Military Clothing

In the early days of warfare the clothing was bright and used to unify the soldiers creating a smart and tight team feel to the military. Then as war became more tactical and less barbaric it became obvioius that to be successful camouflage was needed. In the mid 1800’s the British Army dyed their red coats a khaki color to be less visible when fighting in India. A step was made away from the bright peacock like uniform and a move towards stealth was created.

It was in the beginning of the 20th century that Britain and the United States converted to a khaki military wear.

It was the first two world wars which had a huge impact on the military and the funding in military equipment and clothing. Military camouflage material was being made in large volumes on the back of this investment and was mainly being used for shelter cover but soon became popular throughoutt he whole military clothing spectrum in World War Two. Some of the main patterns used in camouflage included swamp,blotchy, striped,spotted, barred Palm, Pea patterns and also Mimetic Cloth.

Both the US and the British made good use of camouflage clothing using them as their uniforms as standard. They were similar, although the British had their own research unit of which the famed magician Jasper Maskelyne work in. The clothing was used for all environments. Each environment requires a different pattern and also depending on the weather sometimes an alternative cloth. The US military have a very large array of camoflauge attire and changed their uniforms between every conflict since the Revolutionary War until World War One.



Vietnam and jungle warfare

Vietnam enforced a great change in the pattern and design of the Amercan uniforms as a result of the environment. This was the first time the tiger stripe pattern that was used for the infamous Green Berets. Being such a successful camoflauge it lead to the whole army taking it on as their standard uniform.

It was in 1980 when velcro was introduced to the military uniform. It did not last too long however as it was feared that the ripping noise using it would reveal the locations of troops when on operations.

During the Vietnam War, many soldiers, Marines and airmen wore flak armor vests to protect from shrapnel. They would not protect from bullets, were uncomfortable, heavy and bulky which made the troops hot. Most of them would either use them to sit on or wear them without shirts when in helicopters.

Military clothing in the desert

The ACU uniform in America was produced in response to the Gulf War. This uniform was aimed at being more comfortable and also allowing for more armor. Pockets were moved from the chest area and placed on the arms to allow for body armor. This was because homemade close range explosions were anticipated. This is a great example of the military being responsive to environemnts that own unique threats.