These US Army photos of MSG Benjamin Owens wearing the Operational Camouflage Pattern (Scorpion W2) variant of the Army Combat Uniform with the new zippered upper arm pockets adapted from the Army Combat Shirt appeared this evening on the web. MSG Owens serves as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to COL Robert Mortlock, Project Manager (PM) Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment (SPIE) at PEO Soldier.
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When the Army began its quest to identify a new camouflage pattern several years ago it also realized that it was going to have to do something with the several Billion Dollars worth of Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment in the Universal Camouflage Pattern, already in its inventory. By PM SPIE, COL Robert Mortlock’s own assertion, the Army plans on an eight year period to fully transition from the current patterns to the new one. That UCP gear is going to be with some units, particularly TDA-based, for years to come.
Last week, the Army issued a Sources Sought Notice to industry on behalf of Project Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment (PM-SPIE), Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier seeking a Overdying Process for Fabrics and Other Items.
This isn’t the first time we’ve written about this and it isn’t the first time PEO Soldier has looked into the solution. Just last Fall they issued a similar Sources Sought but cancelled it in late November. To me, what the reissue of this notice signals is that the Army is finally moving forward with a transition plan. Although, they are stumbling through a couple of issues right now that should have been anticipated before the leadership selected a course of action.
In particular, they are seeking:
Project (sic) Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment (PM-SPIE), Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060 is seeking information from potential industry partners who can provide a technology/process solution to modify the camouflage pattern utilized in the manufacture of current individual Soldier equipment. This development effort is aimed at over-dyeing fabric and/or end items comprised of nylon (500/1000 denier), cotton, FR rayon, and para-aramid of various fabric constructions. Specific items include but are not limited to Modular Lightweight Load carrying Equipment (MOLLE) and Improved Outer Tactical Vests (IOTV). Items requiring an over-dye process may have been treated with water repellants such as DWR, polyurethane, as well as flame resistant treatments, and may be comprised of fabrics of various fiber types and fabric constructions. The objective of this process is to over-dye the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) to create a darker color that more closely matches the shade/color of coyote brown. Of particular interest are portable technologies that can be utilized outside of the manufacturing environment.
I was told long ago that a solution had been identified, but it’s always good to see if industry has come up with anything new. Also, did you notice that they are interested in a solution that closely resembles Coyote Brown? The big challenge here is getting everything dyed to a common shade. With different wear and substrates, dying is as much art as science. As it is, getting the same production run or the same material, dyed to the same shade is a challenge because Cordura, webbing, NYCO, FR rayon, and para-aramid all absorb dyes differently and the concentration of dye is as much an issue as the wear to the fabric’s fibers. And that’s not to mention previous treatments which may also affect the absorption of dye. Consequently, the kit may end up looking like various shades of this:
Back in July of 2012, Project Manager Soldier Weapons released a Sources Sought Notice for a Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System, by conducting a “market survey to identify potential sources for manufacturing a complete system or reconfiguring some or all of the existing 7.62 x 51mm M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS).”
Manufactured by Knights Armament, the current M110 is a lightweight, direct gas operated, semi-automatic, box magazine fed, 7.62 x 51mm rifle intended to engage and defeat personnel targets out to 800 meters.
After an initial RFP released back in November 2012, the wait is finally over: PM SW has released a finalized Draft Request for Proposals.
The details are as follows:
The Army Contracting Command – New Jersey (ACC-NJ), on behalf of Project Manager Soldier Weapons (PM SW), intends to award a single Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Delivery Orders. This requirement will be solicited as Full and Open Competition. The minimum ordering obligation is thirty (30) CSASSs to be used for Production Qualification Testing/Operational Testing (PQT/OT). The period of performance for the base contract will be twelve (12) months for PQT/OT. Option one (I) will permit the Government to order production of systems, which will be the quantity of CSASSs needed to match the current M110 Army Acquisition Objective of no more than three thousand, six hundred forty three (3,643). Option one (I) will also include spare parts, depot support, first article testing, and Instructor and Key Personnel Training (I&KPT). Congruently, option one (I) will create five (5) – one (1) year ordering periods with Firm Fixed Price (FFP) delivery orders. Option two (II) is for the purchase of a technical data package (TDP) and Government Purpose Rights (GPR). The Government does not anticipate placing delivery orders beyond the PQT/OT quantities (30 ea) until the successful completion of Milestone C/Type Classification-Standard.
Offerors looking to compete in this requirement have the option to submit no more than two (2) proposal(s) to acquire a new system or to retrofit the existing M110 SASS. The contractor shall manufacture, produce, and support the CSASS. The contractor shall provide for all necessary labor, material, supplies, services, facilities, and equipment to perform the requirements of the Statement of Objectives (SOO) in Section C of the formal Request for Proposal (RFP).
The CSASS is intended to more effectively execute a broad spectrum of missions than the M110 Semi Automatic Sniper System (SASS). The CSASS will provide the following upgrades: improved reliability, improved accuracy, and improved ergonomics; reduced weight and length; advanced coatings; improved optics; reduced felt recoil; enhanced suppressor performance; enhanced modular rail capabilities; an improved bipod, trigger, pistol grip, and buttstock.
www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=7474a989b4929cfe52783861999d051a&tab=core&_cview=1
Sometimes we get so swept up in other issues that we don’t recognize those that do the hard work of equipping our Soldiers. Although, it’s almost a month overdue, I’d like to extend my appreciation to LTC Gene Wallace for his service on the PEO Soldier team and wish LTC John Bryan a productive tour of duty as he gets back to work, equipping America’s Army.
The Fort Belvoir-based Army organization responsible for uniforms, parachutes, boots, camouflage and a wide variety of personal equipment held a change-of-charter ceremony May 15.
At Product Manager Clothing and Individual Equipment, Lt. Col. Eugene Wallace handed over the reins to Lt. Col. John Bryan.
Program Executive Officer Soldier Brig. Gen. Paul Ostrowski presided over the ceremony. He commended Wallace for overseeing the completion of several important projects. One mentioned project is the T-11 parachute. It descends more slowly and carries more weight than its predecessor carried. This lead to significantly fewer parachute landing injuries.
Wallace, from Sumter, S.C., thanked his team. He attributed PM SCIE’s successes to its hard work. He also thanked his wife, Yolanda, for her support. She attended the ceremony along with one of their daughters.
Ostrowski introduced Bryan. He noted Bryan began his career as an enlisted infantryman in 1992. Bryan then attended Airborne school and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. He worked his way up to a platoon sergeant before attending Officer Candidate School in 1998. He graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate and was commissioned a second lieutenant. Among other jobs, Bryan served in the 101st Airborne Division, participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and served as a tactical officer at the U.S. Military Academy. He earned qualification in Airborne, Ranger, Pathfinder, Air Assault and other Army courses. Bryan’s wife Sherri and two of his three children attended.
Bryan already has experience with PM SCIE. He served as the Assistant Product Manager for Cold Weather Clothing and Equipment as well as all Personnel Airdrop Systems.
Bryan holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor in economics from Saint Martin’s College in Olympia, Wash. He has a Master of Arts in organizational psychology and leadership from Columbia University.
(Press Release by Debi Dawson, PEO Soldier PAO)
Originally developed by Crye Associates for the US Army’s Objective Force Warrior Program, the Scorpion camouflage pattern could be considered the precursor to the popular MultiCam pattern. Earlier this month, Army officials chose to proceed with a transition to the Scorpion pattern via a “soft launch”. Guess it’s not so soft anymore.
I will point out, that although industry is hard at work preparing fabric to begin the process, the US Army leadership has yet to make an official announcement. I have posted this story in order to offer additional information after another website felt they couldn’t wait for an official announcement and posted that the Army had selected Scorpion.
Scorpion will replace the MultiCam pattern, currently fielded by the Army as the Operational Camouflage Pattern, making Scorpion the standard issue pattern of the Army, thereby completely replacing the unpopular Universal Camouflage Pattern, first adopted in 2004. The Army will continue to refer to the new Scorpion pattern as OCP. The patterns are very similar so the Army will continue to purchase MultiCam as OCP until the new supply chain for Scorpion is up and running.
This decision signifies the beginning of the end of a process that has taken four years and millions of Dollars in R&D to select a new camouflage pattern for the US Army. The Phase IV of the US Army Camouflage Improvement Effort that looked at four commercial families of patterns seems to have been abandoned in favor of a single pattern created is support of a S&T effort over 10 years ago. The Army still needs to look at so-called ‘bookend patterns’ for desert and woodland use.
UPDATED – Unfortunately, as the Army was still working on their strategic communication plan, the details most of you will seek are not yet available. For example, exact dates and timelines aren’t firm. I have heard that the Army is working with printers to get fabric rolling and plans to have gear on the shelf by next May with OCP in the clothing bag for new accessions by early FY2016. As it hasn’t been printed in any quantity in several years, industry is going to have to learn how to print it, despite lessons learned from printing MultiCam. Although very similar, Scorpion and MultiCam are different patterns. There’s going to be a learning curve here and we still don’t know if Army is going to restrict the pattern like MARPAT and AOR or make it open source like UCP. If it is restricted, you won’t see it for use in commercial gear. Additionally, although many Soldiers have been issued FR ACUs in OCP, there are currently no issue ACUs in OCP made of 50/50 NYCO which is the fabric for the Army garrison uniform. This makes authorization for wear problematic as the FR ACU is considered a combat uniform. Although, we may end up seeing some local commanders authorizing wear of issue FR ACUs in garrison and local training if the changeover timeline turns out to be too long. According to COL Robert Mortlock, PM SPIE at PEO Soldier, the full transition to the new pattern will take up to eight years considering the full wear out of OCIE. Naturally, clothing bag items will be much quicker.
As a sign that the Army is committed to this Course of Action, the recent deployment of elements of the 173rd Abn Bde to Estonia marks the first RFI issue in OCP for use outside of OEF. This is very significant.
I have heard from several Army sources that Scorpion is being referred to as “Scorpion MultiCam” by leadership. This is incorrect. They are two distinct, yet similar patterns. It is either Scorpion, or MultiCam, not both. In this case, the Army has chosen to proceed with Scorpion.
So far, USAF and SOCOM are sticking with MultiCam but at this point, Scorpion remains etherware. No fabric exists, aside from some random remnants found in storage, let alone finished goods. This may change once Scorpion is actually available.
Specifically, the new pattern is the W2 variant of Scorpion which is a ~2009 modification of the base pattern originally created for OFW. Around the same time, woodland and desert variants were also created but there is currently no indication that those will be considered for use as bookend patterns. Scorpion W2 will still receive a tweak or two to apply the latest IR technologies to the pattern.
I do have details on the upcoming bookend tests (woodland and desert) for Fall but I am going to keep those under wraps for now.
During a press conference earlier this week at Ft Riley, Kansas, the Army’s PEO Soldier announced that they have begun to upgrade M4 carbines to the M4A1 configuration beginning with the 1st Infantry Division. The process will convert 500,000 of the weapons at a cost of $120 Million over the next five years with the fielding plan being controlled by Department of the Army. This press conference also served to dispel rumors that I have heard that they Army plans to pure fleet to the M4A1 configuration and upgrade its M16A2/A4 currently used by many non-Combat Arms Soldiers. They aren’t, and nothing is currently planned for the existing M16s.
“Upgrading M4s to the M4A1 configuration will deliver increased sustained rate of fire, durability, and enhanced ergonomics for the Soldier,” said Lt. Col. Shawn Lucas, PM IW. “The Army’s priority is to maintain the best equipped land force in the world, and to ensure it is postured to fight and win any conflict.
“Looking to the future, the Army will continue to monitor industry and government advancements in small arms to inform future requirements for leap-ahead technologies in range, accuracy, lethality and reliability,” Lucas added.
It’s important to note that these aren’t the first M4A1s in the Army. SOF troops have been wielding the weapon since 1994 as part of the SOPMOD (Special Operations Peculiar Modification) program and some Army units were fielded M4A1s in 2012. This implementation of the Dual Path Strategy that offers an incremental upgrade to existing carbines, was one of two plans to improve the lethality of the Individual Soldier. The other leg of the Dual Path Strategy was the Individual Carbine program which was halted last year after failing to identify any significant improvement over currently fielded systems.
Of note, is the claim by PEO Sergeant Major, CSM Doug Maddi, that the M4A1, when used with the new M855A1 ammo, offers “58 basic loads mean rounds between stoppages.” That’s pretty impressive, considering a Soldier Basic Load of Ammunition is 210 rounds. They’re getting upwards of 12,000 mean rounds between stoppages.
The M4s will receive a new, heavier barrel, ambidextrous safety and a conversion from 3-round burst to full-auto fire. Technicians from Anniston Army Depot, Alabama and TACOM are performing the Modification Work Order upgrades on site at Ft Riley. They are moving along at a pretty good pace, upgrading about 300 Carbines per day. The extent of the MWO can be seen in the graphic above.
Contracts for the new components required for the upgrade were awarded in March. Both the M4 Replacement Barrel and Front Sight Assembly (Heavy Variant) are from Colt Industries, owner of the M4 patent. OG TECHNOLOGIES INC and Manufacturing Support Industries, Inc are providing the M4 Fire Control Selector Assembly.
The maintenance team will install pre-built upper receiver assemblies, replace the trigger assemblies and install ambidextrous selector switch. The old M4 upper receivers will head to Anniston to undergo inspection where some will become part of future MWO kits. In addition to installing the new parts, the team will also use a laser engraver to alter the weapon’s designation to M4A1 and add “Auto” markings to the lower receiver in place of the current “Burst” designation.
But this is just stage one, with a Block II MWO coming in the future. Additional upgrades the Army plans to incorporate into the M4A1 include a new Modular Handguard, Bolt Carrier Group and possibly a Match-Grade Trigger. The Army also continues to consider the wider use of suppressors.
In the end, you can look at this one of two ways. On one hand, the Army’s Dual Path Strategy was a good investment and is improving the Soldier’s Carbine. I applaud them for doubling down to make sure that a great weapon was made even better. On the other hand, the Army is just now standardizing what SOCOM has had since 1994. The photo below depicts an Army Special Forces NCO in the mid-90s equipped with an M4A1 and looking at his equipment it almost gives you a feeling of nostalgia. It kind of feels like an opportunity lost.
The PIP was pretty conservative and didn’t leverage much of the improved small arms technologies we’ve seen from industry over the last decade, since the sunset of the so-called Assault Weapons Ban which stymied innovation in the US firearms industry from 1994-2004. Hopefully, the Army will continue to engage industry and provide additional enhancements to the Soldier’s most basic weapon; his Carbine.
(Thanks to PEO Soldier’s PAO team for the photos and to the participants in the press conference: LTC Shawn P. Lucas, Product Manager Individual Weapons, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, CSM Doug Maddi, PEO Soldier Command Sergeant Major, Ft. Belvoir, VA and CW3 Charles Havner, 299th 2nd Brigade, 1 Infantry Division, Ft. Riley Kansas .)
Attendees at today’s change of responsibility ceremony for PEO Soldier’s APM for Clothing and Individual Equipment under PM SPIE from LTC Wallace to the incoming LTC Bryan, claim that an announcement was made regarding the Army’s path forward for camouflage.
This is moving fast and we know some in industry are already receiving notification of the change. In fact, the mills already have fabric orders. Go Army!
Lest we forget, congrats to LTC Bryan.
We’ll keep you posted.
If you find yourself this far into any over-schedule undertaking such as replacing the camouflage for the US Army, you will constantly hear rumors of anticipated announcement dates and speculative pattern types. Why, just a week or so ago I was told that the Army was going to make a camouflage decision on May 5th.
At this point I’m jaded, so I flippantly shrugged the information off. After all, hadn’t the Army just started their reexamination of the entire camouflage process a mere two months ago? And hadn’t Phase IV taken two years? Two months vs two years. It just didn’t add up. Not to mention rumored announcement dates that kept shifting to the right. Plus, May 5th? Seriously? Cinco de Mayo? What an arbitrary date, especially with the U.S. Army’s birthday coming up in June.
Then, I get a cryptic email yesterday morning. During a briefing to industry, the Commander of the Defense Logistics Agency, VADM Harnitchek announced that the Army had in fact made a camouflage decision but unfortunately, he did not know which pattern had been selected. Even if he had, as a Navy Admiral. it wasn’t his place to tell the Army’s story. The meeting was a buzz with speculation.
At this point I was thinking, “Finally, a decision…any decision.”
Who knows if the choice was actually made on Cinco de Mayo or not, but wouldn’t it be ironic if it had been? Think about it. A decision of that importance would’ve been much easier to make over a couple of shots of tequila.
But I’ve gone on long enough leading you up to the punch line of this post.
Today, Col Robert Mortlock, Program Manager for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment at PEO Soldier showed up to discuss Army programs. He’s just finished addressing a large ballroom filled with representatives from the military services and the industrial base that serves them. Everyone came into the room waiting to hear, right from the proverbial horse’s mouth, which Course Of Action the Army is going to take. Would it press the ‘easy button’ and choose OCP (MultiCam)? Or maybe MARPAT? Or Navy AOR? Or perhaps the Army would defy the NDAA and introduce the fabled Digital Transitional Pattern (pixelated MultiCam)? Would they be bold and go old school, announcing they had reconsidered a 2003 decision and adopt Scorpion? Or would the Senior Service just stick with status quo and remain in the dreaded UCP for garrison wear and OCP for the remainder of OEF?
Lots of options on the table.
