ ERDL respectively. The brown ‘Highland’ version was adopted as standard issue by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) from 1968, and later introduced on a wide scale in Southeast Asia by the U.S. Army, so that by the end of the Vietnam War American troops wearing camouflage combat dress had become the norm. Following the withdrawal of the U.S. Army from the Southeast Asian Theater in 1973, camouflage clothing was no longer routinely issued in that arm though the 1st Battalion 13th Infantry Regiment in Baumholder, Germany wore the Lowland ERDL in the early 1970s as an experiment.  The USMC continued wearing a transitional ‘Delta’ ERDL pattern that was issued in the mid-1970s.  It was not until 1981 that the U.S. Quartermaster Dept. approved another camouflaged uniform with the fielding, from September (not officially introduced until 1 October, however), of the battle dress uniform (BDU) in M81 Woodland pattern. Although based on the Vietnam era brown dominant ERDL Leaf camouflage, but enlarged (by 60%), and with the thicker black ‘shadows’ of the ‘Delta’ variant, the pattern was designed primarily for use in Europe. For the next two decades, this was the standard issue BDU for all arms of the U.S. military. Solid olive drab uniforms were rapidly phased out, such that by the time of Operation Urgent Fury in 1983, all participating units were clothed in M81 BDUs. The only exception was the Army Ranger Battalions who wore the olive drab uniforms until 1986.
====U.S. Desert pattern====
The formation of the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in 1979, with its remit to operate in the Middle East, and protect U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf region, saw the issue of the first U.S. desert camouflage clothing, a six colour Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU), originally designed in 1962. With a base pattern of light tan overlaid with broad swathes of pale olive green and wide two-tone bands of brown, the clusters of white-on-black spots scattered over it earned it the nickname "chocolate chip" pattern. It was worn by U.S. troops taking part in the biennial Bright Star exercises in Egypt during the 1980s, and by FORSCOM peacekeepers in the Egyptian Sinai, but the design contrasted too much with the terrain, and the six-colour pattern was expensive to manufacture, so the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center researched a substitute. Samples of sand and earth from the Middle East were measured for optical and infrared reflectance, and seven trial patterns were evaluated. The resulting "Desert Camouflage Pattern: Combat" was standardized in 1990, but was not used in the Gulf War of 1990-1991. Nicknamed the “Coffee Stain” pattern and officially issued with the new Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU) in 1993, it consisted of a subtle blend of large pastel green and light tan shapes, with sparsely placed, narrow, reddish brown patches.
I hope you guys can use some of this. Thimbleweed (talk) 19:07, 1 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: United States

message: The formation of the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in 1979, with its remit to operate in the Middle East, and protect U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf region, saw the issue of the first U.S. desert camouflage clothing, a six colour Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU), originally designed in 1962. With a base pattern of light tan overlaid with broad swathes of pale olive green and wide two-tone bands of brown, the clusters of white-on-black spots scattered over it earned it the nickname "chocolate chip" pattern. It was worn by U.S. troops taking part in the biennial Bright Star exercises in Egypt during the 1980s, and by FORSCOM peacekeepers in the Egyptian Sinai, but the design contrasted too much with the terrain, and the six-colour pattern was expensive to manufacture, so the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center researched a substitute. Samples of sand and earth from the Middle East were measured for optical and infrared reflectance, and seven trial patterns were evaluated. The resulting "Desert Camouflage Pattern: Combat" was standardized in 1990, but was not used in the Gulf War of 1990-1991. Nicknamed the “Coffee Stain” pattern and officially issued with the new Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU) in 1993, it consisted of a subtle blend of large pastel green and light tan shapes, with sparsely placed, narrow, reddish brown patches.
I hope you guys can use some of this. Thimbleweed (talk) 19:07, 1 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: U.S. Desert pattern

message: casual wear, is this fatigues, or what? im obviously not military. shouldnt this have a category at the commons, and an article here?Mercurywoodrose (talk) 06:48, 27 June 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: What is this called?

message: I am wondering why Utility uniform redirects here. Meanwhile, an example of a U.S. Army utility uniform is found under the name of a fabric color (OG-107). It would seem that there is a need to restructure the articles on various types of uniforms. --Lasse Hillerøe Petersen (talk) 22:01, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Utility Uniform redirects here, why? 

message: Regarding section 2.2	Canada, it no longer has a photograph of CADPAT AR. There was one recently and it was helpful because it included a close view of the matching hat. It can be seen here https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Afghan_Air_Force_Colonel_Faizuddin_holds_a_certificate_during_a_ceremony_at_on_the_base_in_Kabu.jpg It is one of only two images in the category here https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CADPAT_(AR) that includes a view of the hat. It should be possible to include one of those images. --Dreddmoto (talk) 18:53, 16 January 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: I've readded an AR image in a multi-image template to prevent section overflow. With regards to having an image with the hat, if I'm being honest, I'm not much of a fan of using that photo as the pattern isn't the focal point of the image (which could be confusing for the reader), but I swapped out the prior TW image with one that included the hat. If you find a better one though, feel free to swap it out. Leventio (talk) 23:37, 17 January 2023 (UTC)
thread_title: Canada