At this point it has become glaringly obvious that the US Army is adopting the Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern developed by Crye Presicion and known commercially as MultiCam. The question now is whether the other services follow their lead? Elements of USSOCOM were already wearing MultiCam when the Army adopted it for use in Afghanistan in 2009. The Air Force also jumped on the OCP bandwagon, issuing it to all OEF bound Airman. Additionally, ahead of their Army counterparts, USAF Battlefield Airman are wearing MultiCam during stateside training and in some cases as a garrison uniform. Already in DoD, MultiCam abounds.
From the very beginning of the Camouflage Improvement Effort the Air Force has monitored the Army’s progress and unofficially signed on as a stake holder. While there has been no announcement from the Air Force (or the Army for that matter) on the future of their camoflauge program, we believe that they will adopt OCP shortly after the Army (and hopefully get rid of that abomination of a uniform in the process, the so-called Airman Battle Uniform). The government source who informed soft goods manufacturers that the Army would slowly transition to OCP earlier this week at AUSA said as much. So that puts the Army, the Air Force, and the majority of USSOCOM in MultiCam, leaving our maritime forces as the odd man out. But will pending legislation for a common camouflage uniform be enough to persuade the Navy and Marine Corps to go along with the crowd?
