[irish70]

anyone remember when the u.s. first started using the 6 color desert cammies?

 

[rhoiye]

anyone remember when the u.s. first started using the 6 color desert cammies?

"Used first by the U.S. Army in the 1980s, during desert exercises, the U.S. six-color desert camouflage pattern was fielded by all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces during the First Gulf War. It was quickly discovered, though, that the so-called 'chocolate chip' camouflage was not so effective as had been hoped.
The problem arose from the fact that the six-color desert camouflage pattern was developed for, and trialled in, rocky, high desert terrains. Unfortunately, the areas of uniform colour perceived in open deserts are typically ten times larger than those perceived in wooded areas; the combination of large areas of pinkish-tan, medium brown, light green, and dark brown with small black-and-white flecks was simply too 'busy'. "

read more.....

http://www.kamouflage.net/camouflage/en_00039.php

 

[irish70]

awesome link,much thanks

 

[major.rod]

Hey there Irish.

Earliest widespread use of it that I can confirm was Operation Bright Star in Egypt around 1985. Issued to elements of the 101st participating. 3-502 was also wearing it in the Sinai as part of the peace accord. They suffered 248 dead when the airplane returning them to Campbell crashed near Gander New Foundland. What kind of bash you planning? I might be able to help a little.

 

[tigerstripeblue]

the pattern was actually develloped around 1968 or so(and ERDL was first made back in 1948!).and despite what some say...there actually was a helmet cover in the pattern for the 'steel pot' helmet...it came out just before the kevlar k-pot was issued..so it wasnt seen much.like woodland camo...it is used by just about everyone...including potential enemies.funny thing about desert camo...one style does not fit all.choco chip would have worked well in somalia..the 'new' 3 tone pattern stood out.

 

[Mercenary25]

How about desert tiger stripe? Is it effective?

 

[rhoiye]

anyone remember when the u.s. first started using the 6 color desert cammies?

Used first by the U.S. Army in the 1980s during desert exercises, became well-known in early 1990s because of the First Gulf War but its development was dated as early as 1960s.....

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia....

"Desert Battle Dress Uniform(abbreviated DBDU, often called Chocolate-Chip Camouflage, Cookie Dough Camouflage, or the Six-Color Desert Pattern) was the camouflage used by the United States military forces during the Persian Gulf War era in the early 1990s. The camouflage received its nickname because it resembles chocolate-chip cookie dough. It is made up of Light Tan, Tan, Brown, Dark Brown, White and Black.

Although the chocolate-chip camouflage became well-known during the Persian Gulf War, it was developed in the 1960s. The Army, believing that it might become necessary to intervene into the Arab-Israeli conflicts, developed a test pattern using the deserts of southwestern United States as a model. When the hostilities in the Middle East wound down, the test pattern was mothballed. The six-color desert pattern would be used in limited numbers in the U.S.-Egyptian military exercise, Bright Star 82, but issued in large numbers prior to the Persian Gulf War."

read more.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate-chip_camouflage

 

[Bravo_2_Zero]

1972 choc chip BDU.

 

[tigerstripeblue]

as to how effective a pattern is(in this case desert stripe)is in the eye of the beholder.although i remember desrt stripe came out just before desert shield/storm,i havent seen pictures of its military use untill afghan/iraq,post 9-11.french 'lizard stripe' also comes in at least 2 types of desert color...one used by the greeks experimentally(and looks sharp in my view).if you can afford the high price(about that of a hot toys figure) i recomend the book 'dpm' by hardy blechman...a very entertaining book about camo..but be warned..it's written by an artist..so it isnt some dry monograph(check amazon for the 'cheaper'version.as for 'srtipe' camo?...i think you can see my bias towards it.

 

[saw249man]

The pattern works pretty well in the Mojave Desert and Chocolate Mountains in California. When I went to NTC back in 1993 my unit used them and they worked pretty well. Granted they were hot as hell but they worked in that climate. We switched out from woodland to choc chips and had to turn them back in unless we wanted to buy them. The new South African pattern is a Choc Chip knockoff with some green in it which probably works well in their region.