Next Gen Journal

By Clayton Jaksha

Current ACU Uniform worn by the U.S. Army

The idea behind U.S. Army camouflage is to help preserve the soldiers’ lives by helping them blend in as best as possible into their environments. In World War I, that meant soldiers wore individually issued green combat fatigues, which were essentially heavy green jackets with plenty of cargo pockets. The idea of solid-colored green combat fatigues essentially did not change until the early 1980s with the invention of the Army’s Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), a combat jacket with three color camouflage.  The BDU lasted through operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, Desert Storm, and the beginning of the war in Iraq.

In the early 2000s, the Army realized that most of the world had adopted the BDU and they needed a new, more effective camouflage. Testing began on the MultiCam and the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) designs to replace the BDU. MultiCam featured a tan-based, five-color camouflage in a similar pattern to the BDU. Additionally, it sported a more breathable, yet stronger fabric than the BDU and it had Velcro areas for unit patches and nameplates to put on. The ACU was advertised as a “universal camouflage” that could blend into any environment. It had a digitized 3-color design that was based on the camouflage that the Marine Corps had adopted in 2003, and it had the same fabric and features as MultiCam. In 2008, the Army officially adopted the ACU as their sole combat uniform and began producing them by the hundreds of thousands.

The ACU may have seemed like the right choice to the leaders of the Army, but, according to many soldiers currently deployed in Afghanistan, the ACU is giving their positions away. Said Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mark Ulsh to an Army Times reporter, “The general consensus on the ACU pattern among many, many soldiers is that it is ineffective in breaking up a soldier’s outline in just about every environment except in urban areas and the local gravel pit. As an aviator, I can tell you that from the air most other nations’ camouflage masks a soldier better than the ACU does.” To many of these soldiers the ACU appears to be a step backwards in camouflage. The mountains of Afghanistan are some of the most rural areas that Army soldiers are stationed in, and the ACU blends with urban areas. The soldiers currently stationed in Afghanistan are not being properly outfitted for their environment. At a hefty $120 per soldier and with hundreds of thousands already made, replacing the ACU this soon into its service would become a financial nightmare. Because of these costs, the only real options for the Army would be to keep the ACU in service, but adopt MultiCam in small numbers, or just keep the ACU and risk their soldiers’ lives.

Even though the cost to create a new camouflage for our soldiers could be high and risky, we must also think about the risk our soldiers in Afghanistan take every day by wearing the non-blending ACU. If the U.S. Army were to adapt a new camouflage, it would not have the funds to invent new camouflage, so it would have to go with MultiCam. Some soldiers like Sergeant Ricky Hill of Fort Carson, Colorado have actually preferred MultiCam from the start. Sergeant Hill once said to an Army Times reporter, “The ACU pattern is horrible. Whatever happened to the MultiCam pattern that was tested a few years ago? I don’t know who came up with this current ACU pattern, but it has failed miserably.”

In my opinion, to solve this problem, all soldiers and officers in garrison (meaning at home) and all deployed in Iraq should be issued the Army ACU. However, all soldiers and officers in Afghanistan should be issued MultiCam. The ACU is designed for urban warfare. So, placing it in the urban conflicts of Iraq would be perfect. In the mountains of Afghanistan, MultiCam would mask our soldiers much better because of its patterns that were designed for field work such as that being done in Afghanistan. This plan would still require an investment into the MultiCam program, but it would be small enough so that the Army is not risking too much money. Most importantly, it would provide our soldiers with the best possible camouflage for the environment they are fighting in. Regardless, the ACU will probably still be in use for another decade or two. The Army has invested too much money for it to back out now.

You may be wondering what we can do with all of the extra ACUs the Army will have, but there are many solutions. Primarily, the ACUs could be sold to military surplus stores and paintball/airsoft companies. If all else fails, we could soon see the “Official U.S. Army Halloween Costume” appearing all over America one October 31st in the future. Nevertheless, we should all feel comfortable knowing that Army leadership has some options when it comes to solving this problem.

Clayton Jaksha is a sophomore at Cathedral Catholic High School with hopes in the future to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is interested in writing about Military/Foreign Affairs.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely the opinions of the author.