Everyone knew that the tactical industry was bound to get smaller as the war winds down. At one point, business was almost too easy. It wasn’t just spearing fish in a barrel. If you had gear ready to deliver, the fish literally jumped into your boat. But those days are over. And, with them comes the inevitable. Companies are going to close. Others will change strategies and expectations and survive.
Yet, the are two additional stressors on industry that are avoidable, yet doing some serious damage. The first is sequestration. The Government and particular, the military, long industry’s largest single customer, isn’t buying much. Not for lack of need, but for lack of cash. And the blame for that lies with forces outside their control; politics. Reportedly, sequestration has caused the second stressor; the delay in announcing the US Army’s new family of camouflage patterns.
Many companies have figured out that they have to switch back to a pre-war, retail-based business model. But now, even that is fraught with problems. Normally, the purchase of many Soldier System items would fall back on the individual as the military itself stops buying. Individual service members would buy socks, boots, daypacks, eyepro, gloves, flashlights, knives, etc. with their own cash. Soldiers universally abhor the current issue Universal Camouflage Pattern and according to the Army itself, they don’t want it anymore either. But due to the delay Army’s in announcing new camo, Soldiers in particular are wont to spend money on anything lest they buy the wrong pattern. And this has many in industry worried.
The retail market isn’t the only side that is skittish over Army camouflage. For the Government, DLA has delayed several procurements in anticipation of a new camouflage. But even then, crunch time is coming for some commodities that will have to be purchased before the Army runs out. At the very least, Soldiers will need uniforms.
You see, no one wants to be left holding the bag, ie a huge inventory of fabric or finished goods in UCP. Already, it’s practically being given away in fire sales by vendors. Manufacturers are afraid to order fabric because they fear the few orders for UCP they have will be cancelled at any any moment as the client specifies delivery in the new pattern. As one industry insider put it, “the supply chain is getting crushed due to lack of orders on top of drawdown and sequestration.”
The longer the Army delays announcement of a new camouflage pattern, the more it hurts the industrial base it relies on. Additionally, the Army is forced to purchase clothing and equipment that will have to be abandoned after the switch. And finally, delays impact readiness. The American Soldier (as well as members of other services/organizations that must use Army camouflage) deserve to use effective camouflage.
It’s Deja Vu all over again. We are returning to the post Cold War era only this time, we are falling from a higher height. CIE and PPE are never priorities unless the boys are downrange taking fire. The politicians don’t really care about the CIE & PPE industrial base because you don’t see giant billboards advertising a camo pattern in the Metro (but the F-35 is very prominent) or the fact that they employ workers in all 50 states. This is simply things returning to where they were. Too bad. This industry has made some huge improvements to CIE & PPE over the last decade.
Exactly, before 9/11, we all had to buy our own knives, assault packs, eyepro (if we chose to wear it), gloves (if we chose to wear them). What this is, is alot of companies about to shit the bed, because they can no longer (at this moment due to which camo pattern being “official” being unknown) make money hand over fist because of the size of the operations going on. I challenge anyone to name a chest rig, or “battle belt” pre-9/11 that gave you a choice of camouflage colors, sizes, configurations. When we deployed to Iraq in 2003, we were all issued brand new molle vests, rucks, assault packs, a gerber, etc. All in woodland camo, uniforms were 3 color desert. When I went back to Iraq in 2005 I was reissued everything in 3 color desert, so now my vest and pouches matched my uniform. Deployed to Iraq 2008 UCP everything. Afghanistan 2010 Multicam everything….. ridiculous really.
People in the industry know which pattern won. Since the Army won’t announce it, someone should just leak it. The Army would probably make an official announcement the next day.
I almost agree with you, except in the current political climate, the Army might just invalidate the entire effort just for spite.
Which industry POC knows it? All I’ve talked to don’t know. The people who “won” apparently still don’t know. If they did know, it would have leaked by now.
Camouflage doesn’t have a multi-million dollar lobby like defense tech does, and despite the rhetoric, politicians rarely ever care about the small business. But, you know, we wouldn’t want people to think the Army was getting something new during sequestration. It might spoil the narrative.
How many soldiers are members of AUSA, the American Legion, Veteran’s of Foreign Wars, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association, etc?
Those are your lobby organizations.
Get in touch with any or all of those organizations which you may be a member of and make your opinion known regarding the Army’s Camouflage Improvement Effort and the delays in fielding a replacement to UCP.
I have vowed not to buy anymore UCP items for exactly the reasons SSD has laid out. A new uniform is coming so why waste the money?
Yup. Same here and with several other Soldiers I’ve talked to. Better to wear what I have to rags then buy new UCP unis only to have them be wrong.
I feel for you guys. This is wrong.
Just redeployed and was hoping against hope to just keep wearing my OCPs as the new “transitional” pattern …
Picking up a new set of UCPs from the sew-shop tomorrow … $100 down the drain for a new uniform in that atrocious never-should-have-happened “camouflage” pattern.
Well you know it is. Just let it out and save the world already.
Telling the typical highly-placed DA civilian that some of her or his most effective “General Purpose” Soldiers personally fund their own (superior) equipment is a little like breaking the sad news about the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and animal “shelters” at the same time.
And the closer they are to the equippage side of the house, the more violent the reaction is.
I’ve had these exact conversations with civilians in Haiti (Camelbak) the Balkans (Safariland 6004), Afghanistan (Eagle CIRAS), Iraq (Magpul no-tilt followers and the pully thingies) and Afghanistan again (Kifaru Armor Grip packs).
And now-a-days, they’re more likely to go to your chain of command and inform them, gravely, that someone’s on their own F_ing program. Kinda funny when the CoC tells them, “Well, we’re just waiting for a GSA vendor who can take an order for 50 or 500 more. ”
the Camo results are stuck precisely because those irrelevant POS’s don’t think this stuff really matters in the current context, which their Powerpoints clearly state doesn’t anticipate military response to hostile acts against our allies, interests or territory. Hopefully the North Koreans and the folks vying to replace the House of Saud cooperate.
I can tell you that the decision makers care a rat’s @as about the manufacturer’s. The SECDEV should be caring about the soldiers still deploying with known obsolete camo. my MOB date is in Jan and I doubt that the new camo will come in time to pick it up at RFI.
they should be caring about soldiers not sequester politics
He’ll, I need new boots and I’m not buying a pair until the announcement is made, which is screwing me over bigtime
Sorry to say, but everyone here can continue to buy new uniforms and boots. If they made an announcement today, it’s almost a guarantee they will not be authorized for another 2 years. Red tape, red tape, red tape.
Too bad we just spent 572 million on mi-8/17’s helos for the ANA. Guaranteed to be decommissioned and stripped by 2015.
I haven’t purchased anything in ACU in the last two years. Nor has any of my colleagues. I don’t care how long it takes for the Army to unscrew itself I will not spend money on useless uniforms.
by the time they announce it the us army will look like confederates at appomattox uniforms tattered and worn to hell and back ….
Well said SSD.
It’s ok to rock the boat if it’s for the good of the troops. Unless, you are more concerned about job prospects after your current position ends. Make it official, allow the troops to buy their own and point at the politicians and say. “Yea they don’t look good wearing mixed kit, but that’s your fault for not allowing the Army to do what it NEEDS to do for the troops.”
Great analysis SSD. The Army is shafting itself and the troops by waiting.
You can sell all the remaining UCP stuff to third world armies. I mean, hell, there’s a lot of “special forces” adopting that failed shit. In MY country, Chile, 1st Special Forces Regiment “Lautaro” and the entire Air Force uses that crap. And they will buy it at full price!. So, everybody wins, your economy will grow (thank me later, Obama), you can get rid off that crap, our military will get newer stuff than their ALICE rigs and I can laugh at them harder and louder.
Nice
The decision has been further complicated by the current controversy in Congress over the fact that all the services now have their own camouflage patterns, even when it makes no sense for them to do so (blue digital camo on a sailor? that’s going to work real when when he’s treading water and WANTS to be seen). My understanding is that the next authorization bill includes language preventing the services from developing their own camouflage again, and requiring the next pattern to be joint service.
Otherwise, the Army was going to announce their selection on the 14th – the Army Birthday. Then this came out, the Army didn’t want to attract any more heat to itself by appearing to thumb their nose at Congress.
The decision not to announce was made before the legislation was introduced. It is unrelated.
I had a thought on my drive home from work today. We know that whomever developed UCP had/has a really excellent lobbiest, how else could UCP have won ANY camouflage competition to become the US Army pattern? Who’s to say that this same lobby is not responsible for this latest delay in replacing their pattern with a better (less financially lucrative for them) pattern? As was stated earlier, many organizations were waiting until the very last minute to replace uniforms and ppe with this new pattern, whatever it may be. If by stalling for 5 months or so would make these groups purchase one last order of their product, someone could stand to make a substantial sum on their way out the door.
My question
is (stupid computer):
Who stands to make the most money off of this delay?
It was developed by the US Army. It’s a government owned pattern.
Then I retract my previous statement.
Looks like US4CES selection will never happen.
http://www.armytimes.com/article/20130625/NEWS/306250042/Army-announces-10-brigade-combat-teams-cut
I don’t see how cutting the Army’s end strength and force structure negates the need for a proper camouflage. In fact, it makes it all the more affordable.
Sorry, wrong link
http://www.armytimes.com/article/20130625/NEWS07/306250048/Congressional-agreement-common-combat-uniform
The days of service-specific combat and camouflage uniforms are clearly numbered as the Senate Armed Services Committee has joined its House counterpart in telling the services to quit wasting money on their own unique styles.
The 2014 defense policy bill passed by the Senate committee says that with a few exceptions, the services would be prohibited from adopting new designs for combat and camouflage uniforms as of the day the bill becomes law.
Read more at the above link.
I sure hope US4CES wins (and 70% of rumours including ones by people in the army say it is, but it is not reliable sources) seems to work the best in pictures and especially at night.as shown by the guy who designed it and he offers great help to the community answering their questions. I just want them to tell us whi the god damn winner is so we can buy stuff, the army wastes less cash and the troops get a effective pattern.