US Army unveils new combat uniform
Tue Jun 15, 4:49 AM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Army unveiled its first new combat uniform in more than two decades, opting for a single camouflage pattern that is supposed to blend into an urban environment as easily as desert or woodlands.
The uniform was tested in Iraq (news - web sites) by soldiers of a Stryker brigade who made a number of suggestions to make it a more practical fit for troops fighting in body armor than the army's current battle dress uniform, officials said.
It has no buttons, only zippers and velcro fastners for everything from unit patches to cuffs and Mao-style collars.
Slanted pockets on the chest allow soldiers to slip their hands more easily under armored vests. Similarly cargo pockets on the pants are positioned so that things don't fall out when they're sitting in Humvees or Stryker armored vehicles.
The uniforms have elbow pouches that can be filled with gel pads to cushion the blow of a bruising dive or crawl.
Soldiers also will be giving up their traditional black boots for tan desert or brown combat boots.
But the most controversial change is likely to be its single camouflage pattern in tan, green and gray for all environments. The army currently has separate battle dress uniforms for woodland or desert environments.
"We were trying to match three basic environments -- woodland, desert and urban combat -- and to get a uniform that worked as best it could in all three," said Brigadier General James Moran.
"Now what we came up with ... is an 80 percent solution in each of those environments," he said.
Moran said the new pattern may not be a perfect match for desert warfare, but even in Iraq the environment changes from desert to lush farmland in the Tigris and Eurphrates River valleys.
"We needed a uniform that allowed us to transition from environment to environment and environment, and not have a absolutely perfect desert uniform," he said.
"We were preparing for combat in the desert, but then we fought in the lush green area between the Tigris and the Euprates rivers," he explained.
Moran also said it was more economical to produce a uniform with a single pattern. The army issues four uniforms per soldier at a cost of 88 dollars each. Creating three variants of the combat uniform would have meant issuing a dozen uniforms per soldier, he said.
The army plans to issue four uniforms apiece to 15,000 soldiers a month beginning in March, and to complete the transition by 2007.
It also is developing a lighter new assault rifle called the XM8, which has interchangeable parts that can be configured as a carbine, a more compact assault rifle, or a longer barreled designated marksman rifle.
The new weapon, which has not yet been approved for production, can be stripped and cleaned in four minutes compared to 11 minutes for the M-16.
In tests, it has fired 15,000 rounds without cleaning or lubrication, said Colonel Michael Smith.
Moran said the army also is producing 138,000 sets of body armor by the end of the year that weighs 16 pounds compared to 25 pounds on the old vests.
In addition, it is producing 50,000 separate sets of armor by September to protect shoulders and under arms to better protect soldiers whose sides are exposed when they drive armored Humvees.
But Moran cautioned that the extra armor comes at a cost in weight and combat effectiveness. He added that even soldiers in body armor and armored Humvees are vulnerable to roadside bombs.
