New 'cammies' make Marines harder to spot
Associated Press
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A few good men may be harder to spot as the Marine Corps outfits its members with new camouflage uniforms.
Associated Press
The uniforms, the result of a $500,000, 18-month development project, have a number of improvements including no-snag button cuffs on the sleeves, shoulder pockets and easy-care fabric.
First Sgt. Andrew Yagle, of Camp Lejeune, N.C., can attest to the effectiveness of the Marines' new uniforms. When Yagle tried to spot Marines outfitted in the "cammies" on a side of a ridge line, "I actually had to search for them," he said.
They debut at Camp Lejeune this week and will be phased in, becoming the standard for the 172,000 active duty and 40,000 Reserve members of the Marine Corps by 2006.
Called cammies or utilities, the uniforms also have built-in pockets for knee and elbow pads, an elastic waistband, an elastic cinch cord on the pants' cargo pockets and more concealable name tags.
The Marine Corps pocket emblem is part of the fabric and doesn't have to be ironed on as before.
But the most obvious feature is the design pattern, which the corps calls a leap ahead in camouflage technology. The Corps has applied for three patents on it.
"On the side of a ridge line or a hill, when I looked up to locate Marines, I actually had to search for them," said First Sgt. Andrew Yagle, 40, of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment.
The company, attached to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, was one of several units to test the cammies over the past year.
Associated Press
The colors of the woodland and desert patterns — mixes of greens, tans, browns and black, depending on the environment — are similar to those being used now by the Marine Corps, Army and Air Force (the Navy doesn't have a camouflage uniform). But the pattern is smaller, a collection of tiny squares similar to the pixels in a computer photograph, as opposed to the smooth-lined abstract shapes now on uniforms.
Lance Cpl. Ryan Hercher, right, wears the new Marine camouflage uniform, while Lance Cpl. Todd Skorich sports the old. All Marines should have the new uniform by 2006.
"It is a pattern about nothing," said Maj. Gabe Patricio, project officer for the new uniform. "It doesn't form anything. It disrupts the form of the body."
A gray-based pattern for urban use is being developed.
New utilities cost $59.74 for shirt and pants, or $2 less than the old model. Billed caps and floppy-brimmed hats are sold separately.
One tester, Lance Cpl. Ryan Hercher, 22, of Tucson, Ariz., said he likes the new uniform so well it's all he wears. He has put away the old, large-pattern woodland camouflage that the Marine Corps has used since about 1980.
Marines can save money by skipping the dry cleaners and washing the uniforms themselves. When the uniform gets dirty, Hercher pops it in the washer and dryer and — because it's permanent press — he can wear it immediately.
One other major change, aside from the new pattern, is a set of front pleats in the pants.
"Everybody saw the pleats and said what are we, a bunch of fashion cats?" Yagle said. "But they work. You sit down and they work with you."
