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Don't know if this was posted before: from the ROK site
US Army Wasted $5 Billion With Failed Army Combat Uniform
by GI Korea
Below is a good article that explains the total waste of money that the ACU was for the Army:
The Army is changing clothes.
Over the next year, America’s largest fighting force is swapping its camouflage pattern. The move is a quiet admission that the last uniform — a pixelated design that debuted in 2004 at a cost of $5 billion — was a colossal mistake.
Soldiers have roundly criticized the gray-green uniform for standing out almost everywhere it’s been worn. Industry insiders have called the financial mess surrounding the pattern a “fiasco.”
As Army researchers work furiously on a newer, better camouflage, it’s natural to ask what went wrong and how they’ll avoid the same missteps this time around. In a candid interview with The Daily, several of those researchers said Army brass interfered in the selection process during the last round, letting looks and politics get in the way of science.
“It got into political hands before the soldiers ever got the uniforms,” said Cheryl Stewardson, a textile technologist at the Army research center in Natick, Mass., where most of the armed forces camouflage patterns are made.
The researchers say that science is carrying the day this time, as they run four patterns through a rigorous battery of tests. The goal is to give soldiers different patterns suitable for different environments, plus a single neutral pattern — matching the whole family — to be used on more expensive body armor and other gear. The selection will involve hundreds of computer trials as well on-the-ground testing at half a dozen locations around the world.
But until the new pattern is put in the field — a move that’s still a year or more away — soldiers in Afghanistan have been given a temporary fix: a greenish, blended replacement called MultiCam. The changeover came only after several non-commissioned officers complained to late Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, and he took up the cause in 2009. Outside of Afghanistan, the rest of the Army is still stuck with the gray Universal Camouflage Pattern, or UCP. And some soldiers truly hate it.
“Essentially, the Army designed a universal uniform that universally failed in every environment,” said an Army specialist who served two tours in Iraq, wearing UCP in Baghdad and the deserts outside Basra. “The only time I have ever seen it work well was in a gravel pit.” [The Daily via the Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link but it has been known for a long time that the Army screwed up their selection of a new universal uniform by selecting the ACU. I remember getting issued the ACU at Ft. Lewis, Washington and while out in the field it was clear that the ACU did not blend into a woodland environment, which left everyone thinking who thought this would be a good idea? Well The Daily article does provide a name and why he chose the ACU:
For a decision that could ultimately affect more than a million soldiers in the Army, reserves and National Guard, the sudden shift from Program Executive Office Soldier was a head-scratcher. The consensus among the researchers was the Army brass had watched the Marine Corps don their new uniforms and caught a case of pixilated camouflage envy.
“It was trendy,” Stewardson said. “If it’s good enough for the Marines, why shouldn’t the Army have that same cool new look?”
The brigadier general ultimately responsible for the decision, James Moran, who retired from the Army after leaving Program Executive Office Soldier, has not responded to messages seeking comment.
To be fair I don't think you can blame this on one guy; a decision this important that impacts the entire force would have to have approval from senior leaders in the Army. There is no way BG Moran was solely responsible for this decision.
Despite trying to copy the Marines the ACU comes no where close to being as effective as the MARPAT. In an urban environment the ACU is actually pretty good and in the desert it is not too bad, but the MARPAT is better in my opinion. Also the ACU falls apart when deployed and the velcro pockets were a disasterous idea. This all just makes me wonder why someone in Congress doesn’t investigate such a failed acquisition decision especially when we now know that $5 billion was wasted?
The decision to use this uniform was as much as a head scratcher back then as the decision to wear the black beret. I always figured that once the people responsible for the decisions were long retired that common sense would eventually prevail. It took 8-10 years and sure enough common sense did prevail on both issues. Here is another prediction for everyone, after 8-10 years the latest dress uniform for the Army that makes us look like shopping mall security guards will change as well.
US Army Wasted $5 Billion With Failed Army Combat Uniform
by GI Korea
Below is a good article that explains the total waste of money that the ACU was for the Army:
The Army is changing clothes.
Over the next year, America’s largest fighting force is swapping its camouflage pattern. The move is a quiet admission that the last uniform — a pixelated design that debuted in 2004 at a cost of $5 billion — was a colossal mistake.
Soldiers have roundly criticized the gray-green uniform for standing out almost everywhere it’s been worn. Industry insiders have called the financial mess surrounding the pattern a “fiasco.”
As Army researchers work furiously on a newer, better camouflage, it’s natural to ask what went wrong and how they’ll avoid the same missteps this time around. In a candid interview with The Daily, several of those researchers said Army brass interfered in the selection process during the last round, letting looks and politics get in the way of science.
“It got into political hands before the soldiers ever got the uniforms,” said Cheryl Stewardson, a textile technologist at the Army research center in Natick, Mass., where most of the armed forces camouflage patterns are made.
The researchers say that science is carrying the day this time, as they run four patterns through a rigorous battery of tests. The goal is to give soldiers different patterns suitable for different environments, plus a single neutral pattern — matching the whole family — to be used on more expensive body armor and other gear. The selection will involve hundreds of computer trials as well on-the-ground testing at half a dozen locations around the world.
But until the new pattern is put in the field — a move that’s still a year or more away — soldiers in Afghanistan have been given a temporary fix: a greenish, blended replacement called MultiCam. The changeover came only after several non-commissioned officers complained to late Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, and he took up the cause in 2009. Outside of Afghanistan, the rest of the Army is still stuck with the gray Universal Camouflage Pattern, or UCP. And some soldiers truly hate it.
“Essentially, the Army designed a universal uniform that universally failed in every environment,” said an Army specialist who served two tours in Iraq, wearing UCP in Baghdad and the deserts outside Basra. “The only time I have ever seen it work well was in a gravel pit.” [The Daily via the Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link but it has been known for a long time that the Army screwed up their selection of a new universal uniform by selecting the ACU. I remember getting issued the ACU at Ft. Lewis, Washington and while out in the field it was clear that the ACU did not blend into a woodland environment, which left everyone thinking who thought this would be a good idea? Well The Daily article does provide a name and why he chose the ACU:
For a decision that could ultimately affect more than a million soldiers in the Army, reserves and National Guard, the sudden shift from Program Executive Office Soldier was a head-scratcher. The consensus among the researchers was the Army brass had watched the Marine Corps don their new uniforms and caught a case of pixilated camouflage envy.
“It was trendy,” Stewardson said. “If it’s good enough for the Marines, why shouldn’t the Army have that same cool new look?”
The brigadier general ultimately responsible for the decision, James Moran, who retired from the Army after leaving Program Executive Office Soldier, has not responded to messages seeking comment.
To be fair I don't think you can blame this on one guy; a decision this important that impacts the entire force would have to have approval from senior leaders in the Army. There is no way BG Moran was solely responsible for this decision.
Despite trying to copy the Marines the ACU comes no where close to being as effective as the MARPAT. In an urban environment the ACU is actually pretty good and in the desert it is not too bad, but the MARPAT is better in my opinion. Also the ACU falls apart when deployed and the velcro pockets were a disasterous idea. This all just makes me wonder why someone in Congress doesn’t investigate such a failed acquisition decision especially when we now know that $5 billion was wasted?
The decision to use this uniform was as much as a head scratcher back then as the decision to wear the black beret. I always figured that once the people responsible for the decisions were long retired that common sense would eventually prevail. It took 8-10 years and sure enough common sense did prevail on both issues. Here is another prediction for everyone, after 8-10 years the latest dress uniform for the Army that makes us look like shopping mall security guards will change as well.
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