The History of: US Six Color Desert Pattern AKA Chocolate Chip Camouflage | Uniform History
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 30 май 2019
- We finally got around to this request and are covering the US Six Color Desert "Chocolate Chip" Camouflage made famous by the First Gulf War.
Music by: www.juliancrowhurst.com/
Six Color Documents: imgur.com/gallery/aysJUzJ
Looking cool is the most important part of a uniform, and chocolate chip ranks second only to tiger stripe.
Tiger stripe is #1 for sure!
Thanks Garand Thumb!
Tri-color is cooler imo, same family
Idk. It always makes me hungry...
facts.
I love how in the film Black Hawk Down they got details correct like the Rangers wearing the 3-color BDU with a Woodland chest rig and the a chocolate chip helmet cover. Uniform transitions are never cut and dry. There’s always overlap due to shortages.
Yeah same with Jarhead.
That's why I laugh at reenactors who freak out because you have a M1942 canteen with a M1944 chest rig or other equally pointless freakouts. We still have BDU plate carriers in the military today that are in use.
They were sf so they got everything first
@@FLJuJitsu since I'm doing a USMC loadout I get to mix everything
Like wearing ucp gear with multicam or cop? Lol you are hidden but you stick out.
Gulf War troops had the coolest look in my opinion...
Only beaten by Vietnam war nachos in tiger stripes.
Fun fact, this is the first officially issued camouflage pattern used by Ireland. About 6 years before Irish dpm started being adopted.
Common story actually! Also got adopted briefly by Norway with SOFs deployed to Afghanistan wearing surplus uniforms. A lot of European nations that didn't have a dedicated desert uniform used six or three colors informally till locally produced variations or official licensed uniforms could be procured
Maybe the pattern would've worked better if the troops' LBVs and gear weren't all OD green
Very true, Dan. That is why the Marines use light brown vests and combat carrying equiptment. I suspect it all had to do with money, aka budget of the armed forces. Purchasing tan CCE would be too expensive. And the US Army was trained for decades to fight the Soviets in Western Europe, so OD and Woodland camo. So OD CCE.
To be fair too, Rucksacks and vests were issued with Choco-Chip covers. Under optimal conditions, the only thing that would be green still would be ALICE belt... Which honestly if you can see it, you probably can make out the person already
@@johnkonrad5040 During the fighting in '91, we wore woodland MOPP suits (chemical warfare suits). Made any other attempts at camo clothing pretty pointless.
@@mardiffv.8775 Maybe vidya doesn't count, but those brown vests were quite visible in the fields of Chernarus.
I have had ocp uniforms and ucp gear up until very recently the whole time I've been in the army.
Turns out 6 colour was surprisingly effective in dry open country grasslands in Australia. I had multiple infantry trainees nearly step on me in Wide Bay in the mid 90s while i was laying in grass playing OPFOR.
I'll probably chase up a set for summer duck hunting in southern NSW this year.
Gen. Schwarzkopf not only had the chocolate chip patrol cap, he even had the Bianchi M12 holster for his Beretta M9 in the same pattern. I think he was even the first to have the then-new desert combat boots.
Drooling over the chocolate chip m12 holster ngl
Ever think about doing some uniform history from WW2 or the 1800's? I'd love to be able to use your videos as references when I do my soldier artwork.
There are a few topics from WWII on our list of future videos and we'll eventually be doing a few 19th century topics. But feel free to send over an email if you need assistance with anything specific.
@Cesar Cayden FBI wants to know your location
@UniformHistory Maybe two separate videos Union and Confederate uniforms through the war?
@@truc2fou915nah
Thanks you just reminded me of how supply made me turn in my 3 color desert plate carrier today.
"Oh you don't need this anymore."
"Yeah nobody wears these for real anymore so neither do you guys."
What happened if you just said you lost it?
We were told that they needed to do an inspection of everything they gave us, if I said I'd lost it I'd have to pay for it which would have been several hundred dollars because they value it based on how much it cost brand new, it doesn't matter that it was probably 20 years old what matter is what the Air Force paid for it 20 years ago. Before anyone asks, both the vest and plates were marked "For Training Use Only" and were well beyond the point where it would be advisable to wear them in a situation where you could potentially be shot.
@@nunyabusiness4904 seems normal to me 😂
@@nunyabusiness4904 Like how the army wants to charge us $80 for a $2 ACH cover.
@@nunyabusiness4904 Charge you full price, but will be stored for years and then sold as surplus by the lb. or given to a 3rd world ally country we'll fight later down the road.
Its crazy to think that we've been involved for so long in the desert that we have black and white pictures of sand uniforms, even if they are only prototypes.
Crazier to think only one of those “wars/conflicts” lasted 20ish years.
I got the 6-color uniform issued to me on 26 February 2003 before I deployed to Kuwait....this is before we deployed to Iraq the 2nd time.
Yeah there were quite a few people wearing their chocolate chip cammies in 2003. My CO and SgtMaj both rocked the chocolate chip....it was their old stuff when they were LCpl’s or 2nd Lt’s
By all means it was hotter than the new 3 color...
We all got that in late 2003 when some of us were there for longer then a year....then in 2004 before I went to Fallujah (Al-Fajr) we had the desert MARPAT which was much more effective.
Now that I’m retired, I still have my uniforms.....all of them. Quite a collection!!
Even the MARPAT snow pattern...or the first digital pattern used in Cali for urban operational training in 1998.....yeah I still got it.
Semper
USMC/Retired
Did you keep your urban combat skateboard?
@@wisconsinkraut3445 I actually don’t know what happened to that skate board. Wearing the old jungle boots, skateboarding was easier. Some just don’t know how fun the 90’s was for the Marine Corps.
@@MountaintravelerEddie the fact you were ripping tricks in uniform is wicked cool. Makes me wish I was 20 years older
Sure, the chocolate chips didn't blend in that great with the Kuwaiti desert. But they were better than the woodland MOPP suits we wore over them during Desert Storm! (not to mention the OD green LBE gear, mask carrier, etc.)
Hey and what trouser belt did you wear?
Or the UCP
i mean, the woodland accents on the vests and olive drab lbe did look smart on paper, making it look like a small patch of green foliage that you can see in north africa and the southwest parts of the middle east parts of. but when you see a bunch of patches of grass around eachother in similar postitions in a place where it's rare to see greenery in general, it draws attention
At least they made you look and feel like you were in ww2
can you do a follow up with 3 color desert?
Aye
He should make a video series on the uniforms of battlefield 5 to see if the game devs got anything right.
Lol all bfv tryhards just run around in the big sniper level 20 coats and gas masks and all noobs run around in stupid default German camo which is white in bfv not grey like real life
dcu or desert marpats?
Yes, I always wonder how well the camo performed during the 2003 invasion.
Choc chip rocks, it was an awesome looking BDU set, as soon as you see it you think 1991 Gulf war strait away
When Americans ate shit
@@ciiiiiityt874 Uhhh you sure about that, bud?
Echo Delta with all of my mind power and my mentality I do , bud
@@ciiiiiityt874 you uh, sure you aint talking about 2003? 1991 they tore ass
Stalker no I’m sure , but I love you tho
Makes me feel old. We finally got ours 2 months before we returned to Germany, you know the ol' dog and pony show.
I got my spiffy desert boots right before the flight home, because I was flying with a General. :)
We got ours with only a couple of days left to wait for our flight home and then ordered to wear them home, sore were truly pissed off, it felt like an insult.
Awesome video as always. My favorite Desert Camo pattern more for sentimental reasons than effectiveness.i grew up in the 80s and 90s. Saw this camo in Iron Eagle II and stayed glued to the TV watching peter arnett in CNN during gulf war 1.
I like this pattern. It just reminds me of the 80s and early 90s and brings nostalgia. I even used this pattern in one of my videos for the "Desert Strike" theme remix :D I used the pattern and put it on a metal plate as a background :D For me personally this pattern is one of all time favorites. My top list : 1. The Urban Camo 2. The Woodland Camo 3. The Vietnam era Swamp pattern and this Chocolate Chip one :D [all 80s old school of course]. I still own an Urban Cammo Pants & Jacket. I used to have a woodland jacket & 2 pairs of pants way way back. :D
This guy deserves more subscribers! I bet he works realy hard on these videos.
Worked great in Quantico winters. Woodlands were too dark against all the tan/brown grass and leaves, but chocolate chip blended right in.
I bought my first six colors cammies in 1989 for hunting that year(I was active duty Marine Corps second enlistment).
The next year(1990) I was issued a set. I was with one of the first MARINE units deployed in August 1990.
Great job,
I had known of Operation Bright Star. All the info pre that is New to me.
On derivatives of this pattern, lets not forget SADF S2000 camo.
Works real well in central to West Texas, especially from late summer to late winter, when old Vietnam tiger tripe takes over. My hunting buddies said the only thing that gave me away was my rifle sling. The dove just flat couldn't make me out until they were right on me.
a bit of an odd camo suggestion for a video but Irish DPM would make a great camo to do the history of
irish dpm? now my interest is piqued
Good suggestion Feda, and there is an 'arid regions' version also, very rare, issued to some Irish observers in Afghanistan I think (I believe the Rangers also had some personnel there). At one point some years ago the Irish UN peacekeepers, maybe on the Golan Heights or Sinai (see 6:00 ), were issued with the Chocolate Chip US uniform. I saw an example in the Army museum in Dublin.
@@barryolaith yeah I have seen it too in the barracks museum in galway it is like gold dust to get your hands on though. Technically its decommishined but wouldnt suprise me if it popped up with some rangers
I participated in Operation Bright Star in both 1980 (the first one) as part of Task Force Strike (1/502INF) where we were issued ERDL camouflage uniforms and also in 1987 as a reservist in a power generation unit where we were issued chocolate chip desert uniforms. I also wore the 6 color desert uniform again in 1999 at Ft. Irwin, California as an OPFOR uniform. Your videos are great. Thanks.
It’s a cool design, that’s what’s so great about it. It just looks epic.
Shame it couldn’t be a better desert camo.
The camo was good for the era, at least it wasn't like the UCP camo. (only good for rocks and couches)
I see the DoD hasn't learned a single thing from past uniform developemnt failures. Tradition is still strong within the branches of that tree.
Andrew Winchel I have to agree with you.
@@andrewwinchel4659 They just keep wasting money on broken crap, see the F-22.
@@Clay3613 I do have to say, I saw one at an airshow the other day, and some of the maneuvers they can do are unreal. I can see why they want to get it to work.
I think the problem is how the government conducts business with the free market, or should I say how those companies exploit the taxpayer, and how government employees pad their bank accounts with taxpayer money.
@@andrewwinchel4659 The F-22 DOES work, clay is delusional
A lot of soldiers from VII Corps still wore the woodland pattern BDU even after the 100 hour ground war was over in Operation Dersert Storm. Some units were not issued their DBDUs until a week to a few days before their return to Germany in April-May 1991. Many of those DBDUs were still in crates at warehouses.
It was developed in the dessert region of El Paso at the Fort Bliss Army base. Due to the large rocky landscape of the area this is why it looked the way it did (hence the rocks clearly put in the design ..the chips). It was developed before the gulf war which was mostly sand and why it was later changed to the 3 color pattern to resemble a more single flowing color pattern. I.E. it was a failed design from the start......
This has to be my favorite camouflage pattern. It just looks so cool!
Great video. When I was in ranger school in 1978, some of us were issued some what ratty chocolate chip uniforms (and tan plastic NVA helmets) to wear as aggressors. However, I still have the set issued to me for Desert Storm.
Great vid as always. Worthy to note that the Six-Colors actually continued onwards after 1995... At least in some small ways. Some Marines I've talked to online mention that DBDUs were actually kept around at least as far as 1998 officially for OPFOR purposes. Accessory items also remained in stock for some time. 10th Mountain actually wore DBDU PASGT helmet covers when they initially went into Afghanistan in 2001, in addition to scrims and covers hanging around to at least 03. But largely unofficial anyways... Once again, nicely done
Shouldn't you be in Dubai lel?
@@mercenarygundam1487 *Do you feel like a hero?*
@@johnkonrad5040 Nope, not at all.
@@mercenarygundam1487 Care to explain?
I love the looks of choco chip pattern! it looks cool. the choco chip, m81 woodland and desert tri-color are my most favorite patterns.
Always liked the mixing and matching of the chocolate chip and night desert uniform items!
Hey, good job referring to it as a "cover" for the Marines. That is one of the small details that most people usually dont get right.
Brad Roberts I’m vegan
The Army refers to it as a cover too. Funny how Marines think the universe originates around them. They keep sayimg they are the "first in" theater too, but who transports them? The Army and Navy do... Lol. How quaint are the Marines??? Give em some cookies and milk.
I always called it a hat. Because it is a fuckin hat. A cover is what I sleep under. The 8-point one we wore in garrison was a stop hat. The one we wore in the field was usually a boonie hat, but if you cut the brim real short so it looked like a rolled up condom it became a penis hat.
Only Staff NCOs ever called it a "cover".
russell28533 as if it is a marine only thing? Typical marine brain washing to the point of stupidity.
Andrew Winchel just because the navy and army transports them don’t mean shit and of course the marines are never in first usually that’s up to intelligence/spec ops, air forces then the marines and when it all calms down the army comes in ahahah ahahha ( its a joke )
I remember seeing some Afghan cops outside of Jalalabad wearing it(it was one of the pictures you showed actually). The tans were replaced with greys, it looked really strange.
Kennard Lang I think those guys were border guards I remember seeing them
I was never issued or worn this during my time in service in the late 1980s and 90s. I got to wear the DCUs in training and were issued before combat when they gave us those terrible ACUs. In late summer 2006 the Army gave me the ACUs for wear in Iraq. Honestly I felt I stood out to be a better target for Hadji because it wasn't camouflage enough. When we finally got into combat it was easy to distinguish our guys from Hadji who sometimes wore DCU and civilian clothes in combat. Besides camouflage the next best thing was shooting at someone who was carrying an AK or other weapon in small villages, or a good size town/city. In urban combat I realized and told my soldiers is to keep out of sight and find firing positions and to move fast in short and to fire at targets shooting at you. This could be a set up but it was the best method than camouflage. Any time you advance or withdraw. You can give Hadji time to expose himself and his buddies for your own set up. Camouflage don't work for shit in urban combat. Moving in dark spots and low is your only camouflage.
ACU works only on a barren mountain and a river bank of pebbles. That light tan is nearly white and stands out like a lighthouse.
I was a Marine in Iraq. I remember the first time I saw that ACU nonsense, it was on some poor Army MSgt or something who had been given the utterly hopeless and futile job of trying to train the jundis into something that didn't resemble an actual piece of human feces.
He stuck out like a sore thumb in that ridiculous blue pattern.
@@mardiffv.8775 You mean UCP, ACU stands for Army Combat Uniform and refers to the cut of the uniform, like the BDUs they replaced. The camo pattern that the ACU first appeared in and has been much derided is UCP or Universal Camouflage Pattern.
I heard it works great in a quarry full of gravel.
Americans are so silly they dont even know the name of the pattern they wear
Thanks dude for finally making this vid. Lots of info I didn't know about here. This is a classic favorite pattern of mine.
2:43 that mint chocolate chip ice cream camo on the right looks cool 😎👍
Please do WWII Leibermuster camo! I still struggle to find out what an actual camo looks like.
Definitely worth the wait! Can’t wait for the second half!
So great to all the staff officer REMF’s in desert camo and grunts being sent in with woodland camo.
This is probably one of my favorite patterns, it just doesn’t blend well with open sand deserts better for rocky mountainous deserts
Just wanted to say that I really like the channel and the style of your videos, I watched almost all of your videos in one day!
Would love to see a history of dress uniforms for this era, fantastic video
The U.S. still used the 6 pattern desert camo all the way until the early 2000's.
Also the IDF still using the six color helmet cover due to its effectivenes in the Negev desert rocki tarrain
Thank you for the info. IDF rockssssss.
Im one of those who find this camo cool, for me this Chocolate Chip and that one used in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq (i forget the name of that one) are fantastic camos. There's some versions of the Six Color used by arab countries but that versions are the ugliest thing that i ever saw
Libyan and Philippine variants, am I right
@@johnkonrad5040 Actually is the Saudi army, they use the six color but it's blue or something
@@isaacdepaula2103 Saudi Interior ministry not the regular army. Afghan border police still use it I believe. Libyan and Philippine variants have this god-awful blue/green colouration though, just looks awful
camopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Libya13.jpg
camopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Philippines44.jpg
@@johnkonrad5040 Not really that awful for the recolored 6-colored chocolate chip camo, as the camo’s really popular in being used by the Philippine National Police.
The Gulf war helmet covers woukd be used by the 10th mountain and 101st in Afghanistan in 2001 to 2002
Can you do the Australian DPCU patterns. Including the experimental ones.
@Mr Webgeneral Cool that should be helpful.
@Mr Webgeneral I agree.
Came across your channel now and i love it! had to subscribe to it.
Thanks!!
Great video! I'd love to see some more obscure camouflage patterns covered as well.
It was a long wait! Excited for this one.
I love nerding out on this channel
Fascinating! I never knew much about this pattern, thanks!
I'd heard that some input for this desert camo originated from the Army desert training center in So. Calif. Also, I've extensively worn the straight desert tan boonie hat, latest version and can say it is easily the best way to keep your head cool, in 115-120 degree heat. Especially so if you can put ice in it, then wear it.
This is my second favorite desert pattern. Love Kryptek Highlander most though.
Also I hope you mention the legacy of the M1951 Parka for the Night-Desert Camouflage! Last time the fishtail cut appeared in US service... Twas long lived
thanks for sharing your knowledge in these videos
I've waited so long for this..... Keep making good videos
That was worn in 1993 when the 101st Airborne pulled MFO in the Sinai.
Another great episode. I look forward to more.
South Africa's Soldier 2000 camo has the same "pebbles & shadows"
At 9:34 you see the V drawn on helmet covers. This is for the 24th Mech Infantry division, V for Victory Division. Most troops drew it on with a marker, but shops around Ft Stewart GA would embroider it for you. The entire division did that as a requirement; vehicle sides too. 24th ID(M) was reflagged as 3rd Infantry Division in 1996, and the helmet/vehicle "V" disappeared soon after. Too bad, I thought it was cool; like an American-football helmet.
Excellent. Was unaware of the wild foreign variations.
Another great video, keep em coming!
Spain does not use it since 2013, now we use the pixel desert camouflaje
Thanks for the video, this channel rocks!
Liked & Subscribed!
LOVED IT!
Need more.
Surprisingly, there are pictures of US troops still wearing the 6 color desert uniform up into Desert Storm 2: Sandy Boogaloo in 2003.
I've seen a total of one picture of a Marine with a chocolate chip helmet cover. That's it. By 2005, we were dressing the jundis up in chocolate chip.
I think it's probably the old story of 'Oh crap, we need a lot of desert uniforms in a hurry! What do we have in storage?'.
Thank you for another great post...
You missed one fact material weight changed and early on it had a huge disco collar
Very informative!
i have some DBDU trousers, from a frined who had them while deployed
they are probably my favorite pants ive ever owned, so comfotable and sturdy lole
God I love this camo so much!!!
Me too, #1 for me!
6 color choco chip works great in California's Mojave Desert, till it rains. Right now, it is definitely a little too green for it to work great.
Great video mate. Can you do a Brit DPM vid sometime? Looking at some variations like the "tropical" pattern etc.
I used to have an ARC AAA pocket flashlight in desert camo. I loved it and carried it all the time. One day I dropped it on the ground in the desert and it vanished right before my eyes. True story. ;-)
Was there from DEC90-MAY91, and we got our six color desert uniform about a week before we left in May.
I am looking forward to your next video. thank you for what you do.
Awesome content as always my dude , btw could you do a video about the Brazilian Lizard
I love it! a vet gave me a pair of his bdu's in this camo (and some ammo casings) and I wore it almost weekly for years! I wore it to school, to work, fishing.....all the time!
then, the ripped. 🤯😵
.....so, I cut them up and made them into a kilt 🤘
Thank you. Liked. Love some of the test photos, very hollywood!
At 8:12 they are wearing the woodland pattern chemical suit (MOPP suit) which was unavoidable. The entire 24th Infantry Division had a requirement to wear the charcoal-lined suit starting in January 1991. Those were never printed in anything but woodland. Funny that once ground combat actually started, we were wearing woodland camo over our desert camo.
I'm very curious how the Central Asian derivatives actually work in the topography there.
Six Color actually does surprisingly well in Afghanistan, at least from what I've seen of Spanish troops from photos. Afghan Border police and Kazakh ones always struck me as poor man's ACUs though, simply from how closely they matched ACU coloration
@@johnkonrad5040 ACU does remain the best camo for grandma's couch.
@LukeRamsey, Can't ask for a better pattern for blending in at Thanksgiving. Or Christmas... Or Easter... Hey, I guess this what they meant by universal!
The first time I saw the "chocolate chip" desert camouflage pattern actually during the late 1980s('88-'89), I thought it was for used in Southwest States of the U.S. from Texas,Arizona and even the rocky desert areas of Southern Ca.
Awesome video!!! I have a 70s dated 6-color desert in RDF cut, 80s dated desert night camo set( without the insulating liners v_v) , and some prototype 3 color desert in 100% cotton. I think they are 90s dated.
So those chips are rocks! Very intresting movie. Thanks
One of my favorite camos
Thank you! My favorite!
You should do the Polish Wz.93 woodland and desert Pantera uniform!
Love your videos man! Do you think you can make a video series on the uniforms of battlefield 5 to see if the game developers got anything right?
Uniform models are the pogs that pogs make fun of.
I rocked a night desert field jacket in highschool. lol
I have a couple night desert parkas with liners I picked up cheap, and they make great jackets for weather down into the 20s (F).
It's 2022 and I still have the chocolate chip top that I purchased at a surplus store in the early 80's..
Will you ever make a video about the swedish M90 camoflauge?
My favorite camo of all time!
Chocolate chip was sick but as far as actually useful as camo, eh... That's a different story
I, for one, like it. My dad kept his entire uniform (minus floppy hat and flak jacket) from when he served in Desert Storm, but I'm still searching through the garage looking for it and his Woodlands.
Yummiest looking camo ever!
To be fair, they sort of already had a “desert pattern” for the USMC that they used. I have a P42 utility jacket with that camoflauge.
Can you go more in depth into the many clones/ripoffs of this pattern? I know guys have lots of projects to get to but that seems so interesting