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The Soldier Plate Carrier System – A Journey

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Usually, we want to focus on the on the destination when we speak of a journey but oftentimes, the story of the road traveled is much more interesting. So for me, it was much important that I find out about how the requirement for a Plate Carrier was developed than focus on the name brand that was eventually selected. Learning the facts of how decisions were made would tell me much more about why the solution was adopted. Ultimately, you may not agree with the system that was adopted, but after reading this article you will begin to understand why it was. On October 8th an $18.6 million contract for 57,000 plate carriers was awarded to KDH Defense Systems. An additional 1,000 Eagle MBAV carriers were also purchased on a REF contract vehicle to support PEO-Soldier Camouflage study in Afghanistan. These MBAVs were produced in MultiCam.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with COL William Cole, Project Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment and LTC Jon Rickey, Product Manager Soldier Protective Equipment about the program as well as how it evolved.

It is best to go back to the beginning of the requirement. While SOF had been using plate carriers since 2002 and the Marine Corps had begun their program in early 2008, the Army had not received any requirements for the fielding of a plate carrier system. However, in December 2008, the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division requested 1,500 plate carriers. The time line was very short and the Rapid Equipping Force (REF) set about searching for a suitable item to fulfill the warfighter’s need. The Eagle Industries Modular Body Armor Vest (MBAV) in use with SOF was chosen and fielded to support this immediate need and also later used as a component of a Soldier’s Load Assessment conducted by the Asymmetric Warfare Group with contracting support from the REF.

Based on the requirement for a plate carrier, PEO-Soldier conducted Soldier Protection Demonstration – VII. An SPD is designed to allow the Soldier Survivability community to assess protection technologies offered by Government, industry, and academia to determine what the state of the art consists of and to shape realistic requirements. Sixteen companies met with PEO-Soldier during an industry day and the field was down selected to four commercial offerings. These were the KDH carrier, the TAG Rampage, Eagle Modular Plate Carrier System – Army (MPCS-A), as well as an offering from MSA-Paraclete. Additionally, for SPD-VII, PEO-Soldier included the US Marine Corps’ Scalable Plate Carrier, the Modular Body Armor Vest used by SOF, and an IOTV with no attachments as a baseline for comparison.

One important requirement of the SPD was that the system had to include 1″ of soft armor around the edge of the E-SAPI plate. This is to protect the wearer from spall that may be caused by edge shots on the plate. One of the test candidates did not include this feature and had to receive a waiver to be included in the demonstration. This same issue still plays heavily in post procurement decision debates over the validity of the Army’s selection of the KDH solution.

Testing was conducted in conjunction with the Army Infantry Center representatives at Yuma Proving Grounds. Twenty-five Soldiers from the 82d Airborne Division and 173d Airborne Brigade participated as test subjects for two weeks of intense activity.

Evaluations included road marches, obstacle courses, close range marksmanship, Individual Movement Technique course negotiation, ingress/egress drills, buddy aid and wound access, don and doff drills, and room-clearing exercises.

Every scenario was evaluated on objective as well as subjective criteria. In addition to established performance-based criteria, Soldiers were asked for their opinion of each carrier for that iteration. For example, during SPD VII Soldiers were asked, “Would you be willing to wear this armor system on a dismounted combat mission in Afghanistan?” This is the question to which 88% of Soldiers in the SPD said yes for the KDH plate carrier as well as the TAG Rampage. These two carriers did in fact come in second to the Eagle MBAV. Interestingly, no system was universally liked or disliked with even the IOTV still garnered a 24% approval rating.

There was no “winner” of SPD-VII. rather, information collected during the demonstration was used to refine the requirement. For instance, while a cutaway feature was mandatory for commercial items in SPD-VII, don and doff times and intended operational use revealed that a true cutaway was no required for the actual fielding of the system. Instead a rapid don and doff capability fit the bill.

There seemed to be a lull over the summer as the Infantry Center and Army Staff worked out the exact number of carriers to purchase. Ultimately, the decision was made to procure the plate carrier via GSA. GSA is a Government controlled procurement system that allows vendors to place products on offer to the Government at special rates. GSA was chosen in order to even further speed up the process of buying the carriers.

For this procurement, Technical (Protection and Weight) was the most important factor in determining which system the Army should procure. This was followed by Schedule as they were needed quickly on the battlefield. The final factor was cost. In the realm of Soldier Protection in particular, procurement cannot go to the lowest bidder based solely on cost.

COL Cole was emphatic that cost was not the driving factor in the selection of the KDH solution although it was in fact, at a good price. The technical and schedule elements of the proposals were evaluated at PEO-Soldier but the cost element was left to officials at the contracting office. Technical evaluators never saw the cost figures during the evaluation. In the GSA solicitation criteria, the Government reserved the right to award multiple vendors to fulfill the requirement. This is an indication of how urgent the need was and how important schedule was to the overall scheme.

Even I raised the question of whether KDH would be capable of meeting a very aggressive delivery schedule based on their bevy of recent armor contract wins. LTC Rickey related that they had similar concerns and discussed the issue with KDH. KDH walked PEO-Soldier through their plan to execute the contract at their new Eden, North Carolina plant and disclosed that they were planning on opening a dedicated line and hiring an additional 45 sewers to get the job done on time. This plan seems to have worked as PEO-Soldier informed me that they will begin fielding the SPCS in January. It will not only be fielded in theater but also here in CONUS prior to deployment to units identified as part of the surge.

Operationally, the SPCS will not be a replacement for the IOTV but rather issued in addition to. It will be up to the commander, based on METT-T whether or not to use it. Some education will be required so that a commander can weigh the risks of decreased soft armor against threats found in the AO. Specifically, the SPCS offers exactly the same amount of hard plate coverage as the IOTV. However, it offers significantly less soft armor which protects against frag. While there is less coverage, there is also less weight and bulk and this will prove to be a boon to those operating in mountainous areas. In fact, when initially adopted, the SPCS without armor plates weighed in at 6.47 lbs vice an IOTV 9.86 lbs without accessories. OEO-Soldier has already prompted a change to the design of the SPCS to make it lighterweight. The original design presented to the Government featured 1″ of soft armor around the edge of the side plates. The new design already implemented deletes this extra armor and lowers the weight to 5.77 lbs. Now a fully loaded SPCS weighs 21.8 lbs and an IOTV is 31.09 lbs.

The new SPCS is intended to be compatible with MOLLE equipment and will also accept the newly issued Tactical Assault Platform (TAP). Interestingly, the TAP is currently intended to replace the Fighting Load Carrier in the MOLLE system. Additionally, systems integration has already taken place to fit Land Warrior’s Ground Soldier Ensemble on to the carrier.

So is this story over? I think not. You must remember that the current system fulfills an Operational Needs Statement from theater rather than a larger, more encompassing requirements document. The President’s surge in Afghanistan means that there will be an even larger need for a plate carrier by the Army. Additionally, the Army may decide it wants the capability for other theaters as well. If this becomes the case, COL Cole related that the Army would most likely issue a solicitation based on requirements from the field and insist that the winning design become government owned to facilitate long-term sustainment.

Will the Army learn more about the use of a plate carrier once it is fielded? Absolutely. The Marines are essentially on the third version of their Plate Carrier. They worked with industry to develop a government owned design and tweaked it based on operational feedback. In fact, they just awarded an IDIQ contract partially to KDH to produce additional Plate Carriers in a Government owned design.

So is this a great leap forward for the American Soldier? Yes, if for no other reason than it is better than what he had previously; which was nothing. It will be interesting to see how the Army’s use of the SPCS evolves. Hopefully, this article will serve to dispel some of the misunderstandings associated with this procurement. I know for example, that after learning of the importance placed on weight and ballistic performance and seeing the weight of the KDH, I now understand why it was selected. If you take anything away from this article, remember that the Soldier Protection Demonstration and the GSA procurement were two separate events. The SPD defined and validated the requirement and the procurement satisfied it. Additionally, consider that this acquisition fulfills a new requirement and that over time the Army will learn more about how to further enhance this capability for the Soldier.

Tags: Soldier Plate Carrier System
Posted in Armor, Contracts, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Individual Gunfire Detection

Friday, December 11th, 2009

“Popular Science” named the Army’s Individual Gunfire Detection program one of the “Best of What’s New 2009.” Interestingly, despite limited field evaluations, it remains a science project while acquisition officials continue to refine the requirement.

One of the two current systems vying for the program is the Boomerang Warrior by BBN Technologies. Cambridge, Massachusetts based BBN Technologies is a 60 year old company instrumental in the development of the first internet routers and has been at the forefront of acoustic analysis for decades. They were recently purchased by Raytheon. Last year BBN acquired Digital Force Technologies. DFT enjoys an excellent reputation in the Tagging, Tracking, and Locating arena and developed the Satellite Imagery Enhanced GPS (SIMEG) Receiver.

In the case of Boomerang Warrior, three pieces of information are provided to the wearer both on a wrist mounted display and via audio cues from a headset; direction of shot (clock method), elevation, and range. BBN claims that Boomerang Warrior experiences less than one percent false alarms and actually detects more than 95% of all super-sonic projectiles. Accuracy is characterized as Range +/- 20%, Bearing < 7.5 Degrees, and Elevation < 7.5 Degrees.

By using the “Clock Method” of reporting information to the Soldier, the information becomes much more subjective and does not need to be nearly as accurate as it is primarily for force protection. Since each hour on the clock covers a 30 degree arc, the system is more than accurate enough for its intended use at 7.5 degrees. An internal electronic compass ensure the cues are relative to the Soldier's current heading. The data may also be shared with battlefield reporting systems such as FBCB2.

The shoulder pads are self contained and essentially redundant. They can each work independently of one another. They give a full 360 degree look at the environment relying on a series of embedded microphones. If both Sensor Pads detect an event the system analyzes both sets of data and presents a solution. Also of note, the sensor pads are not ballistic in nature but rather are compatible with the Army’s issue Deltoid Axillary Protection System (DAPS).

Only a single Boomerang Warrior has been deployed into theater according to BBN. US Army Natick has funded a portion of the development of the Boomerang Warrior system and one year remains on this contract.

Oddly enough, despite funding the development of Boomerang Warrior, the Army seems to be much keener on the QinetiQ North America’s Soldier Wearable Acoustic Targeting System (SWATS). In fact, photos of the IGD system on PEO-Soldier’s website feature a Soldier wearing SWATS. Army G3 directed PEO-Soldier to execute a field evaluation of an Individual Gunfire Detection system and the system chosen was the SWATS. The Capabilities Production Document (CPD) is still in draft and any use at this point should be considered an operational demonstration to ascertain the validity of the technology and to consider Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures development. Based on candidate technical maturity, Product Manager Soldier Sensors and Lasers deployed 12 Soldier SWATS to theater in 2007 for the first user evaluation. This evaluation prompted several changes to the design and functionality. In 2008, 1100 improved SWATS were sent to theater for a second user evaluation. The information gathered during these evaluations is being used in the development of the IGD CPD.

Note that QinetiQ who builds the Army’s preferred solution was formed from the British Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, along the lines of the US DARPA. This is significant because the US essentially abandoned acoustic range and bearing technology as a means to determine characteristics of an incoming projectile in the mid 1980s. At that point, the Army dismantled its acoustic ranging infrastructure, mothballed the equipment, and retrained the Soldiers who specialized in the technique. This was done in favor of the use of RADAR systems such as the AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder. During this period, the British military continued its reliance on acoustic ranging systems and this may account for some of their technical edge.

Current operations renewed US interest in the development of acoustic systems (UTAMS) for the detection initially of mortar and rocket fire due to lower production and operating costs as well as the passive nature of these systems. Along a parallel path, work began on the detection of small arms fire as a means to counter enemy sniper operations. In fact, development of the successful vehicle mounted Boomerang system also built by BBN was funded by DARPA as a lower cost alternative to the French PILAR system. PILAR saw limited use by SOCOM early in the war.

Finally, it is important to note that BBN’s Boomerang vehicle mounted system has been very successful with over 5000 systems fielded so far in theater through Program Manager-Robotics and Unmanned (PM-RUS). The $73.8 million contract calls for a total of 8,131 Boomerang systems including spare parts.

Posted in PEO-Soldier, Sensors | No Comments »

Let’s Camouflage Those Weapons

Friday, December 4th, 2009

DefenseTech published an article today on a subject we have been looking at for some time. This is our take on the issue.

Amid all of the ballyhoo surrounding the Congressionally directed adoption of a area-specific camouflage pattern for Afghanistan a major weak link remains. PEO-Soldier has worked diligently to camouflage virtually piece of a Soldier’s kit save one; his rifle. Probably the most important item issued to a Soldier, the Army has yet to fully come to grips with the “Black Rifle”. And it’s not just rifles. Grenade launchers, Squad Automatic Weapons, and crew served implements of destruction all come in basic black.

So, awhile back I queried PEO-Soldier about this and they provided me with this reply:
“Soldiers in the field do in fact camouflage their weapons based upon the situation and environment. For example, snipers may tie certain cloth materials to break up the outline/profile of their weapon. Moving forward, PM Soldier Weapons in conjunction with TACOM Rock Island will be writing up a procedure guide that details how soldiers could employ temporary paints to camouflage their weapons for field environments.”

I have some additional information about the first part of the reply. The Ghillie Suit Accessory Kit recently received a face lift including the replacement of burlap with a Fire Resistant yarn. Burlap catches fire easily so this is a much needed change. Available in Light Coyote, Light Green, and Madeira (Brown), hopefully, this material will be available for wider spread use soon.

There has been some light in this tunnel and there have been some changes to this long standing policy. SOCOM, in particular has adopted Flat Dark Earth (FDE) as a color for some of its Special Operations Peculiar Modification (SOPMOD) carbine accessories. Additionally, the SOF Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) comes in a battlefield friendly FDE base color. Furthermore, industry is rife with both weapons and accessories in a variety of finishes. Additionally, S.O. Tech has developed a fabric suppressor cover designed to camouflage its shape and yet still resist melting.

Unfortunately, the other services can be even worse about the issue than the Army. The Air Force for example, has published specific guidance forbidding the painting of weapons or the use of non-issue accessories. Once again, it seems as though someone doesn’t realize there is a war on.

Hopefully, the new weapon camo guide from Rock Island will hit the field soon. Also, based on the same requirements facilitating the study of enhanced personal camouflage, we hope to see a requirement for a weapon color that does not contrast with the Soldier’s other equipment or battlefield environment.

Posted in Air Force, Black Rifle, Camo, PEO-Soldier, weapons | No Comments »

Army Camouflage Photosimulation Study Update

Friday, November 13th, 2009

As part of the Army’s plan to investigate options for a Afghanistan theater-specific camouflage pattern, PEO-Soldier is undertaking a photosimulation study of uniform colors and patterns, along with associated Operational Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE) such as body armor, helmets, and rucksacks, against a variety of backgrounds common to Afghanistan including foliage, high desert, and mountains. Specific emphasis was placed on ensuring accurate RGB values during data collection which occurred earlier this month. The information obtained during this trip has been transformed into a usable test format which will kick off soon, possibly as early as the week after next at Forts Drum, Bragg, and Campbell. Participants will have had recent combat experience in Afghanistan.

The photo, taken in Afghanistan, depicts LTC Mike Sloane, Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, presiding over the reenlistment of a Soldier who took part in the camo study. COL Cole of PEO-Soldier commented that this is probably the first reenlistment in history of a Soldier in the All-Over Desert Brush pattern. Desert All Over Brush was one of the patterns used in the data collection effort and will be evaluated as part of this project.

Posted in Camo, Clothing, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Camo Test Units Revealed

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Our friends over at Defense Tech spoke with COL Cole, Program manager for Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment at PEO-Soldier and he revealed the units who will be involved in testing of Crye’s MultiCam and the Army developed UCP-Delta as possible supplemental camouflage patterns.

The unit sporting UCP-Delta is the 3d Squadron of the 61st Cavalry of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and they have already received their test equipment. The 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry of the 2d Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division will soon be receiving their complement of MultiCam. Both battalions currently operate in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province. Each Soldier involved in testing will receive four uniforms and associated individual equipment in the respective test pattern in addition to a standard RFI issue.

Posted in Camo, Multicam, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

FR ACU Trouser Product Improvement Program Update

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Originally called the Army Combat Pant and for a short period referred to as the Fire Resistant Ruggedized Pant, the program has transformed into the FR ACU Trouser Product Improvement Program. Ultimately, what this means is that PEO-Soldier is working hard to transform the FR ACU into an even more combat focused garment rather than developing yet another garment.

In an interview yesterday with LTC Mike Sloane, Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, his Deputy PM Mr Todd Wendt, Mr Jeff Myrhe, Assistant Product Manager w/in PM SCIE and Mr Jed Watkins, Contract Support we discussed the latest information on this exciting project.

In addition to name changes, there have been some big changes in the goal of the project. But first let’s delve into the history of the project and then find out where it is going.

PEO Soldier identified issues with the seat, crotch, and knees of the ACU trouser based on feedback from Soldiers returning from theater. Specifically, in fall 2007, elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade presented PEO Soldier with information describing failures of the ACU trouser and they began a full court press to correct these issues. Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center and industry partners prepared several solutions.

The evaluation process for these solutions is a journey that began in FY 2008 and will be completed later this year. In April 2008, seven variants of the trouser were issued to units in Hawaii, Alaska, and Vermont for a limited user evaluation. Unfortunately, none of the seven variants completely addressed the failures, but did provide valuable information for further improvements.

Massif Mountain Gear and Crye Precision collaborated on the next step, which resulted in the Massif Army Combat Pant Version 4.0A, which employed various weights of Defender M fabric and Defender M stretch fabric to make the seat and crotch more durable. At the same time, Crye Precision’s adjustable-height, integrated hard-shell knee pad design greatly improved the durability of the knee, providing greater protection to the Soldier. This feature in particular has been the most important solution in the project. External knee pads require constant adjustment and lightweight pads slipped into the knee pad slot of the trouser result in extra abrasion and worn knees.

This trouser was evaluated in two phases. Phase I was a human factors evaluation, conducted with 38 Soldiers from the 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning from 11 January to 23 February 2009. Phase II involved 222 Soldiers from the 150th Armored Recon Squadron of the West Virginia National Guard, who evaluated the pant for dismounted functionality and vehicle compatibility during pre-deployment training at the National Training Center from 4 March to 2 April 2009.

Based on lessons learned from the previous phases, a new full and open competition was recently held to allow manufacturers to submit their version of the trouser. Five companies competed. Crye Precision won that competition and is producing 7,020 pairs of combat pants. The Crye trouser is a bit of a departure from previous incarnations as they have replaced the mechanical stretch fabric with a gusset design. These will be tested during Phase III of the evaluation. Testing will be conducted beginning in the 2nd quarter of FY10 with an infantry brigade deployed to Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and each Soldier will receive two pairs of the Crye trouser in addition to their normal complement of FR ACUs. This evaluation is more than a simple test and will deliver actual enhanced capability to the Soldiers involved as the enhancements are refinements of earlier solutions.

Additionally, the focus of the evaluation will no longer be to determine user acceptance of the whole garment. Instead, PEO-Soldier wants to determine which features of the garment are most effective in fixing the problem areas. The Infantry School drives requirements and will make the recommendations to the Army Uniform Board as to which improvements will be integrated into FR ACU. The Chief of Staff of the Army is the final approving authority for these modifications.

When asked if there were plans to remove the FR ACU from service and transform to an ACU for garrison use and ACP/ACS combo for combat operations, the answer was a simple “No”. However, PEO-Soldier officials caveated this statement by relating that the FR ACU will undergo a transformation in the future, making it a much different garment than we see today. In the interim, once approved by the CSA, the improvements to the FR ACU will trouser will greatly enhance the capability of our troops operating in Afghanistan and other regions around the world.

Tags: Crye Precision
Posted in Clothing, FR, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Army Camouflage Industry Day

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

UPDATE: According to solicitation ARMYCAMOUFLAGEINDUSTRYDAY posted yesterday on Fedbizopps, the U. S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center (NSRDEC) and the Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment is sponsoring an industry dayrom 0900-1100 hrs on 28 October at NSRDEC in Natick, MA in the Carney Hall (Bldg#1), Hunter Auditorium. As you may have heard, the Army is assessing different camouflage patterns for use in Afghanistan (as well as other locales) and is seeking the expertise of the textile printing industry to determine the feasibility to consistently produce these colors and patterns in multiple substrates. All textile industry attendees (sorry looky lou’s) must have a US citizenship and register by email with Alison.spurr@us.army.mil by close of business on 26 October 2009. Contracting Office Address: RDECOM Acquisition Center – Natick, ATTN: AMSRD-ACC-N, Natick Contracting Division (R and BaseOPS), Building 1, Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760-5011 Point of Contact(s): Stacey Smith, 508-233-5118

We updated Alison Spurr’s email address. We apologize for any confusion.

Tags: Natick
Posted in Camo, Materials, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

More on the Tactical Assault Platform

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

It appears that both the Marine Corps as well as Army both have similar systems referred to as Tactical Assault Platforms but at the recent Modern Day Marine expo, personnel from PM-ICE were quick to point out that the Marine version is decidedly different from the Army variant.

This is a photo of the Army’s current TAP. PEO-Soldier is currently wrapping up an in-theater evaluation of the system developed at the experimental load carrying facility at Natick. As you can see it is intended to integrate with the IOTV and in particular the cut away feature. Additionally, it carries six 30 round M16 magazines internally as well as featuring two side pockets that will accommodate an M14 mag, MBITR radio, or DAGR. The internal pockets go flat so the TAP will accept SAW drum pouches. Versions are being provided to the two battalions conducting the Afghanistan camo trials.

On the other hand, the Marine version displayed at Modern Day Marine incorporated simple removable shoulder straps. Obviously, this further enhances the versatility of the TAP as it will work with the IMTV, PC, and as a stand-alone. There are a couple of other alterations from the Army’s baseline as well. For example, based on feedback from early testing all of the buckles are now self-tensioning like the buckles found on the Mystery Ranch 3-day assault pack. Interestingly, back when the ILBE program was still just a wee solicitation, the Marine Corps envisioned a two component system consisting of a pack and an assault load carrier to replace the MOLLE FLC. Many expected this to be a chest rig. Ultimately, the Marines decided not to field an assault load carrier in conjunction with the pack but the requirement remains on the books.

Tags: Natick
Posted in Load Carrying, MARCORSYSCOM, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

PEO-Soldier Gets a Face Lift

Friday, October 9th, 2009

PEO-Soldier recently unveiled a new look. Their new web presence is streamlined and simplifies navigation. It even features a blog.

Check it out at peosoldier.army.mil.

Posted in PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

The Tactical Assault Panel

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Many of you noticed a reference to the Tactical Assault Panel or TAP being issued to the Afghanistan camouflage test battalions.

Here is a little bit of background on this developmental item.

The bib-like TAP is a product improvement that attaches to the Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV) or Outer Tactical Vest (OTV) giving Soldiers the ability to attach Modular Lightweight Load-bearing Equipment (MOLLE) basic fighting load pouches to the TAP, as opposed to directly to the IOTV or OTV. It is easily donned and doffed allowing the Soldier to quickly reduce the girth of his load by removing the TAP from his armor.

The intent is to issue the TAP in addition to or in lieu of the Fighting Load Carrier once an assessment has been completed. An in-theater User Evaluation began in 4QFY09 and PEO-Soldier will be making adjustments to the TAP based on that feedback.

Posted in Armor, Load Carrying, MOLLE, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Camo for Afghanistan – The Rest of the Story

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

On Friday September 18th, Soldier Systems Daily was granted an exclusive interview with PEO-Soldier’s COL William Cole, Project Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment, Todd Wendt, Deputy Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, and Cheryl Stewardson, Team Leader, Soldier Integrated Protection, at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center. The topic of our conversation was alternative camouflage patterns. Our goal at SSD for the interview was to cut through the misinformation and conjecture currently permeating the web on this subject and get to the facts. Up to now no one, including us, has adequately told the story of what is actually going on.

As a result of a photosimulation study conducted in 2007 by Natick as well as recent Congressional language directing the Army to provide an enhanced camouflage capability for Soldiers on operations in Afghanistan, the Army is undertaking a four-phased initiative to explore alternate camouflage patterns for the Army Combat Uniform (ACU). Additionally, the Army regularly conducts post combat surveys and had noted several comments that Soldiers were most dissatisfied with UCP’s performance in Woodland environments. Based on this information, the Infantry School suggested that perhaps a Brown shade should be added to the UCP color palette.

The Army’s objective is twofold: to identify an ACU camouflage that will provide effective concealment for Soldiers serving in Operation Enduring Freedom, and to evaluate a long-term camouflage plan for the Army. When COL Cole made his initial decisions on developing a course of action one of the main considerations was Fire Resistance. Whatever was going to be tested and fielded had to be FR. Additionally, they had to meet military specifications for infrared identification and be Berry compliant. Two patterns that met these specifications were readily available; MultiCam® and the Army’s Universal Camouflage Pattern. Recently, many have called for the complete elimination of UCP yet touted the performance of MARPAT. As we will discuss later, the patterns are the same, just with different pigments. If MARPAT performs well, UCP could be tweaked in order to enhance its characteristics and that is exactly what the Army did.

In conjunction with this interview, SSD was provided an exclusive look at the five alternative patterns named UCP-Alpha through Echo developed for the wear test.

Oddly enough, immediately after the story broke, strange conclusions began to surface around the internet that there was a significance to the UCP-Delta moniker. We can assure you that the Delta designation denotes no affiliation to any particular unit but rather is the phonetic alphabet for the letter D. PEO-Soldier used the alphabet since they were not sure initially how many variants they would need to work on. As it turns out, due to time constraints and some solid rudimentary research, they only produced five patterns. Of the five, only Charlie and Delta showed significant promise for further testing. Initially patterns were developed in .jpg format and then fabric was printed on a dot matrix printer.

According to Cheryl Stewardson, Natick researchers then conducted a modified photosimulation test similar to the one conducted in 2007. However, in this test 200 Soldiers at Forts Hood and Campbell with recent combat experience in Afghanistan were shown images of Afghani terrain that had been altered by superimposing photos of ACUs in the Charlie and Delta variants on them. During this testing, UCP-Delta was selected as the most promising pattern.

Some interesting facts about the US digital patterns were revealed during this interview. The digital camouflage is printed using a screen process. MARPAT, UCP, and the AOR patterns all use the same screens. Current UCP utilizes only three of the four screens required to produce MARPAT and AOR but UCP-Delta will add the fourth screen to apply the Coyote to the pattern.

Photos courtesy of PEO-Soldier

Phase I By the end of September 2009, the Army will provide two alternate uniforms to designated battalions of Soldiers serving in Operation Enduring Freedom. The two alternate uniforms will utilize the MultiCam® and Universal Camouflage Pattern – Delta (UCP-D). The UCP-Delta pattern was derived from the standard UCP by reducing the Urban Grey and Sand colors, and adding Coyote Brown which constitutes 30% of the pattern.

One battalion will receive the MultiCam® uniform, while the other will receive the UCP-Delta uniform. In addition to their test uniforms and equipment both battalions will also be issued a full complement of standard UCP equipment. This will allow commanders to outfit their troops based on METT-TC. While PEO-Soldier plans to use the IOTV in standard UCP for this test, they will provide test forces with the Tactical Assault Platform in UCP-Delta. The TAPS is similar to a chest rig that attaches to the IOTV. Additionally, PEO-Soldier is fast tracking a UCP-Delta solution for the rear of the IOTV. The battalion outfitted in MultiCam® will receive a full complement of TA-50 in that pattern including IOTV, Plate Carrier, MOLLE, and TAP.

Phase II By the end of October 2009, the Army will begin collecting data in theater to measure the suitability of various camouflage patterns. This phase will include feedback from Soldiers in Operation Enduring Freedom; photosimulation of uniform colors and patterns, along with associated Operational Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE) such as body armor, helmets, and rucksacks, against a variety of backgrounds common to Afghanistan including foliage, high desert, and mountains; and a photographic study in theater. Specific emphasis will be placed on ensuring accurate RGB values. The Army will analyze the data throughout the collection period in preparation for Phase III.

The next round of Photo simulation studies will include six patterns. However, not all of the patterns have yet been released. COL Cole confirmed that UCP-Delta, MultiCam®, AOR-1 and 2 and a newly developed pattern based on the UCP pattern with an entirely new colorway will be tested. The new pattern retains the four screen process but replaces even UCP-Delta’s colors with a pallet based on a photometric study of Afghanistan.

Another goal of this photosimulation study is to measure the effects of a variety of field equipment colors including UCP, Coyote, Khaki, and Ranger Green have when used with different uniform patterns.

Phase III By the end of January 2010, Army leaders will make a decision whether or not to produce and field alternate uniforms and OCIE to selected units in specific regions of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Phase IV At a date to be determined, the Army will establish and evaluate a long-term plan for ACU camouflage. If a new pattern is selected, even for limited use in Afghanistan, it may very well promulgate throughout the Army if it is demonstrates improved camouflage traits.

Once again SSD would like to thank the folks at PEO-Soldier and Natick who made this interview possible.

Posted in Camo, Congress, Multicam, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Camo for Afghanistan – The Rest of the Story

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Read the rest of the story after the jump…

Posted in Clothing, Congress, FR, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Natick Camo Study – Making Sense of It All

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or failing to read Soldier Systems Daily, you know that in response to Congressional calls for a new camo pattern for operations in Afghanistan, the Army announced that they would test two patterns in October. The Army Times obtained a Natick test report for a camouflage study conducted from 2007 – 2009 of 18 different patterns. This report has now been released by the Army to the press and Soldier Systems Daily has extracted some of the major points from this test report. This is the first in a series of reports that attempt to make some sense of the report and cut through much of the conjecture and hyperbole found on the internet.

The following patterns were actually tested:

The Army’s current issue UCP was used as a baseline.

Four Woodland patterns were included in the test.

Four Desert patterns were used for testing.

Natick also included four commercial patterns, all of which have been seen limited use by US troops.

The following patterns were eliminated from testing for a variety of reasons but mainly due to poor performance. In some cases the performance was low but this combined with limited accessibility for US forces or similar factors the patterns were eliminated.

From the report:
“Although detection data were collected on 18 patterns, five patterns (i.e., Sweden, Spec4 Woodland, Spec4 Urban, North Korea, and Woodland British) were eliminated from the final data analysis. The two Spec4 patterns were not available for desert image collection; therefore, they did not have a complete data set. Sweden, North Korea and Woodland British were eliminated, due to being the worst performers in two out of the three environments. Their similarity to other woodland patterns was further justification, although it must be noted that detection data are available for further analysis, if desired.”

Finally, the report’s authors produced a very handy chart that show the overall performance of each pattern by environment. You are going to be genuinely surprised when you read the results. How they fared:

Ultimately, the entire report can be summed up very simply. As one reader who is a retired Special Forces Warrant Officer put it, “Nothing earth shattering; desert s@&* works great in the desert and green s@&* works great in the green area.”

Special Thanks to Defense Tech for the advanced copy of the report and for hosting it in PDF form for the public.

Posted in Camo, Congress, PEO-Soldier, Sustainment | No Comments »

Afghanistan Camo Testing Announced

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

*UPDATED* Natick has been busy developing several new variants of UCP which retain the base pattern but replace individual colors. Word has it that some of them are down right ugly. It has recently been revealed by Brig. Gen. Peter Fuller, PEO-Soldier that the new “UCP-Delta” which integrates Coyote Brown into the pattern along with Multicam will be evaluated in Afghanistan beginning in October. In response to the Congressional directive to field a new camo pattern for operations in Afghanistan two Battalions worth of uniforms will be tested.

Below are two photos of UCP-Delta. One with an IOTV and one without.

Photos courtesy of PEO-Soldier

According to sources at Natick, 30% of the pattern of the UCP-Pattern is Coyote Brown. One advantage exhibited in the photos is that UCP Delta offers the perception that current UCP field equipment will not need to be replaced.

Tags: Congress, Natick, PEO-Soldier, UCP
Posted in Camo, Clothing, Congress, Multicam, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

ACU Improvements

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Over the last year the PEO-Soldier’s Program Manager for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment has undertaken a major project to make incremental changes to the ACU. In an interview earlier this week with LTC Mike Sloane (Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment), Mr. Todd Wendt (Deputy Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment) and Mr. Fred Coppola (Deputy Project Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment), we discussed these new improvements.

See the latest information after the jump.

Tags: ACU
Posted in ACU, Clothing, FR, PEO-Soldier, weapons | No Comments »

Massif WACS

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Massif Mountain Gear Company has just released the new Winter Army Combat Shirt (WACS), a new flame-resistant cold weather garment based on their Army Combat Shirt design issued to US forces since 2007. The WACS retains the features of the ACS that have made it so comfortable and user friendly but have integrated new materials for cooler climes. The soft and stretchy HotJohns™ fabric used on several of Massif’s cold weather FR pieces is used on the torso and the Elements™ softshell fabric sheds wind and rain and its fleece lining is cozy and warm yet retains flame protection and durability for areas not protected by body armor. Massif developed the WACS in cooperation with the U.S. Army and conducted extensive field-testing for the best design possible. Available in Small-XXLarge, all fabrics used in the WACS meet the stringent ASTM F2302-03 performance specification.

Sales are restricted to US military members. Visit www.Massif.com for more information.

Tags: Massif
Posted in Clothing, FR, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Ground Soldier Ensemble for Army SOF

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

According to Wired’s online defense journal Danger Room, InsideDefense.com broke the story earlier this week that the Army is going to field a “Brigade’s worth” of the Land Warrior II system now known as the Ground Soldier Ensemble or GSE at the request of a “Special Forces Commander” at Fort Bragg.

Tags: GSE
Posted in Gadgets, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Improved Army Sweater

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

PEO-Soldier has been working on a new version of the venerable 5 Button Sweater. Designed in World War One, the 5-Button Sweater was manufactured from wool and offered in a brown color. Aside from the most minor of changes over the years, the sweater didn’t receive any modifications until the late 90s when the material was changed from wool to acrylic.

The most striking change is from Brown to Foliage Green to better blend in with the Army’s universal Camouflage Pattern. Also absent in the new version are the buttons which have been swapped out for a zipper with cloth pull. The new sweater is also reported to be inherently FR so they may have gone back to wool. However, they claim it is of “next to skin” quality so it may be of another material.

Posted in Clothing, FR, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Army Combat Pants

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Yes, the Army IS working on a new pair of pants to complement the Army Combat Shirt. The idea was to develop a pair of trousers that were designed specifically for combat. In addition to protection from flash and flame another major requirement was built in knee protection.

Produced by Massif, manufacturers of the ACS, the Government design features hard knee pads developed by Crye Precision. They are made from 7.3-ounce, fire-resistant twill and offer a reinforced, stretchable seat. This last feature was added since so many Soldiers have to slide down steep slopes in mountainous regions. Limited User Evaluations (LUE) were completed earlier this year in Georgia and West Virginia. Further tests are scheduled for FY10 in Afghanistan but who knows what will happen now due to the Congressional monkey wrench.

It is very important to note that at this point there is no validated requirement nor a formal program to procure the ACP. The development and evaluations are another case of the folks at PEO-Soldier leaning forward in the foxhole.

Tags: Crye Precision, Massif
Posted in Clothing, FR, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »

Congress Cares About Camo

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

It seems someone clued Congress in on the fact that the Universal Camouflage Pattern issued to troops fighting in Afghanistan is far from the ideal. So Congress has told the Army to issue something better. Well, the first word in UCP is after all “Universal” and that makes it a compromise since it has to blend in everywhere. Oddly, Afghanistan is not monochrome and there are a variety of environments to blend in with so ultimately a “Universal” camouflage is what is called for after all. Maybe it just needs to be tuned a bit.

Here is the wording from the Conference Committee Report.
“The conferees understand that soldiers deployed to Afghanistan have serious concerns about the current combat uniform which they indicate provides ineffective camouflage given the environment in Afghanistan. Accordingly, the conferees direct that within funding made available the Department of Defense take immediate action to provide combat uniforms to personnel deployed to Afghanistan with a camouflage pattern that is suited to the environment of Afghanistan.

The conferees further direct the Secretary of the Army to provide a report on the program plans and budgetary adjustments necessary to provide appropriate uniforms to deployed and deploying troops to Afghanistan. The report shall be submitted to the congressional defense committees by the end of fiscal year 2009.”

So Congress wants the Army to reprogram money “immediately” to provide an alternative camo pattern for forces in Afghanistan and report to the Armed Services Committees before the end of the fiscal year on it will be accomplished. Can you imagine how this went over when word reached PEO-Soldier? “The jig is up, they’re on to us”.

Now please remember, that this still isn’t law. The President hasn’t signed it YET but is expected to soon.

So how will this play out? Interesting question, considering when asked just weeks ago at the Soldier Systems APBI about the possibility of alternative camouflage patterns, PEO-Soldier officials gave a curt, “No”. However, it has come to our attention that the 173d Airborne Brigade has been granted approval to wear Multicam during their OEF rotation. So that option seems open…maybe. Alternatively, it is highly unlikely that any new SOCOM patterns will be used by general purpose forces. 3-color desert pattern is still available but was replaced by the “superior” UCP so institutional momentum may veto its use. Desert MARPAT is a possibility, if the Army can wade through the interservice rivalry issues. And finally, what about an entirely new pattern, or old for that matter? Several promising designs were tested by Natick in the 2003-2004 time frame before UCP was adopted virtually out of nowhere.

Ultimately, it is going to be about cost. It isn’t just uniforms. There are a variety of other equipage and accouterments that must also be produced in an alternative pattern. And all of this while the Army is still in the throes of a complete roll out of the UCP pattern. Who will foot the bill? Congress has essentially issued budgetary guidance to the Army to reprogram funds.

Tags: Multicam
Posted in Camo, Clothing, Congress, Foreign, Multicam, PEO-Soldier, Sustainment, weapons | 7 Comments »

Enhanced Night Vision Goggle

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Developed by ITT under the direction of PM-Soldier Sensors and Lasers, the AN/PSQ-20 Enhanced Night Vision Goggle is a helmet-mounted passive Image Intensification (I2) and thermal device that incorporates both I2 and long-wave infrared sensors into a single integrated system. It weighs just two pounds, including the battery pack and its four AA batteries, the helmet mount, and wiring harness.

ENVG (Enhanced Night Vision Goggle) – PM Soldier Sensors and Lasers from PEO Soldier on Vimeo.

The ENVG will detect a Man-sized target (standing and moving) with an 80 percent probability at 150 meters, and a 50 percent probability at 300 meters. It is designed to provide 7.5 hours of fused vision enhancement and an additional 7.5 hours of image intensification.

Posted in Optics, PEO-Soldier, Recce | No Comments »

Ghillie Suit Base Layer

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

PEO-Soldier is finalizing an improved Ghillie Suit Accessory Kit which for the first time, has included a Base Layer garment. Designed by Crye, the Base Layer, according to a PEO-Soldier briefing, provides “fire resistance as well as improved counter-surveillance protection, protection from flame and thermal threats, increased mobility and agility, increased multi-system operability, and anti-odor/anti-microbial properties.”

Of course this begs the question; is this an indictment of UCP? If snipers require superior camouflage why is it Multicam and not UCP?

Tags: Crye Precision
Posted in Camo, Clothing, FR, Multicam, PEO-Soldier | 1 Comment »

Army Tests Releasable Plate Carriers

Friday, May 8th, 2009

In February PEO-Soldier officials down selected four companies from a field of sixteen to provide candidates for a releasable plate carrier demonstration. At the time Army officials made it clear that there was no formal program to procure Releasable Plate Carriers. However, over the last two months, it looks like things have changed.

From the four companies (Eagle Industries, KDH Defense Systems Inc, MSA Paraclete, and Tactical Assault Gear), the Army is currently evaluating five carriers at Yuma Proving Ground. Eagle has two carriers under evaluation; the Scalable Plate Carrier, currently issued to select USMC units as well as a variant issued to USSOCOM.

Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade will wear each of the company’s plate carrier designs while road marching, running through obstacle courses and shooting on live-fire ranges. Army test and evaluation personnel will compare the candidates’ performance against the IOTV without neck and groin protection.

Earlier this month the Army approved a plan to conduct a combat evaluation in Afghanistan of a kit of candidate lightweight combat equipment developed by the Asymmetric Warfare Group in conjunction with industry utilizing a combination of Commercial and Government Off The Shelf products. The approval came weeks after the demonstration was put on hold over questions surrounding safety releases for the Eagle Releasable Carrier and associated armor systems currently used by USSOCOM. Reports indicate that the matter received SECDEF attention. This may explain why Army PM Soldier Survivability is now characterizing the current “Soldier Protection Demonstration” as a more formal procurement activity.

Last Summer, the Marine Corps fielded limited numbers of a Scalable Plate Carrier manufactured by Eagle Industries. Currently, they are testing an “Improved Scalable Plate Carrier”. Based on lessons learned from the initial fielding, the Marine Corps is working to improve the range of motion and mobility in the shoulder area, donning and doffing, and enhanced integration with the cummerbund and side plates.

Posted in Armor, MARCORSYSCOM, PEO-Soldier | 3 Comments »

Army to Field Experimental Soldier Systems Equipment

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

Wearing their Rapid Equipping Force hat, The Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group set about to assemble a package of Commercial Off the Shelf Soldier Systems equipment to conduct a demonstration with members of the 4th Infantry Division deploying to Afghanistan. The aim was to demonstrate that these alternative technologies will enhance the combat effectiveness of our troops fighting in the brutal terrain of Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, a long brewing battle between the Army’s Acquisition community and the REF seemed to come to a head two weeks ago when the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology halted the shipment of the equipment package into theater and began to ask some very pointed questions about the capability of the armor package chosen. Long-term friction has come about as the REF continues to conduct rapid identification, assessment, and fielding of critical warfighting technologies while the traditional acquisition system takes a much more methodical approach and fielding of new systems requires longer lead times.

The system in question is the MBAV cutaway plate carrier produced by Eagle Industries used in conjunction with a hard plate only certified for use by USSOCOM. All of this is fully in the Army’s purview and unknown to most sitting on the sidelines of this issue, PEO-Soldier is in the midst of an evaluation of five cut away armor plate carriers. It is highly probable that the cutaway system chosen by AWG is also a candidate in this PEO-Soldier evaluation.

The situation seemed to take on a life of its own and after two weeks of consideration the Army has chosen to field the experimental package and it will be shipped for use by 480 Soldiers across two battalions of the deploying 4th ID. According to Army sources, short notice testing was completed to provide a safety release of the equipment. However, the new lightweight hard armor plates used by SOCOM will be replaced by the Army’s current issue plates.

Data collection will be accomplished by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.

Posted in 330, Armor, PEO-Soldier | 2 Comments »

US Army Family of Flashlights

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

US Army’s PEO-Soldier has updated the Approved Product List for the Family of Flashlights in a message released on www.fbo.gov.

Basic White Light
ENERGIZERs 1AA LITHIUM
FIRSTLIGHTs TOMAHAWK-GP
GERBERs EXPERT M
PHANTOMs 34-S
STREAMLIGHTs TL2-LED
SUREFIREs BACKUP
SUREFIREs E2D DEFENDER
SUREFIREs E2L OUTDOORSMAN

Handfree Helmet Light
STREAMLIGHTs SIDEWINDER COMPACT

Tactical Handheld Light
ENERGIZERs GEN 2 HARD CASE
FIRSTLIGHTs TOMAHAWK-NV
GERBERs RECON M-II
PHANTOMs 41-S
SUREFIREs KROMA
STREAMLIGHTs SIDEWINDER

Posted in Lights, PEO-Soldier | No Comments »