New ACUs
 

Ive got my first set. What do you all think about them? I like them better. I dont understand why they are making us use pin-on qualification badges. I also like not having to polish black boots any more on a regular basis!

Im interested in whay yall have to say.
HTM

They suck.

TR

TR: What has been your problems with them? Ive been doing a search to find why the pin-on badges are being forced on troops. With everything else being velcroed on, it makes no sense to me why this is. I like the ACUs because they are something new. The real test on them is yet to come.

TR: Also do you really think that the new camo digital pattern is really a universal pattern? I can see where the pattern "sticks out" like a sore thumb around my part of the country!

HTM

Too hot, too thin, bad camo pattern in most locations, too much velcro, too expensive, too much time to put together, too many new uniforms.

If you had been through fatigue uniforms from the old cotton starchies, to the polyesters, to the jungles, to the cammies, to the original BDUs, to the improved BDUs, to the lightweight cotton BDUs, to the polyester BDUs, to the ACUs, you might find that the novelty of paying a couple of hundred dollars each time to make a fashion statement (and a progressively less functional uniform) is a bit much to ask of the troops.

Take the old ripstop OG-107 jungles and make them in the BDU and the DCU patterns. Move the lower jacket pockets to the sleeves. Make them for crewmen in Nomex. Voila! My favorite of the above!

TR

Its a uniform issue like everything else I imagine.

A few of the sew shops on Yadkin Rd were making ACU panels with unit patches and flags sewn onto them to cover the sleeve velcro. They were also embroidering ABN wings, scuba bubbles, CIB's, etc onto a swath of ACU cloth and sewing loop velcro onto the ACU top to negate the pin on scare badges. Apparently someone got a case of the a$$ over at Division, atleast thats what I was told at Kim's, and put a stop to it fast and in a hurry.

Made sense to me, but what do I know...

I remember my father offering his opinion about the BDU's replacing the OG-107's; it was similar to TR's. Once you got them, OG-107's, dirty they change color to match their environment.

Crip

TR, Surgical Cric: Good input. Are the OG-107s the same thing the Ranger Bns wore up to they went camo? TR: Your suggestion sounds good to me but the problem here is that it makes sense!!!

Surgical Cric: What you said about the shops outside of Bragg is interesting. Have you seen anyone wearing velcro jump wings etc?

OG-107's, see below for a visual. They were worn by Ranger Regt until sometime in the mid '80's as memory serves me.

As for the velcro jump wings, I did see a 1SG in one of the shops having the velcro panels added to his tops and the embroidery panel containing ABN, Pathfinder, and a CIB being made. A couple weeks later there was an editorial in the Paraglide where it was stated neither the patch panels or the scare badge panels were to be worn as they are not authorized for wear in AR670-1.

Crip

My $.02 on ACU's
 

My problem with the ACU's is they are designed to be usable on any terrain, and not specialized to any type of environment. This way, Soldiers are not supposed to need to draw different uniforms for desert or forest environments, its a universal pattern. (Kind of the same "one weapon for all contigencies" brilliance that brought about the XM8, and let's not get started on that one.)

I personally would rather have DCU's if I was going to the sandbox, and BDU's if I was going to the forest. I'm a firm believer that the military's specialized equipment makes a big contribution to success, not just in weapons and equipment, but in uniforms.


S

Nothing beats OG-107's and issue jungle boots. I wore them almost everyday on active duty and in the reserves. Had a few pair of the ripstop cammies too. I wore them when I wasn't wearing the OG's.

When I first got to Bragg, I went straight to clothing sales and picked up several pair of OG's. I think they were something like $8 for the top or pants in 1984.

Pin on anything on a combat uniform is bad form. Sew on rank/badges is the way to go, and if you need a sterile uniform for a mission, you just wear a sterile uniform. The sterile uniforms are the easiest to prepare: You just buy them and hang them up. Simple and cheap.

Kind of like LRRP rations versus MRE's. The LRRP's were awesome, especially the chilli con carne...I never said that about MRE's. Nobody ever went from OG's to BDU's and said BDU's were awesome. Good luck with those ACU's...

I found that the ACU's are good looking, but they don't blend in well with most enviroments (even in a grassy enviroment that should of matched it very well) untill they are completely dirty. I don't really don't think they are worth the money. The velcro is also a mess if you through any kind of weeds.

I just got fitted for ACU's yesterday. They seemed comfortable for the 30 seconds I had them on. We'll see how they are after a few days in the field though.

I like the way the Digitals fit, much better than the Cammis, but I would much rather see the army go back to the OG-107. The OG's are comfortable, slanted pockets, blends in anywhere and are way less expensive then the ACUs or Cammis.

They've been issued the ACUs here in AK and after talking to the troops they seem to like the fit and comfortability... After observing these guys on the range and getting ready for the field I'm not so sure how they really blend into the Alaskan terrain. Because of the varied colors and materials, the greyish green blend of the ACUs, a man really does stand out. I could see how it would work in an european city but in the boondocks they don't blend as well.

Call me prejudice, but I really like the Marine Corps new digital camo. I have a couple of sets of both and have fielded them several times and really like them. There was some actual thought put into the design and fit. Pockets on the sleeve where there's more access, removed the lower pockets on the blouse, put elastic around the leg pockets to lessen the possibility of loss of items inside, slant pockets on the chest, and internal pockets on the knees and elbows so pads can be slipped inside.

But you know, the military is like a big wheel, it'll rotate back to the spit and polish of yesterday after this conflict in Iraq is over. Some REMF officer will decide there is a way to starch and iron them and with enough elbow grease the average Snuffy can polish those rough side out boots. Hmmm... Maybe the Army go back to the old patrol cap and dump Shinseki's black beret... But that would be expecting too much practicality on the brass' part.

Adding...
 

Take care.

My comment on the whole deal: In too many places I've seen the comment that Soldiers are excited to get the new uniform. Bullcrap. I don't want it, but I'll wear it because I have to. They look like pajamas to me. Once again, I'll have to pay out of pocket to be in uniform.

I have many perfectly good uniforms. Most of them I paid for. I don't want to pay for more uniforms. :mad: