@@ashleynicole333 i was "roommates" with a man who was in Vietnam and the Iraq war. he did slightly more than 40 years. by roommate he rented a room in the apartment unit i lived because the nearby community college had a flight school and as a retirement gift to himself he was getting his pilots license. he was only there Sunday evening until Thursday afternoon.
I get your joke but he didn’t mean it like that he meant everybody knows the Camouflague and a lot of countries use this camoflage including my country
At 3:34, that Vertical Tiger stripe ERDL was even evaluated by Taiwan(ROC) and Malaysia during early 1990s. In the end, both nations use that as a basis to develop their own Tigerstripe pattern. The result was Malay Tigerstripe Woodland Pattern and ROC Marine Tigerstripe Pattern. These two were replaced by new digital camos.
I recently got a hold of some unissued BDUs with tags still in and I was actually surprised to see just how dark this pattern is when it was originally printed. Before that I’ve only ever seen used examples which all have some wear to them. I’ve dismissed a lot of the commercial gear printed in the “m81” us woodland to be darker due to artistic interpretation so to say. But the real US woodland is actually a really dark pattern printed I.
Thinking back to all those times someone yelled at me to "GO BUY A NEW FUCKING UNIFORM!". Little did I know I just needed to find the original research from the 70's. But for real, though, I would wear those shits until they were fading white.
I got issued BDUs and I was also surprised with how much Brown and Black and the small amount of Green even though the green is something you notice when you look at it.
I was one of the first soldiers to wear the new pattern after it was authorized but before its issue. One or two months before general issue. A few of us ( later more) found a tailor outside of Ft Benning that got the pattern from the government and bought the fabric. He sewed us up a set of pants, shirt and cap. Some even bought field jackets but the Army didn't want us to wear the Field Jacket for a few months as they were not "authorized" yet. I collected a number of Army information bits on the new uniform and put it in an album...If I ever find it in storage ..you can have it. I was also on Kelly Hill when they tested the Brown boot. I was in a Battalion that didn't test them. It was clear to me that the old hands were really against brown rough out boots. Lots of really wrong info was common . I think the SMGs kept the black boot in. until . Desert Storm finally gave them a chance. I was so happy to see them go. The brown boot would be a good topic too.
I wore the woodland camouflage from 1987-2005 and the ACU from 2005-2013. I retired from US Army after 26 years active duty. I loved the BDU or woodland camouflage uniforms they were comfortable and ironed nicely, and we still wore black shined boots. Since I retired I still like to wear my camouflage bdu pants, and field jackets some things never go out of style. Cheers from Texas
The people responsible for that pattern deserve to be revealed and mocked by everyone on a regular basis. It should become a new US holiday. Kinda anti-thanksgiving.
When I joined the USAF in 1984 and went through MIMSO at Lackland AFB, they made us buy three sets of OD fatigues. But as soon as we were sent to our respective duty stations, we had to buy all new BDU's. Still have mine. Great uniform and great pattern. Worked well in the Philippines when I was at Clark AB. And isn't it amazing that after literally thousands of years of warfare we are still trying to figure out the 'best' camouflage. And the best bullet to shoot some one with is some where between a 6.5 and 6.8 mm / .264 to .270.
DPM is great. NZ army used to have their own variant worked perfect for nz forests and would be just as good in any jungle worldwide. Got phased out for that grey looking multicam stuff.
When I was at Benning infantry training I ran into some soldiers from Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua attending the School of the Americas. They were little guys but very muscular and filled out their woodland BDUs very well. They were very tough and seasoned war fighters.
@@razgriz1258 I was in CAP 1998-2001 we used woodland, and basic Alice web gear. I've noticed the cadets in my area have been using ABU for quite awhile now. No longer use web gear of any kind, and recently have been switching out to OCP.
Thank you so much for doing this video. This is the uniform pattern I grew up with. Used surplus one when I went camping because it was more comfortable an durable than civies. When I got involved with Civil Air Patrol this was our uniform an I think it still is for Cadets. I've bean out a wile.
Gotta love the US woodland. That will always be what comes to mind when I think of camo. It's what I knew from all of my dad's uniforms , and it's what I've known to sit on top of my head every single day since I was 12. That first patrol cap which was already about 35 years old when my dad gave it to me ( the first woodland cap he was issued when it debuted in '81 ) is no longer recognizable as woodland and I'm on my 2nd replacement now since the new stuff isn't quite as good ( R&B inc still makes a good hat, probably the last US manufacturer making hats in woodland btw ) but I'll continue to wear a US made woodland camo patrol cap as long as I can get 'em. If only Sekri industries was still around to make em since they do a better job. I've recently switched to a R&B inc woodland boonie for outside summer wear, but I've got 5 of their woodland camo patrol caps ordered. I'll probably order 5 more next month so I can gradually stockpile a lifetime supply.
I remember in 1981 when the first BDU went on sale at quartermaster sales after training at Fort Knox, There was a line but I got several sets. I was a novelty when I got to my unit in Europe. With the roll out and wear out date of the old stuff a plain field jacket and BDU's was fairly common. What blew your mind was how comfortable and convenient they were. We had quite a few Vietnam vets in our unit at the time who said the slant pockets of a "Jungle shirt" were to accommodate the angle of the bottom of an M16 clip. Some "staff weannie" told me that the cargo pants we designed to carry 2 complete MCI's out of the box. In any case, they were far better than that OD shirt, pants and ballcap. For outdoor and leisurewear they are fantastic. Hose'em down, wring'em out and wear'em till they dry.
I'm glad that my uniform was BDU's the whole time. It's the best looking uniform that the US Army ever had. It worked well in the field and a starched set of BDU's looks badass with jump boots and a beret....back when berets meant something. For desert BDU's, I always liked my tricolors over the chocolate chip. We were issued both. I remember when we first got issued those suede bottom desert boots. I wanted to love them, but mine ate my feet up as soon as I got to Somalia and I traded them to another dude for a pair of black jungle boots.
I didn't wear a beret. But Starched and put creases in the BDU's w/ either jungle boots or jump boots(chairborne). My wife could spit shine my boots better than me any time of the day. And she still reminds me of this to this day. I married a GREAT Woman.🫡🫡🫡
Can you explain to a canadian what you mean by "when berets meant something"? Does everyone outside the special forces, SOF, paras, and MPs wear the same berets and cap badge now? What was it like before?
@@dillonhillier Used to be that only certain trope wore berets. Special forces wore green ones (hence "the Green Berets"), airborne wore maroon, and rangers wore black. Then in 2001 some sad general decided everyone should have a beret as standard headgear for the entire army, meaning only the color of the beret was distinctive. Worse is that they decided the general-issue beret should be black, despite it being already used by the rangers (they switched to a tan beret to maintain a distinctive color). Even worse was the idea that it should be worn with the combat uniform when not wearing a helmet. It looked stupid as hell (especially when they switched to the UCP, which specifically omitted black) and was widely derided, though it took ten years for the army to restrict it to wear with the blue service uniform. Now the blue uniform is being returned to optional fancier dress uniform status, replaced for a daily service wear by a new green service uniform modeled after the old WWII and Korea era officer's service uniforms. Those are worn with a green side cap or peaked cap, not a beret, unless the wearer has one of the special beret colors. So the beret is getting back some of its old status, but it was 20 years of stupidity.
@davezanko9051 thanks for the detailed response. I would only disagree with your notion that berets in combat uniform is a bad idea. Maybe it's because it's what I'm used to (its our standard headdress whether combat uniform or dress), but I think it looks pretty bad ass. I wore my beret and regimental cap badge from time to time after I left the CAF and was volunteering in Iraq with the kurds. Perhaps it's different for us as well, as our infantry regiments all have distinctive cap badges, and it's something most people are extremely proud of.
@@dillonhillier Berets are formless and overly warm for the environment they're often in. And the patrol cap or boo is bay used instead match the camo and have brims, which makes it just a better piece of headgear.
I wore my DCUs which are basically tan BDUs for Veterans Day and found them to be so natural to wear after 20 plus years. Other than the desert the woodland BDU worked most everywhere else.
Anyone know how well received this pattern was among soldiers using it? All I remember about it is the part in Generation Kill when all the soldiers are complaining about having to use this pattern in the middle of a desert, while the reporter got the chocolate chip pattern.
When I was in the service (1998-2006) woodland camo was our standard. Those guys that were sent to the east from my station, had the tan and browns, seen during Desert Storm era.. I cannot speak for other groups that were deployed east in the woodland colors (like in the movie) but I can't imagine it being a good strategy wearing greens in a sand box...
This was the pattern when I was active duty from '85-'93. Lots of memories. Except during the tail end of Desert Storm where I wore the chocolate chips, I wore this throughout.
7:55 you have no idea how amazed i am that this was a known realization noted in documentation, considering my own experiences with certain modern uniforms.
The Woodland M81 BDU Cammies ( and It's Desert Combat Uniform , 3Pattern Variant) was the Uniform that I Myself, John Rodriguez, proudly and professionally wore in War and in Peace, from 1987 to 1998, with 1 Year and 4 Months ( in the Army National Guard ( ARNG) and US Army Reserve ( USAR) ) , both as a Marine and as a Soldier. Even now ,going on 55 Years Old on 03 April 2024AD, I STILL wear a Raid Mod Blouse and Trousers with ,at times, a Combat Shirt and Boonie Hat in Woodland M81 BDU.🇺🇸🇺🇲🪖‼️
The woodland pattern BDUs were really a great morale boost from the old pickle suites. Still my favorite uniform. Of course like the khakis and the mint green shirt comb it had to be replaced by the Army’s Board to eliminate popular equipment. Other items universally despised in the 1980s like the M-16 A1, the Gamma goat, the ACP uniform seemed to have nine lives.
+Uniform History This video plus the ERDL and the urban camo were some of my absolute favorite videos you guys have done! I keep coming back to watch them when I'm painting a figure to make sure I get it right lol. Would love to see you do a piece on the French Foreign Legion, I love how still use a version of the woodland camo. It almost looks like the brown dominant but the green is darker along with the tan. Anywho, I straight up love the channel and content you put out, much love and continued success!
my dad is a USAF vet and just gave me the last of his M-81 uniforms including the rain and cold weather gear... i wear my cammies with pride and respect. A symbol of my bond with my ol' man and the gears VERY durable my main pants have some tears but they're 20 years old now and still lookin sharp. I love the feel comfort and they work for me, best pattern i have seen and my favorite so thx to the generals who signed off on this amazing piece of family and American Military History and there are no patches so its not Stolen Valor its just our legal last name and shows where patches used to be. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
I love all the science that went into developing this pattern, very cool. Heavy nostalgia too, even though I was never issued anything in this pattern I wore the hell out of it when I was an edgy high schooler
If you were in the military and you didn't have to wear that uniform then count your lucky stars, that shit was so hot in the summer I can't even begin to describe it, they started to use the lighter "rip stop" type of fabric not long before I got out and I never did get any of them, after I got out I couldn't give those things away fast enough, they were absolutely miserable in the Kansas heat and accounted for a lot of cases of heat stroke.
I did my Army basic and AIT at Ft Sill,OK during the summer of 82. I was in the 1st groups of soldiers to be issued the BDU's there. The battery across from us, who were 2 weeks ahead of us, were wearing OD shirts and pants and Mitchell camo covers. Our shirt, pants, field cap and helmet cover were woodland. Our issue field jackets were still OD.
I wore the BDU pattern from 1986-2006 when stateside training and combat in Panama. This is the best for both Europe, Hawaii, and Central America which I have been to for camouflage. Combat during the Panama Invasion didn't help because we were fighting in the city of Panama. It did help during my unit's follow on mission in Northern Panama after the invasion.
I fought in Vietnam in 1968-1969. We wore what was called the jungle fatigues, but I don't know the technical designation. Some in my platoon wore the green fatigues without camouflage. We all wore flak jackets that had no camouflage which seemed to me to defeat the idea of a camouflage uniform. I served 3 years in combat. Personally, I thing camouflage uniforms are mostly ineffective. They have a pattern but don't break up the form. This is why the North Vietnamese did not have camouflage uniforms but rather placed local vegetation in their helmets and equipment to break up the form. It's why ghillie suits work so well for snipers--they completely break up the form and blend in almost perfectly to the natural surroundings. However, not too practical for front line soldiers as it covers the entire body making it difficult to get to the equipment under the ghillie suit. There should be a compromise. A camouflaged uniform should have enough fake foliage on it to break up the form but not so much to hinder access to the equipment. The helmet on the other hand can and should have lots of fake foliage to break up the form of the helmet. My ideal uniform would have heavy fake foliage on the helmet and shoulders, and sparsely fake foliage on the rest of the uniform so as not to interfere with access to the equipment. After all, it's the head and shoulders in my engagements that are the most visible to the enemy. It wouldn't look pretty for inspections and parades, but those are not life or death situations. I'm 73 now but as a Marine infantry officer for 21 years, I try to keep up with the latest military technical developments. Today's Marines have far better equipment, weapons, close air support, artillery support, training, and logistics than we had in Vietnam. That's a good thing. But the camouflage uniforms of today are just a worthless as the ones we had in Vietnam. Not only is the body armor not the same pattern as the uniform (like in Vietnam), but it doesn't break up the form of the soldier. It doesn't take much to break up the form. Just add some fake foliage to some parts of the uniform so that it makes the human form lest distinct. When I was a Marine company commander, I required all my Marines to use camouflage paint for their faces and to add camouflage netting to their helmets, burlap camouflage strips tied to their equipment and weapons before going on training exercises. I was admonished by my battalion commander because they didn't look like Marines. Well, that was the whole idea. I wanted them to look more like the vegetation in which they were going to fight instead of Marines in camouflage uniforms that didn't work. I've often felt that the military was too concerned with how soldiers look going into combat than how they don't look to the enemy.
You said you had three years in combat, but you also said you served in Vietnam from 68-69..That's a year, maybe two if you pushed it..Something tells me you were a POG at best..
I was stationed at Ft Bragg in the MID 80's when the BDU in woodland was first issued. In addition to being heavy we could not have them STARCHED in on post laundries. Complaints about "rag bag' soldiers led to a solution. We were authorized to wear the Vietnam Era jungle fatigues which could be starched and ironed. I stood in line at Quartermaster Sales as they kept unloading boxes of vietnam surplus fatigues and sold them at 1960's prices. Entire outfit cost less than $10. Within a week you could not find a Woodland uniform at Bragg until the lightweight version came out and we were ALLOWED TO IRON THEM AND USE "LIGHT' STARCH.
In the 90s, I wore it in several areas, but in the U.S., from Bragg to Lewis and it works! At least against the naked eye and binos. Key is knowing how to stalk, when to move, using local vegetation etc. Not sure how well it holds up against modern IR, thermals etc. or how it compares to contemporary patterns under those advanced imagery capabilities.
I was in the Civil Air Patrol they started replacing the M81 Woodland BDU - Battle Dress Uniform in 2015 the year i left . The Naval Sea Cadet Corps was replacing it with the Blueberry Type 1 NWU. They have until 2021 to fully transition over .The Young Marines will be the only ones wareing the M81 Woodland BDU seince the Marine Corps is butthurt over anybody wareing the Marpat Pattern.
I loved the DCU's they were like Pajamas when we put them on after NTC in California it was like Heaven ! They dried quicker in Iraq ! The ACU was the freaking worse ! They didn't tell us to wash the ACU before wearing them we all got Chemical Burns from them with the IBA on mostly on our backs ! Mine was so bad it was like 2 degree burn !
@@dukecraig2402 I still have one that i tore up and spattered with blood, i wear it every year at Halloween when i volunteer for the local zombie runs.
Could you do a vid about uniforms throughout history in general ? Maybe it's a bit complicated but it would be nice to see the evulotion of uniforms in general. Also as always i liked your vid keep on the good work.
MY USAF career spanned from 1972 to 2011...I wore the greens, the BDU Woodland, the DCUs, and the final ABU Tiger stripe uniform. I can tell you that the Woodland camo was worthless for us AF types who worked on and around aircraft. Concrete is white and we stood out like sore thumbs. The DCUs and ABU Tigerstripe did a pretty good job of confusing our outline, especially on hot days at a long distance.
Australian research on camoflage patterns determined that the colour black wasn't particularly common in woodland and jungle environments. That's the reason you didn't see black in the older DPCU and current AMCU patterns. It's even the reason why black boots were kiboshed from the dress regulations circa 2003 and also the reason why later variants of the F88 and all versions of the EF88 rifles aren't black. With that in mind, the Woodland camo pattern looked the business, but wasn't particularly well suited to the Pacific rim TOAR.
Love M81 BDUs. Grew up on it and remember the changes to MARPAT and UCP/ACU. If the newer OCP wasn't around I'd have suggested to switch back to the M81s
@@normalplayer7377 i've seen it work fairly well in largely rocky terrain such as: images.app.goo.gl/JY3AqmKAJfRNqQG78 Dont get me wrong, i fucking HATE, DESPITE AND ABHOR that uniform, but we need to give credit where credit is due.
@@normalplayer7377 all i know its afghanistan. Cant fimd exactly where but i've seen it work in similar places (for example in a joint excercise in Uruguay a few years back, specifically in sierras de mahoma)
due to cost, the gulf war taught the americans that war can erupt anywhere, as a result, they have to use uniforms that can adopt to majority of terrains
The originals were hot in the summer, that was for sure. Then they came out with the light weights. The BDU heavy weights were wonderful in the winter in Europe, vis-a-vis Germany. The lightweights were nice in winter Europe as well if you had the underwear or spent a lot of time inside.
I loved wearing m81 when I was in the military. It's decently effective in manynplaces if you use it properly. OCP is also a good pattern, but it's not wonderful in, well, woodlands. It does nicely against stone and scrub, but m81 rules if there are any trees. The large splotches really help to make a man look like nothing in particular.
Love watching your videos. Really informative. I always liked the Woodland camo but being from the UK I’ve always favoured the DPM more. Maybe you could do a video on that one day?
I know there were two versions of ERDL camo. However why does there seem to be two versions of Woodland. I have a very large number of Woodland camo surplus gear and some of the gear has a dark green and light green combo as opposed to dark green and tan. My medium ALICE radio pack, for example, is basically what I would call "green dominant" Woodland. Were there two versions of Woodland or are the dye lots between manufactures that much different?
Just stumbled upon this channel and really enjoying the content. A couple of suggestions/requests; for the screen uniforms could I suggest Battle Royale, or more specifically the sequel? Also, there’s a UK based vintage clothing store called Rokit which has a surprising variety of international camouflage on their website
Me watching Star Wars ' Man, it's so dumb that the Empire would have its combat troops wearing white, they're so easy to see'. US Army soldiers appear wearing UCP 'OH GOD, IT'S SO BRIGHT IT HURTS MY EYES'.
I know its a joke, but the reason for Stormtroopers being in white was for psychological shock and awe purposes. Same reason elite law enforcement wear black which actually makes them stand out.
What's there to talk about really? They wore it to blend in with Afghanis. Then, they got associated with it, so they basically sticked with it for the cool factor. Green Berets did it first, anyway ;)
@Christian Morgan have you seen marsoc/ raiders Facebook page (facebook.com/MARSOCofficial/) Or (facebook.com/MarineRaiderRecruiting/) they have digital MARPAT still too look for dec 10th post!
Ah good old Woodland BDU's. I got issued the last iteration of them shipping off to basic and later Germany in 2000. It was when they did the IMHO bad idea of black berets replacing the overseas 'napkin' for Class A's and the highly functional garrison BDU cap. We got issued 4 sets-hot weather pleated and cold weather solid along with two jackets (I still have) that we NEVER wore because we were issued these great, very light gortex parkas in Germany.
Awesome lesson. I came in with woodland and left with OCP. Woodland is supreme
@GruntProof : Long Live The Woodland M81 Camouflage Pattern and Its Predecessor, RDF ERDL.
My service started with BDUs, then DCUs to ACUs and now OCPs. Have to say the woodland BDUs is by far the best looking combined with spit shine boots.
M81 and DCU those where really great!
You're what they call the gruntpa😂 all jokes aside congrats on your career. There's not many people who can say they've been in that long
@@ashleynicole333 i was "roommates" with a man who was in Vietnam and the Iraq war. he did slightly more than 40 years.
by roommate he rented a room in the apartment unit i lived because the nearby community college had a flight school and as a retirement gift to himself he was getting his pilots license. he was only there Sunday evening until Thursday afternoon.
Ah m81..my first love when it comes to camouflage.
Woodland is the milf of camouflage.
Same
FLORA is better in my opinion
@@tankieflanker4119 that’s right sugar😘
Same
"The most recognized camouflage pattern on the planet..."
Guess it wasn't that effective then.
You my good sir. Have earned yourself a like. Wish more people see your comment
@@coreycamacho1290 more people haven't seen my comment, because its camouflaged.
@@Waltham1892 maybe that's why
Waltham1892 ha!
I get your joke but he didn’t mean it like that he meant everybody knows the Camouflague and a lot of countries use this camoflage including my country
At 3:34, that Vertical Tiger stripe ERDL was even evaluated by Taiwan(ROC) and Malaysia during early 1990s. In the end, both nations use that as a basis to develop their own Tigerstripe pattern. The result was Malay Tigerstripe Woodland Pattern and ROC Marine Tigerstripe Pattern. These two were replaced by new digital camos.
I recently got a hold of some unissued BDUs with tags still in and I was actually surprised to see just how dark this pattern is when it was originally printed. Before that I’ve only ever seen used examples which all have some wear to them. I’ve dismissed a lot of the commercial gear printed in the “m81” us woodland to be darker due to artistic interpretation so to say. But the real US woodland is actually a really dark pattern printed I.
It depends on the material. 50/50 NYCO uniforms are pretty dark, while 100% cotton ripstop wash up quickly
Thinking back to all those times someone yelled at me to "GO BUY A NEW FUCKING UNIFORM!". Little did I know I just needed to find the original research from the 70's. But for real, though, I would wear those shits until they were fading white.
I got issued BDUs and I was also surprised with how much Brown and Black and the small amount of Green even though the green is something you notice when you look at it.
My #1 favorite camouflage of all time. Good old Woodland.
I was one of the first soldiers to wear the new pattern after it was authorized but before its issue. One or two months before general issue. A few of us ( later more) found a tailor outside of Ft Benning that got the pattern from the government and bought the fabric. He sewed us up a set of pants, shirt and cap. Some even bought field jackets but the Army didn't want us to wear the Field Jacket for a few months as they were not "authorized" yet. I collected a number of Army information bits on the new uniform and put it in an album...If I ever find it in storage ..you can have it.
I was also on Kelly Hill when they tested the Brown boot. I was in a Battalion that didn't test them. It was clear to me that the old hands were really against brown rough out boots. Lots of really wrong info was common . I think the SMGs kept the black boot in. until . Desert Storm finally gave them a chance. I was so happy to see them go.
The brown boot would be a good topic too.
Can't polish roughout 😅
Ahhh, the memories. My career in the military started with the introduction of this uniform and ended as it was being phased out.
@midoriiyahebi3535they use it to hide themselves as being US forces….so maybe research before you make comments?
In all honesty, as a child I thought, that this WAS camo, the only one in existence. Thats how dominant the pattern is.
I really appreciate your use of primary source documentation.
Imagine putting all the US woodlands together
It would make a forest
I wore the woodland camouflage from 1987-2005 and the ACU from 2005-2013. I retired from US Army after 26 years active duty. I loved the BDU or woodland camouflage uniforms they were comfortable and ironed nicely, and we still wore black shined boots. Since I retired I still like to wear my camouflage bdu pants, and field jackets some things never go out of style. Cheers from Texas
When the army walks by in UCP that’s damn near white...
That, to me, is one of the worst "camouflage" patterns ever designed.
The people responsible for that pattern deserve to be revealed and mocked by everyone on a regular basis. It should become a new US holiday. Kinda anti-thanksgiving.
vandoo66 they should be in prison. Generals made a decision for that camo for their own personal gain
@@Plzstandbuy I take this as a personal challenge to find something worse.
@@vandoo66
Scornsgiving.
When I joined the USAF in 1984 and went through MIMSO at Lackland AFB, they made us buy three sets of OD fatigues. But as soon as we were sent to our respective duty stations, we had to buy all new BDU's. Still have mine. Great uniform and great pattern. Worked well in the Philippines when I was at Clark AB.
And isn't it amazing that after literally thousands of years of warfare we are still trying to figure out the 'best' camouflage. And the best bullet to shoot some one with is some where between a 6.5 and 6.8 mm / .264 to .270.
Thank you, this helped solve a mystery as to why the surplus woodland camo I got when I was a kid looked different.
Being British and someone who's been trying to get into the army, I would love you to do a video on DPM and MTP 😃
Couldn't agree more
Liam S as a fellow brit i agree!
DPM is great.
NZ army used to have their own variant worked perfect for nz forests and would be just as good in any jungle worldwide. Got phased out for that grey looking multicam stuff.
@@SH-xr8hc the Steyr AUG was great too, now it's just another AR-15. Wasting my taxes on unnecessary defense spending!!
DPM is on my wishlist
when i was in Air Force Secfo tech school we met some service members from various south american countries and they all wore Woodland
I know the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) a youth extension of the airforce still uses woodland for their cadets
China and Syria both recolored the pattern.
When I was at Benning infantry training I ran into some soldiers from Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua attending the School of the Americas. They were little guys but very muscular and filled out their woodland BDUs very well. They were very tough and seasoned war fighters.
@@razgriz1258 yeah... it's a cluster fuck in cap
@@razgriz1258 I was in CAP 1998-2001 we used woodland, and basic Alice web gear. I've noticed the cadets in my area have been using ABU for quite awhile now. No longer use web gear of any kind, and recently have been switching out to OCP.
Excellently done, informative and well-researched. Especially appreciate the primary documentation being made available many thanks
Thank you so much for doing this video. This is the uniform pattern I grew up with. Used surplus one when I went camping because it was more comfortable an durable than civies. When I got involved with Civil Air Patrol this was our uniform an I think it still is for Cadets. I've bean out a wile.
I love the m81 pattern. My favorite military camo by far.
Gotta love the US woodland.
That will always be what comes to mind when I think of camo.
It's what I knew from all of my dad's uniforms , and it's what I've known to sit on top of my head every single day since I was 12.
That first patrol cap which was already about 35 years old when my dad gave it to me ( the first woodland cap he was issued when it debuted in '81 ) is no longer recognizable as woodland and I'm on my 2nd replacement now since the new stuff isn't quite as good ( R&B inc still makes a good hat, probably the last US manufacturer making hats in woodland btw ) but I'll continue to wear a US made woodland camo patrol cap as long as I can get 'em.
If only Sekri industries was still around to make em since they do a better job.
I've recently switched to a R&B inc woodland boonie for outside summer wear, but I've got 5 of their woodland camo patrol caps ordered.
I'll probably order 5 more next month so I can gradually stockpile a lifetime supply.
I remember in 1981 when the first BDU went on sale at quartermaster sales after training at Fort Knox, There was a line but I got several sets. I was a novelty when I got to my unit in Europe. With the roll out and wear out date of the old stuff a plain field jacket and BDU's was fairly common. What blew your mind was how comfortable and convenient they were. We had quite a few Vietnam vets in our unit at the time who said the slant pockets of a "Jungle shirt" were to accommodate the angle of the bottom of an M16 clip. Some "staff weannie" told me that the cargo pants we designed to carry 2 complete MCI's out of the box. In any case, they were far better than that OD shirt, pants and ballcap. For outdoor and leisurewear they are fantastic. Hose'em down, wring'em out and wear'em till they dry.
I’m fascinated by camo patterns. Studied them. Even developed my own UCP. Thanks for this video.
I'm glad that my uniform was BDU's the whole time. It's the best looking uniform that the US Army ever had. It worked well in the field and a starched set of BDU's looks badass with jump boots and a beret....back when berets meant something. For desert BDU's, I always liked my tricolors over the chocolate chip. We were issued both. I remember when we first got issued those suede bottom desert boots. I wanted to love them, but mine ate my feet up as soon as I got to Somalia and I traded them to another dude for a pair of black jungle boots.
I didn't wear a beret. But Starched and put creases in the BDU's w/ either jungle boots or jump boots(chairborne). My wife could spit shine my boots better than me any time of the day. And she still reminds me of this to this day. I married a GREAT Woman.🫡🫡🫡
Can you explain to a canadian what you mean by "when berets meant something"? Does everyone outside the special forces, SOF, paras, and MPs wear the same berets and cap badge now? What was it like before?
@@dillonhillier Used to be that only certain trope wore berets. Special forces wore green ones (hence "the Green Berets"), airborne wore maroon, and rangers wore black. Then in 2001 some sad general decided everyone should have a beret as standard headgear for the entire army, meaning only the color of the beret was distinctive. Worse is that they decided the general-issue beret should be black, despite it being already used by the rangers (they switched to a tan beret to maintain a distinctive color). Even worse was the idea that it should be worn with the combat uniform when not wearing a helmet. It looked stupid as hell (especially when they switched to the UCP, which specifically omitted black) and was widely derided, though it took ten years for the army to restrict it to wear with the blue service uniform.
Now the blue uniform is being returned to optional fancier dress uniform status, replaced for a daily service wear by a new green service uniform modeled after the old WWII and Korea era officer's service uniforms. Those are worn with a green side cap or peaked cap, not a beret, unless the wearer has one of the special beret colors. So the beret is getting back some of its old status, but it was 20 years of stupidity.
@davezanko9051 thanks for the detailed response. I would only disagree with your notion that berets in combat uniform is a bad idea. Maybe it's because it's what I'm used to (its our standard headdress whether combat uniform or dress), but I think it looks pretty bad ass. I wore my beret and regimental cap badge from time to time after I left the CAF and was volunteering in Iraq with the kurds. Perhaps it's different for us as well, as our infantry regiments all have distinctive cap badges, and it's something most people are extremely proud of.
@@dillonhillier Berets are formless and overly warm for the environment they're often in. And the patrol cap or boo is bay used instead match the camo and have brims, which makes it just a better piece of headgear.
good info
you are damn near in almost every comment section istg
We’ve been waiting on God’s Plaid for so long. Thanks brother!
lol God's Plaid, thats a good name for it
Fascinating! There's more history behind these patterns than one might initially assume.
I wore my DCUs which are basically tan BDUs for Veterans Day and found them to be so natural to wear after 20 plus years. Other than the desert the woodland BDU worked most everywhere else.
Anyone know how well received this pattern was among soldiers using it? All I remember about it is the part in Generation Kill when all the soldiers are complaining about having to use this pattern in the middle of a desert, while the reporter got the chocolate chip pattern.
well... that's just logistic ain't it? plus the reporter got his stick stuck up there somewhere didn't he?
I mean, not really the area the camo is meant for. So even though I like it, I'd complain too.
When I was in the service (1998-2006) woodland camo was our standard. Those guys that were sent to the east from my station, had the tan and browns, seen during Desert Storm era.. I cannot speak for other groups that were deployed east in the woodland colors (like in the movie) but I can't imagine it being a good strategy wearing greens in a sand box...
This was the pattern when I was active duty from '85-'93. Lots of memories. Except during the tail end of Desert Storm where I wore the chocolate chips, I wore this throughout.
Also known by in the hardcore training gun community as “God’s Plaid.”
UwU Papa Flannel
Abigail Bathory no
@@xeneth531 ØwØ
Abigail Bathory NO CAST IT TO THE FIRE
@@xeneth531 ÙwÚ Flannel Daddy is love. Flannel Daddy is life.
7:55 you have no idea how amazed i am that this was a known realization noted in documentation, considering my own experiences with certain modern uniforms.
Do swedish m90 or splinter in general.
What's Splinter? You mean Splitter that was worn by the East German Defense Force?
The Woodland M81 BDU Cammies ( and It's Desert Combat Uniform , 3Pattern Variant) was the Uniform that I Myself, John Rodriguez, proudly and professionally wore in War and in Peace, from 1987 to 1998, with 1 Year and 4 Months ( in the Army National Guard ( ARNG) and US Army Reserve ( USAR) ) , both as a Marine and as a Soldier. Even now ,going on 55 Years Old on 03 April 2024AD, I STILL wear a Raid Mod Blouse and Trousers with ,at times, a Combat Shirt and Boonie Hat in Woodland M81 BDU.🇺🇸🇺🇲🪖‼️
@JohnRodriguez-si9si : That's A Fact, Jack 😉‼️
The woodland pattern BDUs were really a great morale boost from the old pickle suites. Still my favorite uniform. Of course like the khakis and the mint green shirt comb it had to be replaced by the Army’s Board to eliminate popular equipment. Other items universally despised in the 1980s like the M-16 A1, the Gamma goat, the ACP uniform seemed to have nine lives.
I've had a long day and seeing this video after waiting for it since I discovered the channel made it alright.
+Uniform History
This video plus the ERDL and the urban camo were some of my absolute favorite videos you guys have done! I keep coming back to watch them when I'm painting a figure to make sure I get it right lol. Would love to see you do a piece on the French Foreign Legion, I love how still use a version of the woodland camo. It almost looks like the brown dominant but the green is darker along with the tan. Anywho, I straight up love the channel and content you put out, much love and continued success!
As always an amazing video
my personal favorite. I was waiting for it.
Thank you.
In my experience the older woodland examples often have better color more vibrant whilst the later more common version tends to fade into a brown camo
my dad is a USAF vet and just gave me the last of his M-81 uniforms including the rain and cold weather gear... i wear my cammies with pride and respect. A symbol of my bond with my ol' man and the gears VERY durable my main pants have some tears but they're 20 years old now and still lookin sharp. I love the feel comfort and they work for me, best pattern i have seen and my favorite so thx to the generals who signed off on this amazing piece of family and American Military History and there are no patches so its not Stolen Valor its just our legal last name and shows where patches used to be. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
My favorite camouflage pattern over any past or present ones.
This was my favorite uniform while AD. It worked great in the field, and pressed starch nice with no arm pockets in the way.
I love all the science that went into developing this pattern, very cool. Heavy nostalgia too, even though I was never issued anything in this pattern I wore the hell out of it when I was an edgy high schooler
If you were in the military and you didn't have to wear that uniform then count your lucky stars, that shit was so hot in the summer I can't even begin to describe it, they started to use the lighter "rip stop" type of fabric not long before I got out and I never did get any of them, after I got out I couldn't give those things away fast enough, they were absolutely miserable in the Kansas heat and accounted for a lot of cases of heat stroke.
One of the best patterns ever made
Could you do one with the finnish m05 patterns
Yes. This.
^Finnish not finnish
I did my Army basic and AIT at Ft Sill,OK during the summer of 82. I was in the 1st groups of soldiers to be issued the BDU's there. The battery across from us, who were 2 weeks ahead of us, were wearing OD shirts and pants and Mitchell camo covers. Our shirt, pants, field cap and helmet cover were woodland. Our issue field jackets were still OD.
I wore the BDU pattern from 1986-2006 when stateside training and combat in Panama. This is the best for both Europe, Hawaii, and Central America which I have been to for camouflage. Combat during the Panama Invasion didn't help because we were fighting in the city of Panama. It did help during my unit's follow on mission in Northern Panama after the invasion.
I fought in Vietnam in 1968-1969. We wore what was called the jungle fatigues, but I don't know the technical designation. Some in my platoon wore the green fatigues without camouflage. We all wore flak jackets that had no camouflage which seemed to me to defeat the idea of a camouflage uniform.
I served 3 years in combat. Personally, I thing camouflage uniforms are mostly ineffective. They have a pattern but don't break up the form. This is why the North Vietnamese did not have camouflage uniforms but rather placed local vegetation in their helmets and equipment to break up the form. It's why ghillie suits work so well for snipers--they completely break up the form and blend in almost perfectly to the natural surroundings. However, not too practical for front line soldiers as it covers the entire body making it difficult to get to the equipment under the ghillie suit.
There should be a compromise. A camouflaged uniform should have enough fake foliage on it to break up the form but not so much to hinder access to the equipment. The helmet on the other hand can and should have lots of fake foliage to break up the form of the helmet.
My ideal uniform would have heavy fake foliage on the helmet and shoulders, and sparsely fake foliage on the rest of the uniform so as not to interfere with access to the equipment.
After all, it's the head and shoulders in my engagements that are the most visible to the enemy.
It wouldn't look pretty for inspections and parades, but those are not life or death situations.
I'm 73 now but as a Marine infantry officer for 21 years, I try to keep up with the latest military technical developments.
Today's Marines have far better equipment, weapons, close air support, artillery support, training, and logistics than we had in Vietnam. That's a good thing.
But the camouflage uniforms of today are just a worthless as the ones we had in Vietnam. Not only is the body armor not the same pattern as the uniform (like in Vietnam), but it doesn't break up the form of the soldier. It doesn't take much to break up the form. Just add some fake foliage to some parts of the uniform so that it makes the human form lest distinct.
When I was a Marine company commander, I required all my Marines to use camouflage paint for their faces and to add camouflage netting to their helmets, burlap camouflage strips tied to their equipment and weapons before going on training exercises. I was admonished by my battalion commander because they didn't look like Marines.
Well, that was the whole idea. I wanted them to look more like the vegetation in which they were going to fight instead of Marines in camouflage uniforms that didn't work.
I've often felt that the military was too concerned with how soldiers look going into combat than how they don't look to the enemy.
Well said sir.
Absolutely goddamn right.
You said you had three years in combat, but you also said you served in Vietnam from 68-69..That's a year, maybe two if you pushed it..Something tells me you were a POG at best..
the solid OD uniform (od tan for arid) is still a viable uniform.
Such an iconic pattern. I remember my dad got in just early enough to be issued woodland before UCP took over
A very cool and informative video. I'm actually wearing my M65 field jacket in the M81 pattern while watching this.
I was stationed at Ft Bragg in the MID 80's when the BDU in woodland was first issued. In addition to being heavy we could not have them STARCHED in on post laundries. Complaints about "rag bag' soldiers led to a solution. We were authorized to wear the Vietnam Era jungle fatigues which could be starched and ironed. I stood in line at Quartermaster Sales as they kept unloading boxes of vietnam surplus fatigues and sold them at 1960's prices. Entire outfit cost less than $10. Within a week you could not find a Woodland uniform at Bragg until the lightweight version came out and we were ALLOWED TO IRON THEM AND USE "LIGHT' STARCH.
In the 90s, I wore it in several areas, but in the U.S., from Bragg to Lewis and it works! At least against the naked eye and binos. Key is knowing how to stalk, when to move, using local vegetation etc. Not sure how well it holds up against modern IR, thermals etc. or how it compares to contemporary patterns under those advanced imagery capabilities.
This and the 3 color were the best
Yep, wore the woodland BDU for 19 of my 27 years in the USAF. My favorite was the 3 color DCUs. The ABU was to heavy.
I was in the Civil Air Patrol they started replacing the M81 Woodland BDU - Battle Dress Uniform in 2015 the year i left . The Naval Sea Cadet Corps was replacing it with the Blueberry Type 1 NWU. They have until 2021 to fully transition over .The Young Marines will be the only ones wareing the M81 Woodland BDU seince the Marine Corps is butthurt over anybody wareing the Marpat Pattern.
I loved the DCU's they were like Pajamas when we put them on after NTC in California it was like Heaven ! They dried quicker in Iraq ! The ACU was the freaking worse ! They didn't tell us to wash the ACU before wearing them we all got Chemical Burns from them with the IBA on mostly on our backs ! Mine was so bad it was like 2 degree burn !
@@wickwire9560 *DCUs 2nd* degree
spacedredd too* heavy
The more I look at modern camo comparisons and then look at woodland the more I realize there was nothing wrong with it.
wore this uniform for 13 years, salute to all my brothers and sisters who put on the Beer Drinkin Uniform!
Wore them myself, couldn't give them away fast enough after I got out.
@@dukecraig2402 I still have one that i tore up and spattered with blood, i wear it every year at Halloween when i volunteer for the local zombie runs.
Could you do a vid about uniforms throughout history in general ? Maybe it's a bit complicated but it would be nice to see the evulotion of uniforms in general. Also as always i liked your vid keep on the good work.
MY USAF career spanned from 1972 to 2011...I wore the greens, the BDU Woodland, the DCUs, and the final ABU Tiger stripe uniform. I can tell you that the Woodland camo was worthless for us AF types who worked on and around aircraft. Concrete is white and we stood out like sore thumbs. The DCUs and ABU Tigerstripe did a pretty good job of confusing our outline, especially on hot days at a long distance.
Thanks for the history of the GOAT camo
USMCR 83-87. Woodland camo was my jam
9:42 Wo wo wo... Biggie is wearing a variant of the M1942 "Duck Hunter" pattern here.
Been wearing woodland camo starting in the 80's. It still holds up today.
Australian research on camoflage patterns determined that the colour black wasn't particularly common in woodland and jungle environments. That's the reason you didn't see black in the older DPCU and current AMCU patterns. It's even the reason why black boots were kiboshed from the dress regulations circa 2003 and also the reason why later variants of the F88 and all versions of the EF88 rifles aren't black. With that in mind, the Woodland camo pattern looked the business, but wasn't particularly well suited to the Pacific rim TOAR.
Love M81 BDUs. Grew up on it and remember the changes to MARPAT and UCP/ACU. If the newer OCP wasn't around I'd have suggested to switch back to the M81s
Woodland pattern and late 90's early 00's Desert pattern were ICONIC
10:17 My eyes! Great video! Can you do Tigerstripes or DPM soon?
I Fucking hate that camo. It only works on the moon.
@@normalplayer7377 i've seen it work fairly well in largely rocky terrain such as: images.app.goo.gl/JY3AqmKAJfRNqQG78
Dont get me wrong, i fucking HATE, DESPITE AND ABHOR that uniform, but we need to give credit where credit is due.
@@Fede_uyz where was that picture taken?
@@normalplayer7377 all i know its afghanistan. Cant fimd exactly where but i've seen it work in similar places (for example in a joint excercise in Uruguay a few years back, specifically in sierras de mahoma)
@@Fede_uyz Yeah, the issue is that the Army wanted it to be used everywhere. Even in places it didn't blend in. Like Iraq
Great videos, thank you!
The most badass camo pattern ever.
no its not
@@flight2k5 You've convinced me.
Robert Keller yea I don’t really care. The Scorpion shit is way better in ever way sooooo
@@flight2k5 Cool.
@@flight2k5 Maybe a little. But don't tell no one. 😘
Brings back old memories.
always great videos. Thank you
M81 a classic one of my favorite patterns
You forgot to mention M81’s resurgence in MARSOC. Other than that great video & great channel 👍.
Has it ever been specified why the military decided to ditch the olive drab uniforms ? Probably my favorite uniform aside from the BDU.
due to cost, the gulf war taught the americans that war can erupt anywhere, as a result, they have to use uniforms that can adopt to majority of terrains
The originals were hot in the summer, that was for sure.
Then they came out with the light weights.
The BDU heavy weights were wonderful in the winter in Europe, vis-a-vis Germany.
The lightweights were nice in winter Europe as well if you had the underwear or spent a lot of time inside.
I loved wearing m81 when I was in the military. It's decently effective in manynplaces if you use it properly. OCP is also a good pattern, but it's not wonderful in, well, woodlands. It does nicely against stone and scrub, but m81 rules if there are any trees. The large splotches really help to make a man look like nothing in particular.
I would love to see the history of the rain camo patterns like the Czech "oblacky" or east German "strichmuster"
Why did they retire the best camo ever
When are we going to get a video on the Uniforms of the Rebel Alliance to Restore the Republic?
In about two or so weeks actually.
Sweet.
@@UniformHistory Praise sweet baby Yoda!
*Uniforms of Terrorist traitors
@@suspicioususer imperial spotted
the US military sure do love their acronyms
Would love to see videos on DPCU and DPM! Keep up the awesome work!
Nice footage of the G-11 in trails too.
💯thanks for making this video🔥💪🏾
Love watching your videos. Really informative. I always liked the Woodland camo but being from the UK I’ve always favoured the DPM more. Maybe you could do a video on that one day?
I know there were two versions of ERDL camo. However why does there seem to be two versions of Woodland. I have a very large number of Woodland camo surplus gear and some of the gear has a dark green and light green combo as opposed to dark green and tan. My medium ALICE radio pack, for example, is basically what I would call "green dominant" Woodland. Were there two versions of Woodland or are the dye lots between manufactures that much different?
Good video but, you forgot to mention that woodland is seen being used by the USMC MARSOC Raider Battalion.
Just stumbled upon this channel and really enjoying the content. A couple of suggestions/requests; for the screen uniforms could I suggest Battle Royale, or more specifically the sequel? Also, there’s a UK based vintage clothing store called Rokit which has a surprising variety of international camouflage on their website
Could you do DPM next?
Proper camo
US Woodlands disliked step brother?
@@ozone1894
More like a British Cousin
Answered some old questions, thanks !
Me watching Star Wars ' Man, it's so dumb that the Empire would have its combat troops wearing white, they're so easy to see'. US Army soldiers appear wearing UCP 'OH GOD, IT'S SO BRIGHT IT HURTS MY EYES'.
I know its a joke, but the reason for Stormtroopers being in white was for psychological shock and awe purposes. Same reason elite law enforcement wear black which actually makes them stand out.
9:48 That's not painted on. That is 3M vinyl overlay.
No MARSOC mention :0
MARSOC uses combat shirt and pants made by crye & drifire mostly this guy probably doesn't have much information about it!
What's there to talk about really? They wore it to blend in with Afghanis. Then, they got associated with it, so they basically sticked with it for the cool factor.
Green Berets did it first, anyway ;)
@@15vertigo navy seals did it first super cool factor!!!
@Christian Morgan have you seen marsoc/ raiders Facebook page (facebook.com/MARSOCofficial/)
Or (facebook.com/MarineRaiderRecruiting/) they have digital MARPAT still too look for dec 10th post!
I remember seeing somewhere Army special forces also wearing woodland in Afghanistan.
Thank you
Ah good old Woodland BDU's. I got issued the last iteration of them shipping off to basic and later Germany in 2000. It was when they did the IMHO bad idea of black berets replacing the overseas 'napkin' for Class A's and the highly functional garrison BDU cap. We got issued 4 sets-hot weather pleated and cold weather solid along with two jackets (I still have) that we NEVER wore because we were issued these great, very light gortex parkas in Germany.
My brother got a woodland m65 jacket just before they phased it out, he gave it to me and it is one of the most valuable pieces of clothing that i own
Erdl and dcu will not be forgotten
9:00 Drill SGT Hall was my drill sergeant at Ft. Leonard Wood.
This was just being issued when I joined in 1982 (BDU), and some guys in Basic had OD Green field jackets and BDUs.
The more I look at modern camo comparisons and then look at woodland the more I realize there was nothing wrong with it.
Yeah there is, it’s to dark for most wood areas.
There's also black in the pattern, not very good to add into a pattern
It's not that bad
It's very effective serch up woodland effectiveness
There’s actually a lot wrong with it. Especially when viewed through optics, ir, and night vision.