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RedLegGI
03-31-2016, 12:22
Quiet Professionals,


Just a quick question for you as to if you ever painted a uniform? More specifically DCU's. The reason I ask is because I recently came across DCU that has black spray paint to presumably break up the outline. I know I've run across plenty of gear and helmets that have been painted to better blend it but a uniform is an oddity.

With respect,

Red

Pete
03-31-2016, 13:13
Seen it done with jungles - never DCUs.

Hint - wash before wearing.

RedLegGI
03-31-2016, 13:25
lol sage advice for sure. The paint is actually quite faded so I think it's been worn/washed quite a bit and doesn't retain that smell. I've no plans on wearing it just hoping to fill in its history a bit :D

doctom54
03-31-2016, 15:04
Quiet Professionals,


Just a quick question for you as to if you ever painted a uniform? More specifically DCU's. The reason I ask is because I recently came across DCU that has black spray paint to presumably break up the outline. I know I've run across plenty of gear and helmets that have been painted to better blend it but a uniform is an oddity.

With respect,

Red

Did it with some OD jungle fatigues in the early '70s. Only did it because nothing else available.
Also dyed some OD jungle fatigues black.
Don't recommend either one with all the stuff available today..

Golf1echo
03-31-2016, 16:48
Not sure if Grey Group still has them up but they had a wall of used pieces many of which were painted for the environment used in.

Edit: It appears they are no longer there...

Team Sergeant
03-31-2016, 17:51
I've "painted" the burlap threads on my ghillie suit to blend in better..... worked too.

mark46th
03-31-2016, 20:49
Some SOG guys spray painted jungle fatigues black, depending on the AO.

Full disclosure- I was not in SOG, I got to SE Asia a little late. I do have a few friends that were, this information comes from them...

CSB
03-31-2016, 22:02
In the Q course in 1975 we spray painted our slant pocket jungle fatigues with flat black paint, just made them kind of "smokey" looking, not solid black, not the OD green. Almost impossible to see at night, and blended well in the woods. It worked well in Pineland and the Pisgah National Forest. I wouldn't know about what folks may have done OCONUS to subdue the DCU.

RedLegGI
04-01-2016, 08:24
Thank you all for your responses to this question. Some interesting stories of use and implementation as well.

exsquid
04-08-2016, 20:37
You can see examples of painted WWII fatigues at the Airborne / Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville. Guys have doing it for ages. On a side note, you can also see a WWII example of pockets sewn onto fatigue sleeves by a rigger.

x/S

FlagDayNCO
04-09-2016, 09:51
The black in the DCU could have come from the MOPP suit. Do they even call it that anymore?

The chemical suits (MOPP) has charcoal in them and wearing the suit over your DCUs for a couple of days results in the charcoal soaking into the DCU and giving them a smokey look.

I still have a set of the chocolate chips from Desert Storm and there is evidence of the charcoal. They've been washed numerous times.

Maybe the DCUs were worn during the Iraq invasion in 2003.

Team Sergeant
04-09-2016, 09:57
Hell we paint our faces, paint all of our equipment, why not paint our uniforms?

I cringe every time I watch Vietnam war footage and see the Americans wearing "bright" patches on their uniforms in battle. You just have to wonder about the "genius" that made those decisions. The same "genius" is also designing the battle uniforms currently being worn, females are the designing the battle fatigues. Chew on that a while.

Genius.

Pete
04-09-2016, 10:06
The black in the DCU could have come from the MOPP suit. Do they even call it that anymore?.....

We didn't call them Chocolate Chips because of the charcoal. We called them that because the black made them look like a chocolate chip cookie.

RedLegGI
04-10-2016, 09:13
Here are pictures of the uniform

Pete
04-10-2016, 09:52
Not Chocolate Chips

Those are the post DS/DS Desert Camouflage pattern. And I'd say post, post because of the sleeve pockets. Regular issue in 1993 didn't have sleeve pockets.

My hat says

HAT, CAMOUFLAGE
PATTERN: DESERT
DLA 100-90-D-0586
84(?)5-01-327-4834

Your tags should read similar.

RedLegGI
04-10-2016, 16:16
Not Chocolate Chips

Those are the post DS/DS Desert Camouflage pattern. And I'd say post, post because of the sleeve pockets. Regular issue in 1993 didn't have sleeve pockets.

My hat says

HAT, CAMOUFLAGE
PATTERN: DESERT
DLA 100-90-D-0586
84(?)5-01-327-4834

Your tags should read similar.

Totally slipped my mind to check the tags on it for this posting. From the contract number it dates to '97.

k-rub
04-10-2016, 17:50
Probably modified DCUs. We did same thing with BDUs prior to going to SW Asia. Take the lower pockets and have them sewn on the shoulder. Add velcro wherever you want.

RedLegGI
04-10-2016, 21:04
Probably modified DCUs. We did same thing with BDUs prior to going to SW Asia. Take the lower pockets and have them sewn on the shoulder. Add velcro wherever you want.

Quick question. I've read that some units did it by unit and others individually. What was your experience with that?

PSM
04-11-2016, 00:29
I've read that some units did it by unit and others individually. What was your experience with that?

Accidently comes to mind. ;)

Pat

FlagDayNCO
04-11-2016, 15:01
In our deployment, the DCUs were done collectively. One guy purchased a portable sewing machine and went into business. The tailor shops would charge an arm and a leg, if they would even do it.

Our lower shirt pockets went up to the chest area, sewn back on. The original chest pockets went to the sleeves, as they were slightly smaller than the lower pockets.

I recall getting a WTF message from our leadership, as guys started wearing them on post, which really burned the garrison circus. So, we had to put our BDUs back on until we flew out. Not only were there military men wearing uniforms with no unit patches (we wore rank, ARMY and name tapes), but they were not in compliance with AR 670-1. Oh the anarchy....:cool:

RedLegGI
04-14-2016, 19:31
In our deployment, the DCUs were done collectively. One guy purchased a portable sewing machine and went into business. The tailor shops would charge an arm and a leg, if they would even do it.

Our lower shirt pockets went up to the chest area, sewn back on. The original chest pockets went to the sleeves, as they were slightly smaller than the lower pockets.

I recall getting a WTF message from our leadership, as guys started wearing them on post, which really burned the garrison circus. So, we had to put our BDUs back on until we flew out. Not only were there military men wearing uniforms with no unit patches (we wore rank, ARMY and name tapes), but they were not in compliance with AR 670-1. Oh the anarchy....:cool:

I've seen a few of the uniforms without the unit patches before and made the assumption they were probably QP related.

Did your unit happen to do any velcro name tapes/army tapes etc? I've seen a few of these and sometimes its a mixture of all those mentioned and it can be just the soldiers name that is removable.

FlagDayNCO
04-16-2016, 17:17
Every man had to have one complete uniform with name, rank, ARMY tape, and unit patches. So it was told.

Name and ARMY tape were easy to see Velcro onto. Unit patches were harder to come by as the clothing sales system was playing catchup with deployed personnel.

Rank was mostly pin on, as again, DCU compatible sew on rank was in short supply. We tried to stay within AR 670-1, as even in country, the jack assery of any headquarters area reared it's head. We dreaded trips to Kandahar and I can't imagine what Kandahar/ Kabul was like.

What are your trying to do, put a uniform together? There are plenty of pictures on line and in books.

LimaPanther
04-16-2016, 20:40
Many of us did it in Nam in the 60s, as LRRPs, when we couldn't get a set of Tigers. We used black boot dye on our jungles to make them resemble Tigers.

RedLegGI
04-17-2016, 20:43
What are your trying to do, put a uniform together? There are plenty of pictures on line and in books.

It's actually for personal knowledge as I run across these uniforms at surplus shops and ebay (read as minefield). I find personal accounts of use from a legit source very valuable but I do absolutely rely on pictures as well. When I'm not sure on something or have questions I try to ask here as you guys are the best source available.

I used to collect WWII US uniforms, helmets, gear etc. When I got back from Iraq I changed focus to items used down range in OEF and OIF. I used to collect just regular Army stuff but kept bumping in to special forces uniforms, helmets and a smattering of other things. I was just regular army so a lot of this was completely new and unknown to me.


I like to try and find out some history of items I pick up so it can stay with them. Sometimes I get a complete background others its just assumptions. That being said I honestly do appreciate you guys taking the time to comment and give some insight.

ODA 226
04-24-2016, 15:31
Every man had to have one complete uniform with name, rank, ARMY tape, and unit patches. So it was told.

10th Group in the 1970's wore sterile uniforms with nothing on them. No rank either. We also painted OD green field uniforms with a mottled black pattern and painted green splotches on our over-whites.

HardRoad
05-14-2016, 19:34
We dreaded trips to Kandahar and I can't imagine what Kandahar/ Kabul was like.



The teams that were working with the AMF and ANA were wearing beards by the time I got there the first time. The funny thing was that the only people who ever seemed to get worked up into a frothing rage about the beards was our own rear echelon - the rest of the army on Bagram seemed to just put it down to those SF guys doing SF things.

The good news was that if you were off of Vance and had a beard, no-one outside the CJSOTF seemed to care what kind of uniform you were in. We all took a regulation uniform when we went to Bagram, but we were usually in sterile SOFMODs when we went to the PX or for dinner at the UAE SOF compound.

(Of course, I have no idea what the CSM to CSM conversations behind the scenes were like - maybe there were Chinese self-criticism meetings going on at the CJTF SGM club, and that's what led to all the facial hair shenanigans from the CJSOTF leadership.)

Five-O
05-15-2016, 05:33
To subdue the current ACU one only need throw them out and put on woodland or multicam. Easier than painting.