The contrast of old and new in this Marine Special Operations Command poster is awesome.
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Cool poster. What’s old is new. Look for the airsoft crowd to readopt woodland cammo in droves.
This illustrates why the hand wringing over camouflage minutiae is so ridiculous.
Maybe he’s wearing a “sterile” uniform for OPSEC purposes or maybe it’s to blend with host nation forces or for other reasons.
One thing he’s probably not worried about is the effectiveness or lack thereof of the pattern on his uniform. Maybe he knows he’s not going to be invisible no matter what he wears and that in his role, the elimination of target indicators is enough to get the job done so woodland is good enough.
You don’t have to blend perfectly, you just have to not stand out, and in the quest for perfect camouflage, there is a point of diminishing returns, certainly in terms of the investment being made.
That’s why patterns like Multicam, the MARPATs and AORs are good enough. Like the old woodlands, they get the job done.
Looking at the poster makes me wonder how ridiculously overblown the whole issue is.
Your camouflage has to be pretty bad to be a contributing factor in casualty rates because the guys who really need it, who go outside the wire in it, tend to start to look more like the environment they’re traversing as they get further into their patrol.
From what I understand they went with the old woodland pattern to blend it with the locals, but even that should be out the door by now. Studies and tests rate woodland as a little more effective than ACU due to the sharp lines that attract the eyes (like black on green).
If they wanted to blend in better though they should have swapped out that light tan furniture on the rifle. That really break the continuity up bad.
Nice waste of a rant that has nothing to do with the initial post in SSD’s blog.
Beats talking about the weather! If Eric wants his bandwidth back, he can just ask for it.
Yes indeed, lets revert back to one of the worst camouflage patterns with one of the least effective results. Great move, leaving behind one of the most effective patterns for one that is antiquated and primitive compared to the current run of MARPAT.
As was said, they were mentoring Afghan forces in woodland and wanted to blend with them. They aren’t abandoning anything. A perfect example of when camouflage “isn’t,” and an interesting set of tactical conditions.
I’m kinda confused….
In a poster for MARSOC in which the Marine (well known as he is) is using a mix of old (ALICE pack and RAID modded BDU’s) and new (Helmet,weapon,optics ect) uniforms & equipment, how the hell have people somehow focused only on the modified BDU and made every argument/post about THAT.
It is just a simple poster showing-as the header states-a nice mix of “old” and “new” equipment wearing his WORK UNIFORM…That is all a camo uniform really is, no different than that of a mechanic. They all have their pro’s and all have their con’s.
How has this turned into a uniform debate?! I just dont get it. So, every time SSD posts a pic of someone in either BDU,DCU,ACU,MC ect, no matter what the post may be about,or feature, it will always be about the damn uniform in the picture?
Christ!
…breathe…
In the grand scheme of things, good is good enough. What’s in the system works by the only measure that matters. Are modern patterns better? Sure but only incrementally so. Some people make it sound like old patterns are dangerously unsafe. It may not have been the most effective pattern but the operators must have felt confident enough that it wouldn’t put them at undue risk (feel free to call your congressman and put an end to the madness if you feel strongly enough to the contrary.) The use of woodland in the poster puts the debate, which has caused a lot of angst and hand wringing, in perspective which is why it’s relevant.
Old is just woodland pattern. The uniform is Crye Precision G3.
nice catch
Thanks Chris, way to turn it around and get a nice dig in about Airsofters. Again.
As a training tool, airsoft has it’s place in the continuum.
And I can certainly see the appeal of obsessing to look the part vice giving up four years to live it.
Nice poster, good headline, too. It might need some lead-in for some folks, but “Today Will Be Different” says just enough to get someone thinking about that line.
It’s not as clean and concise as the Navy SEAL beach ads, but this is pretty close.
many airsofters never gave up woodland, it looks fine in Virginia and I see a lot of guys coming into the store where I work looking for stuff to work into their woodland schemes.
why is it that people that care the most about a camo pattern and freak out about how terrible it is in comparison to another have usually never worn either and if they did it was on the way to a desk or watch post?
In any case, this is a great image and like K says it’s just enough to get you thinking about the line and what it would be like to have that job.
Is that a mayflower M4 hybrid chest rig? LOL The flaps with what appears to be velcro on it kinda makes it look like one.
Is that a mayflower hybrid M4 chest rig? LOL
Whhooops, double post.
Was thinking the same thing Johnny.
Also as stated above, the uniform is a custom run for MARSOC by Crye. The shirt is pretty much the same as the g3 while the pants have features from both the G3 and “AC” cuts. Marines in MARSOC working with ANA and it’s units get this stuff to blend in with the indigenous forces. I’ve seen MARSOC rolling around in marpat but they were working with other nations.
Speaking of camouflage, what’s the main thing that sticks out in the poster? His face. Maybe a debate on camo as a whole is more important than small differences in uniform patterns.
It is a recruiting poster not an actual portrayal of combat operations. They’ve got to take a certain amount of artistic license.
Look at the recruiting posters of the past and they feature camo’ed soldiers.
This one doesn’t
While the MARSOC is coaching the ANA at the moment in that Crye Woodland combat shirt. This poster has nothing to do with that. It’s implies the new theatre for Marines or MARSOC, tropical combat zone where the recruits might be found themself in. “S.E.A.” where the US has long overlooked and want to be back.