The ACU (Army Combat Uniform)
Sigh.
Take a look.
Where to begin? I'll give each listed change a plus or a minus and I'll explain below.
Uniform changes include:
1. Mandarin collar that can be worn up or down (+/-)
2. Rank insignia centered on the front of the blouse (-)
3. Velcro for wearing unit patch, skill tabs and recognition devices (-)
4. Zippered front closure (-)
5. Elbow pouch for internal elbow pad inserts (-)
6. Knee pouch for internal knee pad inserts (-)
7. Draw string leg cuff (N/A)
8. Tilted chest pockets with Velcro closure (+/-)
9. Three-slot pen pocket on bottom of sleeve (-)
10. Velcro sleeve cuff closure (-)
11. Shoulder pockets with Velcro (+/-)
12. Forward tilted cargo pockets (-)
13. Integrated blouse bellows for increased upper body mobility (+)
14. Integrated Friend or Foe Identification Square on both left and right shoulder pocket flap. (+)
15. Bellowed calf storage pocket on left and right leg (+)
16. Moisture-wicking desert tan t-shirt (+)
17. Patrol Cap with double thick bill and internal pocket (+/-)
18. Improved hot-weather desert boot or temperate-weather desert boot (-)
19. Two-inch, black nylon web belt (+/-)
20. Moisture-wicking socks (+)
1. (+/-) It's a good idea, and already practiced. Some soldiers sew a button under their collar specifically so it can be worn up. The minus is the fact that it's velcro now as far as I know.
2. (-) First off you can't see it under body armor, and second it's a dark patch in the middle of your chest. Can you say good fucking target?
3. (-) Velcro wears out. Their rationale is that it will save soldiers the cost of replacing tapes (due to wear) and having them sewn on, yet tapes outlast the uniform typically and it only costs $0.88 per tape to have them sewn on, vs the extra 33 dollars for the uniform. You'd have to run through a hell of a lot of tapes to make that cost up. Also, velcro doesn't allow for straight alignment of the tapes and patches so it looks fucking sloppy.
4. Big fucking (-) Here's a bit of trivia for you. Soldiers, when rucking, often use the buttons to open the middle of the BDU blouse and the crotch of the BDU pants so they can get ventilation and not overheat. With a zipper you can't do that. Also, zippers are incredibly loud and unnatural sounding, and not possible to repair in the field (I sure as shit don't have the expertise to fix a zipper, but I can sew a button back on).
5. (-) I know I won't be using that shit. I'd rather have slip on elbow pads I can keep off the joint when I want full range of motion and I can move back into place when I want them.
6. (-) Ditto above.
7. (N/A) As far as I know BDU pants already have this. Maybe they mean something else, but as far as I can tell this isn't a change. It's good, by the way.
8. (+/-) Good idea, bad choice of fucking velcro.
9. (-) What the fuck for? I'm never going to carry a pen on my sleeve, I'll carry it in my pocket. Dumbass idea clearly intended only for REMFs. Just like the whole fucking uniform so far.
10. (-) Once again, velcro. Buttons = silent, velcro = loud as shit no matter how carefully you open it. I can just see an ambush or patrol getting blown to shit because a grunt's sleeve caught on a branch in the dark and RIIIIIIPPPPPPPed open.
11. (+/-) Another good change, more fucking velcro. They moved the lower blouse pockets to the shoulders because the pistol belt was over them when you were wearing gear and you couldn't use them like that. USMC did it first, but I bet they have buttons.
12. (-) I'm not quite sure what this means. I believe it means the opening is more to the side than the top. If so, that's fucking stupid. I don't want my gear falling out. More velcro, too, I bet.
13. (+) I am not sure this is needed, but if it's a real issue then great, fix it. I can't see the harm in it.
14. (+) Already practiced, just not part of the BDU. It's an IR identifier, as far as I know, so soldiers looking through NODs see a bright dot on you and don't shoot you. I might be wrong.
15. (+) I'm only really giving this a plus because I don't see the harm. I also don't see the usefulness of it. If I need something quickly it's not going to be down on my leg, so I might store beef jerky or something in those pockets but nothing vital.
16. (+) Moisture wicking anything is always good. Keeping the sweat away from the body is more comfortable and also helps prevent hypothermia in colder weather.
17. (+/-) Good because they're getting rid of the army-wide beret. Bad because it's stupid to imagine I'll be keeping anything more important than tissues in a cap I could lose at any moment.
18. (-) This boot is not polished. This is a bad thing. Polishing your boots is not just for show, it helps build up moisture resistance and coats the leather in a hard plastic-like coating that prevents damage to the leather's surface (which can lead to trapped moisture and rotting boots). Also, taking away boot polishing makes people look sloppy and eliminates a basic discipline building exercise.
19. (+/-) If this is intended to take the place of the pistol belt or something, then it's stupid but maybe a good change anyway. If not, it's just plain stupid because you only need a thin belt to hold up your pants, not a 7500 pound test nylon strap. That's what the pistol belt is for.
20. (+) See 16. Doesn't prevent hypothermia this time but it can help prevent frostbite and blistering.
There are other changes not listed there. One of the monumentally stupid ones is taking the officer's branch insignia away for MORALE reasons. Look, if some dipshit cook feels bad when a combat arms officer walks into his mess hall, boo fucking hoo, he should have become a combat soldier himself and not pussed out. This is fucking stupid. One of the good changes is the camouflage pattern. Not so much that camouflage they're suggesting but the fact that they're looking at changing it at all. I personally think the camo they have right now is moronic, and they're also trying to
cut costs by having only a few different patterns to match a wide variety of environments. If soldiers start dying because some faggot ass colonel at Natick wanted to save a few bucks and not come up with more/better camouflage, heads had better fucking roll.
All in all I hate this new uniform. It's expensive and idiotically conceived. Velcro and zippers have NO FUCKING PLACE on the battlefield. They're incredibly loud and unreliable. Buttons are the optimal choice here, and until they come up with electromagnetic fasteners or some shit nothing is ever going to replace them but inferior designs. It's like trying to improve on the wheel. Give me a call when they get large scale levitation going. Until then I'll take my wheels, thanks very much.
I don't know if I've talked about the XM8 rifle before, but I'm contemplating ranting about that next. I'm in the writing mood today.
