New look for military uniforms

Published 2:23 am Tuesday, December 6, 2005

A recent story in the Air Force Times drew my attention and got me to thinking about how much has changed in the military since I retired. The story was entitled, “Something wilder: BDUs.” For those not familiar with military jargon, BDU stands for Battle Dress Uniform. Don’t worry, it’s just another fancy word that GIs use for “fatigues” or “utilities.”

For years, GIs from all the branches wore the familiar olive drab uniform. The Army and Air Force called them fatigues, while the Navy and Marines dubbed them utilities. Each branch had its evolution of head gear. Soldiers and airmen after World War II sported what was known as a “Pill Box” hat. It was round and stiff and often starched to keep its cylinder shape. Later they went to a baseball cap during the early 1960s. That was the headgear I initially wore. The Marines and Navy had their distinctive “covers,” which they proudly starched while in garrison. But the olive drab uniform basically remained unchanged.

During the Vietnam War, people higher up realized that the heavy olive drab fatigues that looked good when starched for garrison were not suited for Vietnam’s tropical heat. Another uniform was developed to meet the jungle environment — the “Jungle Fatigues,” probably the most practical uniform developed for the military, appeared. Its basic design was also the forerunner for today’s BDUs. However, it borrowed its design from the paratroopers of World War II. Cargo pockets were located on the legs and the jacket was worn outside the pants for comfort. It also had another pair of pockets below the waist with slanted pockets at chest level, giving the trooper an easy access to items in his breast pockets. These were tailored into the jungle fatigues which were later made in a camo pattern called “cammies.” In Vietnam, numerous camouflage patterns were developed ranging from tiger stripes to leopard spots.

To this day, many older GIs agree that the best camouflage pattern was a dirty set of olive drab jungles. The top secret recon teams of SOG (Studies and Observation Group) often preferred the olive drab jungle fatigues. When BDUs came into the system, regrettably the jungles fatigues were taken out. One of the things I hated about the BDUs was the removal of the practical, slanted pockets. They were replaced by the traditional straight pockets. The unofficial word was the slanted pockets reminded people of Nam. I wonder what Pentagon desk jockey thought that up.

The Marine Corps adapted its own unique computer-generated pixelated camo pattern in 2001, and snubbed its nose at the hierarchy (Semper Fi), by bringing back the slanted pockets , and added additional pockets on the upper sleeves. By the way, recon teams were doing that back in Nam.

Now the Army and Air Force are looking at their own distinctive patterns. The Army expects its version by late 2005 or early 2006. The Air Force is asking its airmen to use the Internet to find out what they need in a uniform. As for me, I’m keeping my jungles and cammies tucked safely away — they’re oldies, but goodies.



To contact reporter Rip Prine, please call 244-3400, ext. 237.