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Archive for the ‘Camo’ Category

WL Gore’s Reversible Marine Combat Jacket

Tuesday, October 8th, 2013

Last year, WL Gore introduced their reversible technology. This type of garment is great for organizations with multiple camouflage patterns like the Marine Corps. With the release of the woodland version of the USMC Combat Jacket, WL Gore displayed a prototype that reverses to Desert MARPAT during the recent Modern Day Marine expo.

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The Marines now have two separate Combat Jackets (Desert and Woodland MARPAT). The new optional wear CWJ will be available through clothing sales stores this Fall. But, if a Marine wants to deploy with both models it means additional weight and space in his sea bag, not to mention up front cost. The folks at Gore realized this and worked to adapt their reversible technology to the specialized fabrics used in this performance garment.

In addition to the Combat Desert/Woodland Jacket seen here, WL Gore has also produced versions of APECS. These types of reversible outerwear are great not just for the Marine Corps but also the Navy who uses different patterns for arid and woodland environments.

www.GoreMilitary.com

Helikon-Tex Video – PenCott-GreenZone In Action

Friday, October 4th, 2013

Helikon-Tex.com

www.hydedefinition.com/

DEFCON X Vans Syndicate Digital Camo Collaboration

Friday, October 4th, 2013

Long time collaborators DEFCON and Vans Syndicate have once again partnered up, this time to produce a limited edition set of digital camo shoes featuring “non classified/non ITAR, visually similar versions” of the AOR patterns that have been adopted by the US Navy.

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Sk8-Hi Notchback “S”

The Sk8-Hi Notchback ā€œSā€ features a reinforced tan Warrior Suede upper. The AOR1-inspired digital desert pattern is printed on ripstop panels. Additional features include the leather side stripe with nylon webbing, the gusseted tongue with Velcro patch, notch back heel, flipped waffle sole for grip, Dri-Lex lining, paracord laces, and a custom DEFCON patch.

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Old Skool “S”

The Old Skool “S” features a black Warrior Suede upper, paired with an AOR2-inspired digital woodland pattern printed on ballistic mesh panels. Additional feature include flipped waffle sole for grip, Dri-Lex lining, and paracord laces. The Old Skool “S” is designed mainly for skating.

DEFCON is a frequent collaborator with Vans Syndicate. They started their camouflage shoes packs in the mid 2000s and were the first in footwear to work with Crye Precision directly for a MultiCam shoe. www.defcongroup.com/

The Vans Syndicate line offers limited edition products available mainly through skate shops and specialty boutiques. A full listing of Syndicate licensed stores in your area can be found at www.vanssyndicate.com/

US Army Camouflage Improvement Effort – Will They Just Adopt OCP?

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013

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A few weeks ago I wrote a story about Sergeant Major the Army Chandler’s comments at a town hall meeting in Afghanistan regarding a new MultiCam camouflage (also known as The Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern) variant coming. Prior to this I mentioned that the US Army had announced plans to negotiate a license agreement with Crye Precision for OCP. Last week, Chief of Staff of the Army GEN Ray Odierno held a virtual town hall meeting. His comments were captured in a US Army press release and are most revealing.

Addressing the Army uniform currently being worn in Afghanistan, the OCP, or “Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern,” Odierno said the Army is studying the viability of that uniform.

“They appear to be the most effective uniforms that protect our Soldiers, and are most effective in a variety of scenarios that we’ve looked at,” he said, noting that he expects a decision soon on whether the Army will stick with that uniform.

All along, the Army has been comductng a multiyear, multi-million dollar effort to find a new family of camouflage patterns. Announcement of the results of this undertaking have been delayed several times. According to sources, the latest date for the announcement is during the AUSA annual meeting later this month. However, the Army has yet to notify the four finalists (ADS Inc, Brookwood, Crye Precision, and Kryptek) on the results of the solicitation and subsequent evaluations. This step is critical to the procurement process as it gives the participants the ability to launch protests if there are irregularities in the decision. A late October announcement becomes more and more difficult the closer we get to AUSA.

So the question is, will the Army discard the Camouflage Improvement Effort and just adopt MultiCam under a new name such as Army Camouflage Pattern? The evidence certainly seems to indicate that this is the case.

MDM – DRIFIRE/Crye Precision PCU Level 9

Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

In what is the biggest news of Modern Day Marine, DRIFIRE and Crye Precision have teamed up to introduce an FR, certified, PCU level 9 garment. This gives SOCOM its first SOF Unique FR combat uniform option that is available to any units on the SPEAR program.

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DRIFIRE is offering their performance FR fabric called Foretrex and Crye Precision created the garment design. Foretrex is not only FR but also wear resistant, moisture wicking and anti-microbial.

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It integrates the features found on the Crye Precision combat uniform, including the interface for the Crye knee pad, and is a great option for those requiring FR coverage.

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Available in virtually any camouflage pattern, the first run is in Woodland camouflage. However, it is important to note that the stretch panels at the lumbar and knees are non-FR.

Applied Orange – Limited Edition PenCott SnowDrift Suit

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

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These new Overwhites from the Dutch company Applied Orange are manufactured in PenCott Snowdrift. Available as trousers and jackets in sizes Small – XLarge (EU Fit).

www.ao-store.com/applied-orange/overwhites

See USMC Combat Woodland Jacket at Modern Day Marine

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

CWJ

In May the USMC approved the Combat Woodland Jacket (CWJ) for wear. The CWJ is manufactured by Short Bark Industries and designed with fabrics made by Gore and Milliken. This comfortable, lightweight, and windproof soft shell jacket, currently being procured in a desert camouflage pattern, is designed to provide Marines with enhanced weather protection from the environmental challenges encountered in woodland operations.

The Combat Woodland Jacket will be on display at the upcoming Modern Day Marine, September 24-26 at Booth #1423.

Despite SMA Chandler’s Camo Revelation Industrial Base Even More Concerned

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

There are a lot of moving pieces in the US Government and this extends to the military. To the outsider it would often seem that one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. But for the industrial base that supplies Soldier Systems equipment to the US Army, it looks downright schizophrenic.

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Consider that the Army has been telling itself and industry for almost three years now that the current, grey-based Universal Camouflage Pattern is going to be replaced by a new family of camouflage patterns. The Army even solicited industry to provide that camouflage and has spent tens of millions of dollars to test it. But then, having completed testing early this year, the Army has inexplicably sat on the results. While all this goes on, it continues to waste money purchasing clothing and equipment in UCP but in lower numbers than before. Concurrently, the Army purchases gear in the Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern (OCP) a relabeled Crye MultiCam adopted for use in Afghanistan in 2009 due to UCP’s poor performance. But along all, the Army is very adamant that OCP is an interim solution for use in Afghanistan only.

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Starting in 2004, the Department of Defense openly admits having spent about $5 Billion dollars rolling out equipment in UCP but some estimates place the real number at double that. Until the use of OCP starting in 2009, that is all that they were buying so the supply chain concentrated on producing materials in the UCP colorway which includes tan for footwear and Foliage Green for accessory items and trims. Once OCP hit the scene, Tan 499 became the accessory color for use with that pattern.

The issue of what to produce started to become a real problem last year as orders for both UCP and OCP started to taper off and industry began to anticipate a transition to an entirely new family of patterns. As time wore on companies became even more nervous as they were sitting in a considerable stockpile of UCP materials with few orders coming in. They questioned whether the same thing would happen with OCP.

Now, due to uncertainty, few companies are willing to inventory raw goods which are the materials used to produce equipment. This means that they do not get as good a price from the mills as they only purchase as much as they need, when they need it, driving prices up. Additionally, it now takes longer to complete an order as they have to wait for the raw goods to be produced at the mill rather than dipping into their own inventory.

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And uncertainty abounds. The Army continues to delay announcement of their new family of camouflage patterns. They haven’t even notified the four finalists (ADS Inc, Brookwood, Crye Precision and Kryptek) whether or not they were selected which makes an AUSA announcement problematic. And yet, the Sergeant Major of the Army, Raymond F Chandler III informs troops that they will be receiving a new uniform that is very similar to MultiCam. What’s more, at a recent DoD Footwear Conference, officials from Natick inform industry that a MultiCam variant will be announced this Fall but that an as of yet undisclosed new boot color will go with it. That announcement alone threw a major monkey wrench in the boot industry. It means no more Tan leather and fabric. So what do they buy and at what point do they cut off orders for the current materials?

Want a few more examples of why industry thinks the Army is schizophrenic? Despite having decided (at least internally) which new family of patterns it wants to adopt, in early September, the Army announces out of the blue its intent to negotiate a licensing agreement with Crye Precision for OCP. And then, the very next week, the Defense Logistics Agency awarded 10 new delivery orders for 758,730 garments in UCP. Granted, we told you months ago that there was a cost to delaying the Army’s camouflage decision but that’s a lot of uniforms for an Army poised to make a change. Given all of these signs, to a business that makes its living supplying the military, they aren’t sure what to do.

And then there’s the elephant in the room. The impending legislation that will require all of DoD to adopt a common combat uniform and camouflage pattern by 2018. How do the Army’s disparate actions jive with that? Nobody knows. And that causes ripples in the market.

SMA Chandler’s comments really aren’t anything more than rumor if the Secretary of the Army, the Honorable John McHugh, doesn’t formalize the announcement and place orders for clothing and equipment in this new family of patterns.

It’s time for the Army to get its act together, announce a camouflage plan and implement it. Failing that, they will continue to waste money and leave their supply chain in disarray.