Somewhere along the line I remember hearing that the Marines offered to share their new camo, but the Army declined bc they wanted something unique, and multi-purpose for all environments, to save on the number of uniforms (just like badges save money on patches and sewing, even though they wear out and have to be replaced). The Army said no, the Marines said, your loss, patented it, and now its theirs. Who knows if that is true, but RUMINT is sometimes right.

My first field training experience as a cadet, wearing BDU's, we conducted STX lanes. When we halted, we took up positions and pulled security. I couldn't see the guy 10 ft from me in the woods. When we arrived in Kuwait for the mandatory trainup, we went to a range in our DCUs. Guys blended in with the desert and sand. Couple range pax wore ACUs and stood out clearly in the sand. That new stuff on the website looks really good, but our old stuff wasn't that bad.

Quote Originally Posted by Schmedlap View Post
I always wondered what the rationale was for not just copying the Marine camo, rather than wasting money on our own R&D. Once again, the Army does not let me down. I expected nothing any more logical.