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2007-04-06 Science & Technology

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Posted by anonymous5089 2007-04-06 12:01|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Love the pockets and layout of the new uni. Camo pattern is probably OK at night and in urban areas. Stands out badly in jungle terrain (Thailand). Newer patter may ar may not be the answer. But keep the pockets where they are!

Gotta agree with him on one thing: Velcro just sucks the way they are using it.

Posted by OldSpook 2007-04-06 12:38|| 2007-04-06 12:38|| Front Page Top

#2 Please, NO VELCRO ON COMBAT UNIFORMS, it makes noise when opening, noise is a bad idea in combat, or when trying to sneak quietly.

Posted by Redneck Jim 2007-04-06 13:16|| 2007-04-06 13:16|| Front Page Top

#3 Velcor is fine for the shirt closures - buttons there tended to get ripped off or tear the shirt. But NO VELCRO ON POCKETS!

Posted by OldSpook 2007-04-06 13:18|| 2007-04-06 13:18|| Front Page Top

#4 How much of this effort is really devoted to assisting soldiers and how much is devoted to assisting the BX's cash flow? If a new fitting out is needed, that's a lot of greenbacks. I can only speak for my Navy experience, but I went through at least 3 complete dungaree / dress blue reconfigurations, and at a pretty fair expense. call me cynical but i think the uniform board is just trying to justify their job.

Posted by USN, Ret. 2007-04-06 14:33|| 2007-04-06 14:33|| Front Page Top

#5 The real solution:

ACU for field use, and the old OD Greens (Gomer Pyle) uniforms for garrison and stateside. Allows for the discipline of spit and polish, starch and creases in garrison (and the old OD's were cheap too), and the full functionality in the field of something like the ACU. Throw away the old Class A and Class B completely (along with the "every gets one" beret and the c**t caps), they look like busdriver uniforms. Wear pressed OD instead for office use, and go with the Dress Blues for a full dress uniform - including the saucer cap. Reserve berets to special units - give black back to the Rangers, maroon stays with the airborne, green with the SF. Everyone else wears the OD field cap with rank on it. (no USAF baseball caps).

No need for a REMF in Fort Pentagon to go around looking like a ranger. Nor a Ranger to be as shined up as a REMF when in the field. Nor any soldier to EVER look like an office clerk or busdriver.

Posted by OldSpook 2007-04-06 15:00|| 2007-04-06 15:00|| Front Page Top

#6 You mean to tell me that after extensive testing this uniform is flamable ?
Fire every one on the uniform board and start over.

Posted by wxjames 2007-04-06 16:16|| 2007-04-06 16:16|| Front Page Top

#7 Thinking the same fricking thing. Velcro is not to stealthy. Plus the new outfit will melt into the soldier's skin.

WTF was wrong with the old one? Sounds more to me that someone has a contract money grabbing issue.

Posted by Icerigger">Icerigger 2007-04-06 16:43|| 2007-04-06 16:43|| Front Page Top

#8 But NO VELCRO ON POCKETS!

In the semiconductor industry there is a non-fibrous form of Velcro used to suspend laminar flow curtains and other temporary partitions. Marketed under the trade name "Dual Lock", this genderless closure is less prone to packing with foreign material or lint, unlike tradition hook and loop Velcro.

Imagine two opposing fields of small mushroom-headed plastic pins that interlock with each other. This is the principal of operation and it provides an amazingly strong closure. Slight adjustments to the polymer durometer (flexibility and softness), plus modification of head diameter and spacing can yield up a closure system that will make a minimum of noise and avoid any unnecessary stiffening of the uniform wherever these closures are applied.

Dual Lock is just one of many ways that this problem could be overcome. If the Uniform Board is fixated on Velcro, they should all be fired.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-04-06 16:43|| 2007-04-06 16:43|| Front Page Top

#9 One thing I can not understand is why we need a single camoflage pattern. The Marines do just fine with 2 (desert and woodland). The old 3 color desert camoflage pattern worked fine. The new pattern stands out almost anywhere.

Al

Posted by Frozen Al 2007-04-06 17:57|| 2007-04-06 17:57|| Front Page Top

#10 I still have my DCUs in ripstop. The layout of the ACU is 100000000000000 times better in terms of pockets where you need them, drawstrings for adjusting, velcro where it is needed (think of internal seams in the shirt under a vest - like the front closure), the "Chinese collar", etc.

But the closures on the cargo pockets suck, and having so much Velcro thats exposed (like the unit insignia and so on) is asking for it to be clogged.

As for the patterns, the ACU completely kicks ass at night over all the other patterns. And since thats when we tend to operate, that's why it was chosen. It does OK in the stony/rocky ground and in urban areas in Iraq/Stan. Forest/mountain is OK, "woodlands" is so so, tropical jungle it is pretty bad and arctic is just sucks. Thing is none of the other patters worked as well over all either.

May just as well have gone with the old Werhmacht Feld Grau and added in combat smocks of the right type for each environment.

Posted by OldSpook 2007-04-06 21:34|| 2007-04-06 21:34|| Front Page Top

#11 Zenster---geeze louise! Gay Velcro? Ima flabbergassed.

Posted by Alaska Paul">Alaska Paul 2007-04-06 21:38|| 2007-04-06 21:38|| Front Page Top

#12 Don't think of it as gay, Alaska Paul. Try ambidextrous instead -- you'll feel more comfortable in your anorak that way. ;-) Actually, I think the term genderless closure is absolutely wonderful; I simply must find a way to work it into my next dinner party conversation! Thanks so much for that, Zenster dear -- you are a positive font of new information for me.

Posted by trailing wife 2007-04-06 21:48|| 2007-04-06 21:48|| Front Page Top

#13 TW - "ambidextrous" in a sexuality conversation is too easy for even my sophomoric (yet, sadly nodding) sense of humor...stop it :-)

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2007-04-06 22:49|| 2007-04-06 22:49|| Front Page Top

#14 I will try, Frank dear.

Posted by trailing wife 2007-04-06 23:08|| 2007-04-06 23:08|| Front Page Top

23:56 Mac
23:39 Throger Thains8048
23:36 twobyfour
23:35 WTF
23:32 Jackal
23:27 Jackal
23:26 Procopius2k
23:19 Procopius2k
23:18 Frank G
23:14 3dc
23:08 trailing wife
23:05 trailing wife
23:04 WTF
22:59 Barbara Skolaut
22:53 Barbara Skolaut
22:53 C-Low
22:51 Barbara Skolaut
22:49 USN, ret.
22:49 Frank G
22:42 newc
22:42 trailing wife
22:41 Frank G
22:35 trailing wife
22:26 newc