ACU or Multicam?

[Selino631]

I saw in the Army Times that the Army is thinking of phasing out the Army Combat Uniform for Multicam? What you all think? Do you think they should make the switch? And DO you think they will?




lol just ^^^ noticed the guy on the left has a Xbox 360 controller 

[stran]

just get rid of the velcro, and go back to buttons.
and sew on name tags as well. i hate how the tags get warped over time.
          i can get mine straight, but others look like a flag in the wind. 
and the pant leg hip pockets are no longer large enough to carry an MRE.
and the pant leg small pocket could be just a little bit larger and it would be able to hold the cap or beret.

What you all think? Do you think they should make the switch? And DO you think they will?

good idea. one pattern does not work for all environments.
yes
yes. the army does know how to waste a lot of money.

[DJ111]

FTW

[Apeotomy]

That first pic is definately a laser game. That MultiCam is not legit, its definately a imitator. Yes I support to switch to multicam.

Multicam, does dot have IR stealth technology.

[eagl]

I read an article about how the army was using a variety of "common" consumer devices to interface with various systems.  For example, the iphone turns out to be a great little battlefield computer.  I think I read something about game console input devices being adapted as general purpose interfaces to weapon systems, rather than spend millions of bucks coming up with a new interface that the troops would have to learn how to use.  Just use an xbox controller that they've probably all grown up using, and save some money and training time.

[USRanger]

Never cared for ACUs.  They don't blend in with squat and were made so the Privates could feel like Starship Troopers.  Just like the black berets they stole from the Rangers to give to the entire Army, nothing more than an enlistment tool imo.  Plus, ever try to paint yout face to match digital camo?   We called it Lego-ing up.  They shoulda left my good ol' terrain-specific BDUs alone.  Wasn't anything wrong with em.  Surprised the ACUs didn't come with a built-in tampon holder to go with the knee pads.

The military has been adapting gaming consoles since at least Nintendo (in my experience).  Ever heard of Land Warrior?  I helped test it and in early trial versions, a Playstation controller could be plugged into it to do various things.

We also had an M16 that could plug into a Nintendo to play an Army version of Duckhunt, set up to practice for rifle quals.

[Selino631]

I have been searching around and i saw some other fourms where people dont think the'll switch because ACU is so new. but i think they might.

Look how Multicam compares with the traditional Woodland BDU's. its pretty insane.

[hammer]

The woodland camo used on the BDU was designed when the primary threat was the Soviet horde coming across Europe. It does quite well there, in the forests of Korea, and in Central America. The Army also had a desert scheme for the BDU in a couple of flavors - the most common was the woodland pattern in browns and tans instead of greens and black. The ACU was an attempt to develop a single scheme that worked in all environments. It seems to work pretty well in urban environments (where neither of the previous patterns worked) but sticks out like a sore thumb in true woodland environments. Multicam looks good in the pics, but none of them are in deep woods. IMHO, the idea of a single pattern / color palette working in all environments is flawed, but the multicam looks like it might come close.

That first pic is definately a laser game. That MultiCam is not legit, its definately a imitator. Yes I support to switch to multicam.

Multicam, does dot have IR stealth technology.

Um, no. This pic is from a field test of some Future Combat System (FCS) capabilities. Eagl is correct that XBox type controllers are being used on some systems because most soldiers are already familiar with them. As for "IR stealth technology", in BDUs that was simply a chemical treatment to the uniform that could and did wear off with time and washings. I'm not sure if the ACU is doing anything different.

Regards,

Hammer

[bj229r]

just get rid of the velcro, and go back to buttons.
and sew on name tags as well. i hate how the tags get warped over time.
          i can get mine straight, but others look like a flag in the wind. 
and the pant leg hip pockets are no longer large enough to carry an MRE.
and the pant leg small pocket could be just a little bit larger and it would be able to hold the cap or beret.
good idea. one pattern does not work for all environments.
yes
yes. the army does know how to waste a lot of money.

Thats the same thing I hear from the Guard kids I talk to

[101ABN]

They have to get rid of the velcro  (not real tactical when you have to retrieve something out of your pocket), and let us sew our badges on. Nothing stinks more than putting on your armor and forgetting to take off your badges. They dig into the chest nicely. 

[Apeotomy]

Um, no. This pic is from a field test of some Future Combat System (FCS) capabilities. Eagl is correct that XBox type controllers are being used on some systems because most soldiers are already familiar with them. As for "IR stealth technology", in BDUs that was simply a chemical treatment to the uniform that could and did wear off with time and washings. I'm not sure if the ACU is doing anything different.

Those are not Legit cut. Look at the tops, under the plate carrier, those are definitely not the legit ACU type cut, those are identical to what some of the players at airsoft events may wear. I don't know of an army in the world that would invest in those.

http://www.ebairsoft.com/multicam-combat-tight-shirt-combat-pants-pads-p-927.html

Compared to this

https://www.epropper.com/products/70/MultiCam%20Combat%20Coat.htm

[hammer]

Those are not Legit cut. Look at the tops, under the plate carrier, those are definitely not the legit ACU type cut, those are identical to what some of the players at airsoft events may wear. I don't know of an army in the world that would invest in those.

http://www.ebairsoft.com/multicam-combat-tight-shirt-combat-pants-pads-p-927.html

Compared to this

https://www.epropper.com/products/70/MultiCam%20Combat%20Coat.htm

I agree it is not a multicam product. It is highly unlikely the Army (or any other service) would use multicam "off the shelf". It is also not necessarily the current ACU cut. It could well be a design to incorporate some of the electronics required to interface with some of the FCS systems. My contention with your statement is the part about it being from a laser game. It is not.

My desk, until a month ago, was next to the Future Combat System liason officer to the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC) at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. I've been working Army combat developments (read system acquisition) since i retired from the Army 4 years ago. I saw that picture, along with several others, quite a while ago. It is from an FCS experiment conducted with by the Army with soldiers. the yellow squares on the end of the barrels are blank adapters.

Regards,

Hammer

[68Hawk]

ACUs definitely don't blend in to anything except specific rock piles.  They don't blend in woods, not in deserts and not even in most actual urban environments, especially in the predominantly tan urban areas of Iraq.  The velcro sucks and pin on badges were never a good idea.  It even sucks wearing your badges with a seatbelt or normal assault pack.  Berets are a pain in the ass.

They also stain really bad.  This can be a good thing in the field, as they turn a little yellow/tan and start to blend in better, but it's a horrible thing in garrison.

The seems like to rip when you get sweaty and they stick to your legs.  I knew I heard a rip one night, but didn't realize how bad it was until I took a knee and felt a breeze.  I was kind of glad at that point that they made us wear the crotch flap on the front of our armor.

The shirt that was asked about from the pic with the xbox controller is an ACS (Army Combat Shirt).  They've started working them in for underarmor wear.  They're a lifesaver in the hot climates.  The ACU holds in a lot of heat in the summer, but doesn't seem to hold in anything in the winter.  It's even worse under all that kevlar.  The ACS is way more comfortable and at least a little cooler.  The armor rides better on it.  They don't hold up very long though, and rip easily, and they still make you put another top on if you take your armor off, which is classic Army retarded.  Even though mine were almost shredded I've kept them.

As far as I know the IR resistance is a chemical treatment on the ACUs as well.  This means that any print pattern should be able to have it applied, and a pattern that might actually hide our troops and give them some measure of surprise or concealment could easily be workable.  The army's main concern when adopting a jack of all off pattern was all the other gear that they have in camo print.  They didn't want to have to field woodland and desert equipment for everyone.  This was really stupid penny pinching when they're wasting so much money on bogus toys that either don't work or aren't used.  Get us good gear and reliable AC and things will be a lot brighter for our troops!

It's always nice to see the Marines blend into the stuff they stand next to.  Their camo works well in most intended environments.  Adopting their patterns might be a shunt to the army's pride, but would work out a lot better.  The Multi-cam looks like it would be quite effective too.  I hear it works really well in most areas of Afghanistan.  I only wish we had stuff that good now.  It seems that the brass, in their usual wisdom, adopted the ACUs partly to save money as stated, and partly to look good for pictures on the parade ground.  I've heard comparisons drawn between German WW2 uniforms and the allied ones about their functionality vs. presentability.

It reminds me of the first time I saw the gray uniforms:  I asked, "What are we, Prussian?"

[Vulcan]

I read an article about how the army was using a variety of "common" consumer devices to interface with various systems.  For example, the iphone turns out to be a great little battlefield computer.  I think I read something about game console input devices being adapted as general purpose interfaces to weapon systems, rather than spend millions of bucks coming up with a new interface that the troops would have to learn how to use.  Just use an xbox controller that they've probably all grown up using, and save some money and training time.

yup my VR headset model is used for remote optics on robotics stuff.

[JunkyII]

Never cared for ACUs.  They don't blend in with squat and were made so the Privates could feel like Starship Troopers.  Just like the black berets they stole from the Rangers to give to the entire Army, nothing more than an enlistment tool imo.  Plus, ever try to paint yout face to match digital camo?   We called it Lego-ing up.  They shoulda left my good ol' terrain-specific BDUs alone.  Wasn't anything wrong with em.  Surprised the ACUs didn't come with a built-in tampon holder to go with the knee pads.

The military has been adapting gaming consoles since at least Nintendo (in my experience).  Ever heard of Land Warrior?  I helped test it and in early trial versions, a Playstation controller could be plugged into it to do various things.

We also had an M16 that could plug into a Nintendo to play an Army version of Duckhunt, set up to practice for rifle quals.

EST 2000 baby, like an advance duck hunter lol. I think the ACUs arent bad at all personally because its all Ive worn but these things are great for dawn or dusk settings, during the day your right they stick out, but if they just took away the dang velcro and made buttons maybe i wont lose my ranger handbook every time i do IMT training and battle drills