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US Army Seeks Lightweight Tropical Uniform

Monday, May 5th, 2014

From the outset, I have to say that technically, the Army is just looking for a new fabric, as there has been no talk (at least publicly) about developing a specialized uniform layout for tropical environments. However, in addition to a new jungle boot that we talked about last week, Natick has released a Sources Sought Notice entitled, “Light Weight Tropical Uniform“. This is excellent news.

To read the meat and potatoes of what the Army is looking for, see it here at RFITropWeight.

This is an interesting move as it is an admission that the current fabric used in the ACU, a 50/50 NYCO or nylon/cotton blend adopted for the Enhanced Hot Weather Battle Dress Uniform in the early 90s isn’t really much of a tropical weight fabric. Prior to this, Hot Weather BDUs were made from a 100% ripstop cotton fabric. This came about as the Army “rediscovered” the need for a tropical weight version of the BDU during the invasion of Grenada in 1983. The Army had begun fielding the Woodland camouflaged BDU, made from a heavy, 50/50 nylon/cotton twill in 1981. Designed for use in central Europe, they were too hot for hot weather use. However, the comfortable, quick drying, 50/50 NYCO poplin fabric of the HWBDU was to be replaced within a decade.

By the early 90s, a serious garrison mentality had taken hold in the US Army. Soldier were starching their HWBDUs and the process was wearing them out rather quickly, with fraying at the cuffs and collars in as little as six months. Instead of telling Soldiers to stop starching a uniform fabric optimized for tropical environments, the Army introduced a new fabric that would be more durable when starched and pressed under high heat. Unfortunately, this 50/50 NYCO fabric compromise fabric isn’t so great in the hot weather environments the uniform was intended for. The nylon content lowers breathability, making the fabric feel warmer. Operational capability was abandoned in favor of looking good in garrison. When the ACU came along, the Army incorporated that same 50/50 NYCO poplin fabric. Now that the Pacific Pivot is in, and the Army is scrambling to recreate capabilities like the jungle boot that it had abandoned years ago, it has dawned on somebody that they can find a better fabric solution and I am glad.

Granted, the Universal Camouflage Pattern is an issue in the jungle and Woodland EHWBDUs are will in use by some Army SOF and students at the new US Army Jungle School in Hawaii. Hopefully, the Army will work out a solution for this dilemma. But, we can always look back to a simple solution fielded during the Viet Nam War.

I’ve called it “The Greatest Uniform Ever Fielded By The US Army” and in my opinion, the OG-107 Jungle Fatigue in 100% ripstop cotton remains just that.

In fact, this uniform, as well as the ERDL camouflaged variant, continued to be worn well into the late 80s by Special operations Forces.

Rightfully so, the Army is looking, at a minimum (threshold), for a no-drip, no-melt solution fabric story. Naturally, if the star’s aligned (object) they’d like a full FR solution, although this is probably overkill considering the operational environment.

If you’ve got something that you think will work, the Army needs to hear from you by 1200EST on 08 May 2014. They’ll also need 5 yards of fabric (any color) and a the usual slew of technical data. Make sure you read the details in the amendments. The Army is going to use this data to help scope an actual requirement, making this is a very important part if the process.

With so much development in the textile industry over the past 10 years, here’s to hoping that the Army identifies a fabric optimized for use in hot-wet environments.

Tags: Natick
Posted in Clothing, Contracts, Materials, PEO-Soldier | 47 Comments »

US Army Issues RFI For Jungle Boot

Monday, April 28th, 2014

If you’re a Pre-9/11 Veteran, the old, green, issue jungle boot holds a special place in your heart. After over 12 years at war, the Army not only abandoned the design that served us for almost 40 years but seems to have forgotten it ever issued them.

Several commercially developed jungle boots have appeared over the years in including designs from the new defunct OTB, 5.11 Tactical, Oakley LSA Terrain and Water Boots and the Rocky design seen below. I’ve also seen a new design from Bates called the Recondo that is very promising.

Just earlier this year, the Defense Logistics Agency even issued an NSN for a “Fast Drying Boot” to Garmont for the T8 even though it isn’t Berry Compliant because there wasn’t anything else available in the stock system.

Now, based on the “Pacific Pivot” and the resurgence of the Jungle School (in Hawaii), the Army’s PEO Soldier is finally heeding calls from operational forces over the last few years for “Hot Weather Jungle Combat Boots”. About a month ago, COL Robert Mortlock, PEO Soldier’s PM for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment began to socialize his office’s intent to seek out a new boot. Initially, it sounded as if the boot would be evaluated under the Army’s resurrected Soldier Enhancement Program with commercial solutions cherry picked for the requirement. At the time, it sounded as if only two boots would be looked at and one of those had already failed an assessment by the US Army Special Operations Command. COL Mortlock’s public comments weren’t very encouraging, as they sounded as if the Army had just newly discovered the concept of Direct Molded Sole technology. Mortlock referred to them as “direct attach outsoles” in an Army press release but I don’t think he actually knows what that is, considering he discussed a glued sole in his description. Glue comes apart in a Hot Wet environment and you’re left with pieces of boots. So that SSD readers know, Direct Molded Soles, or “Vulcanized Rubber” soles aren’t glued but rather hot molded into place and were used is the jungle boot as well as the leather leg boot you were issued during Basic training up into the 1990s. Below is a 60-70s model. Later issued leather combat boots swapped out the tread pattern from the chevron seen here, added a padded collar and speed lacing.

They haven’t discovered anything new here. The technology to produce this style of boot sole was developed by a division of Wellco named Ro-Search almost 60 years ago. Unfortunately, almost no one aside from Altama and Wellco still have the machinery to do this because Ro-Search leased, rather than sold, the machines and molds to the various boot manufacturers who supplied the military. When requirements were changed to include more comfortable mid-soles and construction techniques, the machinery was returned to its owners. Once the jungle and desert boots were dropped, the capability was as well.

However, the Army has finally done it right and actually issued an RFI. This Sources Sought Notice allows industry to put their best foot forward and tell the Army how it can fulfill this jungle boot requirement. Hopefully, this will result in an improved requirement when it is actually released.

According to the document:

“The hot weather jungle combat boots must be capable of meeting critical technical requirements, as follows:
1) Durable enough to last 12 months of wear in jungle environments where high humidity and repeated submersion in water are expected;
2) Quick drying and highly breathable, to allow for heat and moisture to exit the boot when worn;
3) Drainage which allows for evacuation of water from the boot while walking;
4) Light weight construction (under 2lbs/boot) with materials that resist water absorption ;
5) A Pronounced heel to allow for improved grip when walking down loose, muddy declines;
6) Tread/Lug pattern that easily sheds mud and debris while walking;
7) Outsoles that provide propulsion and superior traction while allowing for braking and stability moving both up and down wet, muddy slopes;
8) Able to keep mud, sediment, and debris out of boot while maneuvering through water and deep mud;
9) Designed to reduce pressure points and discomfort during descents on uneven, rugged terrain; and
10) Provide for quick break-in.”

The list is fairly broad which is good. But, a few points. We don’t seem to learn lessons very well which will become clear as you read this. Lessons learned in combat during past wars have been forgotten.

The boot cannot have any padding or linings. In the early 90s, Natick added a padded collar to the jungle boot and changed the color to black. The padding would eventually absorb water if you spent any time in a tropical environment. The black color was for uniformity more than camouflage. At least the leather remained smooth, full grain out leather. The current use of rough out leather can be problematic for use in hot-wet environments. That’s a lesson we learned in the Pacific during WWII. Another concern is that companies are going to want to add some form of cushioned midsole for comfort. Please don’t. It will absorb water. Speaking of midsoles, I see no requirement for a counter to ‘punji stakes’. This form of booby trap is a staple of jungle warfare. We learned this lesson in Viet Nam.

Instead of a midsole, the Army issued a Saran mesh insole insert with the jungle boot that provided cushion and helped keep the Soldier’s foot from directly sitting on the footbed in order to help keep the feet dry and increase ventilation. This is absolutely critical in the jungle. Finally, while the requirement is great concerning the capability of the sole, thus far, no one has shown superior performance to the Panama sole created during the Viet Nam specifically to improve traction and shed the mud that builds up in more traditional lug patterns. I for one, am hoping that Altama will offer up their traditional 1960s issue Green Jungle Boot with Panama tread to see how it performs against newer designs.

I’m glad to see that SEP has been reenergized and I’m also happy to see that the Army is seriously looking at jungle equipment. But, I suggest they crack the books and look at what worked in the past and see what might be readopted or adapted.

Posted in Boots, Contracts, PEO-Soldier | 38 Comments »

So Exactly Who Is The Guy In Charge of Army Camo?

Tuesday, March 25th, 2014

I was going to do this great post on how the Army would end up spending more money on a proprietary government-owned camouflage solution than just adopting the commercially available MultiCam when I ran across this little gem in yesterday’s print edition of the Army Times. In an article entitled, “Army Expects ‘Family Of Camo Patterns”, COL Robert Mortlock, Program Manager for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment at PEO Soldier dropped this one on us:

“We have testimonials from soldiers in theater [who get] close enough to the enemy to hear them saying they can’t see the Americans,” he said. “That’s powerful. That’s a combat multiplier. So that’s how important camouflage is to a soldier’s mission.”

All through the article, it goes on about how they are looking for something new, to replace MultiCam. And then, at the end, this quote. My jaw literally dropped. What he failed to mention in that quote was that those Soldiers are wearing that same MultiCam he wants to get rid of. That’s right; the very pattern that this guy is going hell bent for leather to replace, is what makes our guys so awesome. He’d rather waste time and tax payer money to develop something unproven rather than give Soldiers what they (and he) know(s) works. Classic. I just can’t understand how a guy can acknowledge that a product is super effective and yet want to replace it with something he had cooked up because he has some kind of a grudge against the manufacturer. He’s interested in camouflage all right, just as long as it isn’t MultiCam.

So who exactly is this Mortlock guy anyway?

I have been struggling with whether it was right to share COL Mortlock’s background with my readers because I didn’t want it to turn into some kind of personal hit piece. It’s not meant to be. Really. These are, after all, just open source facts, and I’m just presenting them to you. COL Mortlock’s actions will tell you what kind of a man he is. I’m just showing you his background.

Over the weekend, I had decided I wasn’t going to talk about PM-SPIE’s background but when I read that quote above and my attitude changed. I figure it’s more than fair that everyone is fully aware of the background of the guy who is in charge of the process of selecting a new camouflage for the US Army. Remember, whatever this guy does regarding camouflage, the US Army will be stuck with for decades to come.

Granted, COL Mortlock is an Acquisition Corps officer and they come from every branch of arms. Ironically, the acquisition profession was created in order to make sure that goat ropes like this don’t happen. Since he’s in Acquisitions, you can’t exactly throw stones at the fact that he is a Chemical Officer by trade and not a Combat Arms officer. That’s not his fault. But this is kind of a systemic problem now, isn’t it? The military’s assignments system is notorious for putting the wrong guy in the right job. Usually, you can power through, but in this case, you’ve got a fellow in charge of camouflage that hasn’t had any troop time since punching his Company Command ticket for 13 months back in the mid-90s, in Hanau, Germany. With a war raging for the past 12 years, you’d think the Army could find someone with more relevant experience. However, I’d like to point out that he is airborne, air assault and Ranger qualified. That does carry some weight. Additionally, I’ve been told that he deployed in 2005 for three months in support of 18th Abn Corps.

I’m not even going to comment on what follows except to say that it is very impressive. The guy has one heck of a background (including a PhD), in spite of that three years at FCS. I’ll just place the CV that he uses on LinkedIn here for you to read. If it’s missing something pertinent to his current position, it’s because he left it out.

Robert Mortlock’s Overview

Current

Program Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment at US Army

Past

Director, Army Budget Office at US Army
Product Manager, FCS, Infantry Combat, Medical and Recovery Vehicles at US Army
Product Manager, Integrated Air and Missile Defense at US Army

Education

International College of the Armed Forces (ICAF)
Webster University
University of California, Berkeley

Robert Mortlock’s Experience
Program Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment
US Army