This entry was posted on Sunday, August 14th, 2016 at 10:00 and is filed under Air Force, Camo, History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
When USAF Tigerstripes Were Cool
Do you even FAC bro?
The ABU is the biggest “needed to be aborted but never was” FETUS ever
I think that honor belongs to the navy’s blueberries, but yeah, both UCP and ABU also makes you wonder what-the-F they were thinking…
Examples of obviously someone got a kick back during the selection process.
Enlarge the pic, pilots name on the side of this Bird Dog is “Captain America” !!
Wallpaper quality, too.
Cool picture. My computer is showing gray in that uniform but I think that’s an illusion. Was there gray in that pattern? The .38 is also a blast from the blast.
Trivia – The Army had the same aircraft, was flying in the same area and doing a similar mission but wasn’t allowed to put rockets on it. Army forward observers actually mounted for a very short time 2.75 rockets and jury rigged M60’s on the wings.
The Air Force wailed about and successfully blocked the Army from all attempts at flying armed fixed wing. The Air Force even complained when Army pilots dropped grenades or employed small arms from their aircraft.
“The .38 is also a blast from the blast.”
It’s amazing how long those revolvers hung on. We flew with them in our vests in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. They were so abused some turned out to be non-functional upon turn in.
Matt
I`ve heard that some pilots and crewmembers had bought Glock 19s before being deployed to the desert – is that true or urban legend?
Not really sure about Glock 19s. I do know that the guys flying F-117s carried Beretta 92s and at least one unit authorized carry of personal firearms, so it could be possible.
Matt
Depends on the pattern. Some have quite a bit of grey, especially after washing.
The Army and the Air Force made a gentlemen’s agreement many years back that prevents, or stops completely, attempts like that.
The only good thing about ABU’s is that they are wash and wear with maintenance free boots. The worst part is spending money on all that gear, retiring, and being stuck with piles of ABU gear.
I have the same problem with UCP. I have very large Pelican cases in the garage filled with UCP in uniforms and gear. I know I should throw it away because it is useless and the camouflage pattern is extra-useless, but…
BillC-
Well, I mean, if you don’t want it…
Not sure tiger stripes have ever been cool? I suppose if they were in actual camouflage (naturally occurring) colors they could potentially be cool!
Depends on who you talk to. The original was designed for use in triple canopy jungle by the ARVN. Given the number of US SOF units in Vietnam that adopted it, I’m betting it worked for some of the environments they were in.