The History of: The US Military Woodland Camouflage Pattern AKA "M81 Woodland" | Uniform History

Here it is, the one many of you have been waiting for. The cream of the crop of camouflage patterns: The US Woodland.
Be sure to check out parts one and two which covered the Mitchell and ERDL patterns which preceded this one.
Music by: www.juliancrowhurst.com/
Documents and Reports:
Support to MASSTER Phase II: archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA0...
Development of The US Battle Dress Uniform: ciehub.info/ref/ADA096884.pdf

[@skaboodlydoodle]

The more I look at modern camo comparisons and then look at woodland the more I realize there was nothing wrong with it.

[@itsagrayday]

Yeah there is, it’s to dark for most wood areas.

[@thejoseonone]

There's also black in the pattern, not very good to add into a pattern

[@coolguy9959]

It's not that bad

[@coolguy9959]

It's very effective serch up woodland effectiveness

[@Warriorbob-im5py]

There’s actually a lot wrong with it. Especially when viewed through optics, ir, and night vision.

[@Waltham1892]

"The most recognized camouflage pattern on the planet..." Guess it wasn't that effective then.

[@coreycamacho1290]

You my good sir. Have earned yourself a like. Wish more people see your comment

[@Waltham1892]

@@coreycamacho1290 more people haven't seen my comment, because its camouflaged.

[@coreycamacho1290]

@@Waltham1892 maybe that's why

[@benchang1022]

Waltham1892 ha!

[@mustafarami8424]

I get your joke but he didn’t mean it like that he meant everybody knows the Camouflague and a lot of countries use this camoflage including my country

[@GruntProof]

Awesome lesson. I came in with woodland and left with OCP. Woodland is supreme

[@MartyRodriguezOrthodoxMarine]

@GruntProof : Long Live The Woodland M81 Camouflage Pattern and Its Predecessor, RDF ERDL.

[@Airkoay]

My service started with BDUs, then DCUs to ACUs and now OCPs. Have to say the woodland BDUs is by far the best looking combined with spit shine boots.

[@trooperodst6880]

M81 and DCU those where really great!

[@ashleynicole333]

You're what they call the gruntpa😂 all jokes aside congrats on your career. There's not many people who can say they've been in that long

[@cptromero5595]

Ah m81..my first love when it comes to camouflage.

[@tankieflanker4119]

Woodland is the milf of camouflage.

[@normalplayer7377]

Same

[@gelivalencia1400]

FLORA is better in my opinion

[@BUBBA808]

@@tankieflanker4119 that’s right sugar😘

[@A_Random_Death_KorpOfKriegsman]

Same

[@TheMauser98a]

I wore the woodland camouflage from 1987-2005 and the ACU from 2005-2013. I retired from US Army after 26 years active duty. I loved the BDU or woodland camouflage uniforms they were comfortable and ironed nicely, and we still wore black shined boots. Since I retired I still like to wear my camouflage bdu pants, and field jackets some things never go out of style. Cheers from Texas

[@hallarious506]

In all honesty, as a child I thought, that this WAS camo, the only one in existence. Thats how dominant the pattern is.

[@ZSC001]

When the army walks by in UCP that’s damn near white...

[@MrDgwphotos]

That, to me, is one of the worst "camouflage" patterns ever designed.

[@vandoo66]

The people responsible for that pattern deserve to be revealed and mocked by everyone on a regular basis. It should become a new US holiday. Kinda anti-thanksgiving.

[@ZSC001]

vandoo66 they should be in prison. Generals made a decision for that camo for their own personal gain

[@huntclanhunt9697]

@@Plzstandbuy I take this as a personal challenge to find something worse.

[@odinlindeberg4624]

@@vandoo66 Scornsgiving.

[@od1452]

I was one of the first soldiers to wear the new pattern after it was authorized but before its issue. One or two months before general issue. A few of us ( later more) found a tailor outside of Ft Benning that got the pattern from the government and bought the fabric. He sewed us up a set of pants, shirt and cap. Some even bought field jackets but the Army didn't want us to wear the Field Jacket for a few months as they were not "authorized" yet. I collected a number of Army information bits on the new uniform and put it in an album...If I ever find it in storage ..you can have it. I was also on Kelly Hill when they tested the Brown boot. I was in a Battalion that didn't test them. It was clear to me that the old hands were really against brown rough out boots. Lots of really wrong info was common . I think the SMGs kept the black boot in. until . Desert Storm finally gave them a chance. I was so happy to see them go. The brown boot would be a good topic too.

[@gnarl12]

Can't polish roughout 😅

[@elwolf8536]

Imagine putting all the US woodlands together

[@PACKERMAN2077]

It would make a forest

[@ReviveHF]

At 3:34, that Vertical Tiger stripe ERDL was even evaluated by Taiwan(ROC) and Malaysia during early 1990s. In the end, both nations use that as a basis to develop their own Tigerstripe pattern. The result was Malay Tigerstripe Woodland Pattern and ROC Marine Tigerstripe Pattern. These two were replaced by new digital camos.

[@willkriegforkartoffeln4878]

My #1 favorite camouflage of all time. Good old Woodland.

[@kolinmartz]

I recently got a hold of some unissued BDUs with tags still in and I was actually surprised to see just how dark this pattern is when it was originally printed. Before that I’ve only ever seen used examples which all have some wear to them. I’ve dismissed a lot of the commercial gear printed in the “m81” us woodland to be darker due to artistic interpretation so to say. But the real US woodland is actually a really dark pattern printed I.

[@15vertigo]

It depends on the material. 50/50 NYCO uniforms are pretty dark, while 100% cotton ripstop wash up quickly

[@Hansengineering]

Thinking back to all those times someone yelled at me to "GO BUY A NEW FUCKING UNIFORM!". Little did I know I just needed to find the original research from the 70's. But for real, though, I would wear those shits until they were fading white.

[@CocainePirate]

I got issued BDUs and I was also surprised with how much Brown and Black and the small amount of Green even though the green is something you notice when you look at it.

[@tristin6995]

when i was in Air Force Secfo tech school we met some service members from various south american countries and they all wore Woodland

[@razgriz1258]

I know the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) a youth extension of the airforce still uses woodland for their cadets

[@Seth9809]

China and Syria both recolored the pattern.

[@garypulliam3740]

When I was at Benning infantry training I ran into some soldiers from Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua attending the School of the Americas. They were little guys but very muscular and filled out their woodland BDUs very well. They were very tough and seasoned war fighters.

[@tankieflanker4119]

@@razgriz1258 yeah... it's a cluster fuck in cap

[@vermontvermont9292]

@@razgriz1258 I was in CAP 1998-2001 we used woodland, and basic Alice web gear. I've noticed the cadets in my area have been using ABU for quite awhile now. No longer use web gear of any kind, and recently have been switching out to OCP.

[@BMF6889]

I fought in Vietnam in 1968-1969. We wore what was called the jungle fatigues, but I don't know the technical designation. Some in my platoon wore the green fatigues without camouflage. We all wore flak jackets that had no camouflage which seemed to me to defeat the idea of a camouflage uniform. I served 3 years in combat. Personally, I thing camouflage uniforms are mostly ineffective. They have a pattern but don't break up the form. This is why the North Vietnamese did not have camouflage uniforms but rather placed local vegetation in their helmets and equipment to break up the form. It's why ghillie suits work so well for snipers--they completely break up the form and blend in almost perfectly to the natural surroundings. However, not too practical for front line soldiers as it covers the entire body making it difficult to get to the equipment under the ghillie suit. There should be a compromise. A camouflaged uniform should have enough fake foliage on it to break up the form but not so much to hinder access to the equipment. The helmet on the other hand can and should have lots of fake foliage to break up the form of the helmet. My ideal uniform would have heavy fake foliage on the helmet and shoulders, and sparsely fake foliage on the rest of the uniform so as not to interfere with access to the equipment. After all, it's the head and shoulders in my engagements that are the most visible to the enemy. It wouldn't look pretty for inspections and parades, but those are not life or death situations. I'm 73 now but as a Marine infantry officer for 21 years, I try to keep up with the latest military technical developments. Today's Marines have far better equipment, weapons, close air support, artillery support, training, and logistics than we had in Vietnam. That's a good thing. But the camouflage uniforms of today are just a worthless as the ones we had in Vietnam. Not only is the body armor not the same pattern as the uniform (like in Vietnam), but it doesn't break up the form of the soldier. It doesn't take much to break up the form. Just add some fake foliage to some parts of the uniform so that it makes the human form lest distinct. When I was a Marine company commander, I required all my Marines to use camouflage paint for their faces and to add camouflage netting to their helmets, burlap camouflage strips tied to their equipment and weapons before going on training exercises. I was admonished by my battalion commander because they didn't look like Marines. Well, that was the whole idea. I wanted them to look more like the vegetation in which they were going to fight instead of Marines in camouflage uniforms that didn't work. I've often felt that the military was too concerned with how soldiers look going into combat than how they don't look to the enemy.

[@shadowwolf7622]

Well said sir.

[@OgamiItto70]

Absolutely goddamn right.

[@WCS_GodF4th3r]

Why did they retire the best camo ever

[@coffee637]

Ahhh, the memories. My career in the military started with the introduction of this uniform and ended as it was being phased out.

[@midoriiyahebi3535]

However, even the Marine Raiders and even some Green Berets happen to still rock the M81 Woodland as they work with their partner force, the ANA couple of years ago. Not entirely phased out though.

[@deathsquadron3311]

served from the early 80s until the mid-late 2000"s?... if so that is 30 yrs!... thank you for your long service sir!

[@bigbcor]

@@midoriiyahebi3535they use it to hide themselves as being US forces….so maybe research before you make comments?

[@manniegentile6099]

I really appreciate your use of primary source documentation.

[@2jzgteSupraJZA80]

I love the m81 pattern. My favorite military camo by far.

[@JayKayKay7]

When I joined the USAF in 1984 and went through MIMSO at Lackland AFB, they made us buy three sets of OD fatigues. But as soon as we were sent to our respective duty stations, we had to buy all new BDU's. Still have mine. Great uniform and great pattern. Worked well in the Philippines when I was at Clark AB. And isn't it amazing that after literally thousands of years of warfare we are still trying to figure out the 'best' camouflage. And the best bullet to shoot some one with is some where between a 6.5 and 6.8 mm / .264 to .270.

[@TylerSnyder305]

Gotta love the US woodland. That will always be what comes to mind when I think of camo. It's what I knew from all of my dad's uniforms , and it's what I've known to sit on top of my head every single day since I was 12. That first patrol cap which was already about 35 years old when my dad gave it to me ( the first woodland cap he was issued when it debuted in '81 ) is no longer recognizable as woodland and I'm on my 2nd replacement now since the new stuff isn't quite as good ( R&B inc still makes a good hat, probably the last US manufacturer making hats in woodland btw ) but I'll continue to wear a US made woodland camo patrol cap as long as I can get 'em. If only Sekri industries was still around to make em since they do a better job. I've recently switched to a R&B inc woodland boonie for outside summer wear, but I've got 5 of their woodland camo patrol caps ordered. I'll probably order 5 more next month so I can gradually stockpile a lifetime supply.

[@rickb1973]

I'm glad that my uniform was BDU's the whole time. It's the best looking uniform that the US Army ever had. It worked well in the field and a starched set of BDU's looks badass with jump boots and a beret....back when berets meant something. For desert BDU's, I always liked my tricolors over the chocolate chip. We were issued both. I remember when we first got issued those suede bottom desert boots. I wanted to love them, but mine ate my feet up as soon as I got to Somalia and I traded them to another dude for a pair of black jungle boots.

[@Armyguy91]

I didn't wear a beret. But Starched and put creases in the BDU's w/ either jungle boots or jump boots(chairborne). My wife could spit shine my boots better than me any time of the day. And she still reminds me of this to this day. I married a GREAT Woman.🫡🫡🫡

[@dillonhillier]

Can you explain to a canadian what you mean by "when berets meant something"? Does everyone outside the special forces, SOF, paras, and MPs wear the same berets and cap badge now? What was it like before?

[@davezanko9051]

@@dillonhillier Used to be that only certain trope wore berets. Special forces wore green ones (hence "the Green Berets"), airborne wore maroon, and rangers wore black. Then in 2001 some sad general decided everyone should have a beret as standard headgear for the entire army, meaning only the color of the beret was distinctive. Worse is that they decided the general-issue beret should be black, despite it being already used by the rangers (they switched to a tan beret to maintain a distinctive color). Even worse was the idea that it should be worn with the combat uniform when not wearing a helmet. It looked stupid as hell (especially when they switched to the UCP, which specifically omitted black) and was widely derided, though it took ten years for the army to restrict it to wear with the blue service uniform. Now the blue uniform is being returned to optional fancier dress uniform status, replaced for a daily service wear by a new green service uniform modeled after the old WWII and Korea era officer's service uniforms. Those are worn with a green side cap or peaked cap, not a beret, unless the wearer has one of the special beret colors. So the beret is getting back some of its old status, but it was 20 years of stupidity.

[@dillonhillier]

@davezanko9051 thanks for the detailed response. I would only disagree with your notion that berets in combat uniform is a bad idea. Maybe it's because it's what I'm used to (its our standard headdress whether combat uniform or dress), but I think it looks pretty bad ass. I wore my beret and regimental cap badge from time to time after I left the CAF and was volunteering in Iraq with the kurds. Perhaps it's different for us as well, as our infantry regiments all have distinctive cap badges, and it's something most people are extremely proud of.

[@davezanko9051]

@@dillonhillier Berets are formless and overly warm for the environment they're often in. And the patrol cap or boo is bay used instead match the camo and have brims, which makes it just a better piece of headgear.

[@Liam1991]

Being British and someone who's been trying to get into the army, I would love you to do a video on DPM and MTP 😃

[@rizaradri316]

Couldn't agree more

[@DxvinderSingh1699]

Liam S as a fellow brit i agree!

[@SH-xr8hc]

DPM is great. NZ army used to have their own variant worked perfect for nz forests and would be just as good in any jungle worldwide. Got phased out for that grey looking multicam stuff.

[@yootoob6003]

@@SH-xr8hc the Steyr AUG was great too, now it's just another AR-15. Wasting my taxes on unnecessary defense spending!!

[@tavarix5893]

DPM is on my wishlist

[@Themichaelwesten]

We’ve been waiting on God’s Plaid for so long. Thanks brother!

[@thederp6505]

lol God's Plaid, thats a good name for it

[@xCrimsonxTidex]

Also known by in the hardcore training gun community as “God’s Plaid.”

[@abigailsaoirsefinnegan]

UwU Papa Flannel

[@xeneth531]

Abigail Bathory no

[@abigailsaoirsefinnegan]

@@xeneth531 ØwØ

[@xeneth531]

Abigail Bathory NO CAST IT TO THE FIRE

[@abigailsaoirsefinnegan]

@@xeneth531 ÙwÚ Flannel Daddy is love. Flannel Daddy is life.

[@yoda5565]

I remember in 1981 when the first BDU went on sale at quartermaster sales after training at Fort Knox, There was a line but I got several sets. I was a novelty when I got to my unit in Europe. With the roll out and wear out date of the old stuff a plain field jacket and BDU's was fairly common. What blew your mind was how comfortable and convenient they were. We had quite a few Vietnam vets in our unit at the time who said the slant pockets of a "Jungle shirt" were to accommodate the angle of the bottom of an M16 clip. Some "staff weannie" told me that the cargo pants we designed to carry 2 complete MCI's out of the box. In any case, they were far better than that OD shirt, pants and ballcap. For outdoor and leisurewear they are fantastic. Hose'em down, wring'em out and wear'em till they dry.

[@Mrgunsngear]

good info

[@nemu3014]

you are damn near in almost every comment section istg

[@Wolf_Avery]

Thank you, this helped solve a mystery as to why the surplus woodland camo I got when I was a kid looked different.

[@rako5865]

Do swedish m90 or splinter in general.

[@Texasmilitarydepartmentvid9654]

What's Splinter? You mean Splitter that was worn by the East German Defense Force?

[@JohnRodriguez-si9si]

The Woodland M81 BDU Cammies ( and It's Desert Combat Uniform , 3Pattern Variant) was the Uniform that I Myself, John Rodriguez, proudly and professionally wore in War and in Peace, from 1987 to 1998, with 1 Year and 4 Months ( in the Army National Guard ( ARNG) and US Army Reserve ( USAR) ) , both as a Marine and as a Soldier. Even now ,going on 55 Years Old on 03 April 2024AD, I STILL wear a Raid Mod Blouse and Trousers with ,at times, a Combat Shirt and Boonie Hat in Woodland M81 BDU.🇺🇸🇺🇲🪖‼️

[@MartyRodriguezOrthodoxMarine]

@JohnRodriguez-si9si : That's A Fact, Jack 😉‼️

[@m60hog1]

Thank you so much for doing this video. This is the uniform pattern I grew up with. Used surplus one when I went camping because it was more comfortable an durable than civies. When I got involved with Civil Air Patrol this was our uniform an I think it still is for Cadets. I've bean out a wile.

[@outerheavenpaintball]

Good video but, you forgot to mention that woodland is seen being used by the USMC MARSOC Raider Battalion.

[@sgtjarhead99]

This was the pattern when I was active duty from '85-'93. Lots of memories. Except during the tail end of Desert Storm where I wore the chocolate chips, I wore this throughout.

[@johnkonrad5040]

Excellently done, informative and well-researched. Especially appreciate the primary documentation being made available many thanks

[@Ammo08]

MY USAF career spanned from 1972 to 2011...I wore the greens, the BDU Woodland, the DCUs, and the final ABU Tiger stripe uniform. I can tell you that the Woodland camo was worthless for us AF types who worked on and around aircraft. Concrete is white and we stood out like sore thumbs. The DCUs and ABU Tigerstripe did a pretty good job of confusing our outline, especially on hot days at a long distance.

[@lornenoland8098]

I’m fascinated by camo patterns. Studied them. Even developed my own UCP. Thanks for this video.

[@treerat7631]

One of the best patterns ever made

[@danditto6145]

The woodland pattern BDUs were really a great morale boost from the old pickle suites. Still my favorite uniform. Of course like the khakis and the mint green shirt comb it had to be replaced by the Army’s Board to eliminate popular equipment. Other items universally despised in the 1980s like the M-16 A1, the Gamma goat, the ACP uniform seemed to have nine lives.

[@johnfromthewest]

In my experience the older woodland examples often have better color more vibrant whilst the later more common version tends to fade into a brown camo

[@hauntedhouse7827]

wore this uniform for 13 years, salute to all my brothers and sisters who put on the Beer Drinkin Uniform!

[@dukecraig2402]

Wore them myself, couldn't give them away fast enough after I got out.

[@hauntedhouse7827]

@@dukecraig2402 I still have one that i tore up and spattered with blood, i wear it every year at Halloween when i volunteer for the local zombie runs.

[@johnw4999]

In the 90s, I wore it in several areas, but in the U.S., from Bragg to Lewis and it works! At least against the naked eye and binos. Key is knowing how to stalk, when to move, using local vegetation etc. Not sure how well it holds up against modern IR, thermals etc. or how it compares to contemporary patterns under those advanced imagery capabilities.

[@wh8787]

Me watching Star Wars ' Man, it's so dumb that the Empire would have its combat troops wearing white, they're so easy to see'. US Army soldiers appear wearing UCP 'OH GOD, IT'S SO BRIGHT IT HURTS MY EYES'.

[@matthewdennis1739]

I know its a joke, but the reason for Stormtroopers being in white was for psychological shock and awe purposes. Same reason elite law enforcement wear black which actually makes them stand out.

[@robbabcock_]

Fascinating! There's more history behind these patterns than one might initially assume.

[@nickmazzeo]

Anyone know how well received this pattern was among soldiers using it? All I remember about it is the part in Generation Kill when all the soldiers are complaining about having to use this pattern in the middle of a desert, while the reporter got the chocolate chip pattern.

[@PrograError]

well... that's just logistic ain't it? plus the reporter got his stick stuck up there somewhere didn't he?

[@haydnadkins5007]

I mean, not really the area the camo is meant for. So even though I like it, I'd complain too.

[@DanPlusWater]

When I was in the service (1998-2006) woodland camo was our standard. Those guys that were sent to the east from my station, had the tan and browns, seen during Desert Storm era.. I cannot speak for other groups that were deployed east in the woodland colors (like in the movie) but I can't imagine it being a good strategy wearing greens in a sand box...

[@lebendigesgespenst7669]

Such an iconic pattern. I remember my dad got in just early enough to be issued woodland before UCP took over

[@reddevilparatrooper]

I wore the BDU pattern from 1986-2006 when stateside training and combat in Panama. This is the best for both Europe, Hawaii, and Central America which I have been to for camouflage. Combat during the Panama Invasion didn't help because we were fighting in the city of Panama. It did help during my unit's follow on mission in Northern Panama after the invasion.

[@stang3787]

I was stationed at Ft Bragg in the MID 80's when the BDU in woodland was first issued. In addition to being heavy we could not have them STARCHED in on post laundries. Complaints about "rag bag' soldiers led to a solution. We were authorized to wear the Vietnam Era jungle fatigues which could be starched and ironed. I stood in line at Quartermaster Sales as they kept unloading boxes of vietnam surplus fatigues and sold them at 1960's prices. Entire outfit cost less than $10. Within a week you could not find a Woodland uniform at Bragg until the lightweight version came out and we were ALLOWED TO IRON THEM AND USE "LIGHT' STARCH.

[@CyrusFreeman]

I loved wearing m81 when I was in the military. It's decently effective in manynplaces if you use it properly. OCP is also a good pattern, but it's not wonderful in, well, woodlands. It does nicely against stone and scrub, but m81 rules if there are any trees. The large splotches really help to make a man look like nothing in particular.

[@chazbox1987]

You forgot to mention M81’s resurgence in MARSOC. Other than that great video & great channel 👍.

[@shaggnar2014]

People sleep on M81 because of how ubiquitous it has been. But it really is one of the more effective patterns developed.

[@Sirderpingtonthefirst]

my dad is a USAF vet and just gave me the last of his M-81 uniforms including the rain and cold weather gear... i wear my cammies with pride and respect. A symbol of my bond with my ol' man and the gears VERY durable my main pants have some tears but they're 20 years old now and still lookin sharp. I love the feel comfort and they work for me, best pattern i have seen and my favorite so thx to the generals who signed off on this amazing piece of family and American Military History and there are no patches so its not Stolen Valor its just our legal last name and shows where patches used to be. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

[@jasonarmstrong5750]

We need to go back to M81 Woodland

[@richlopez5896]

Jason Armstrong The new multicam is more effective

[@vahebaldemian]

There is a prototype woodland multicam. So sick

[@BERSERKERKINGREVIEWS]

jason ikr , the ones these days are just so stupid looking

[@spacedredd]

Yep, wore the woodland BDU for 19 of my 27 years in the USAF. My favorite was the 3 color DCUs. The ABU was to heavy.

[@Texasmilitarydepartmentvid9654]

I was in the Civil Air Patrol they started replacing the M81 Woodland BDU - Battle Dress Uniform in 2015 the year i left . The Naval Sea Cadet Corps was replacing it with the Blueberry Type 1 NWU. They have until 2021 to fully transition over .The Young Marines will be the only ones wareing the M81 Woodland BDU seince the Marine Corps is butthurt over anybody wareing the Marpat Pattern.

[@wickwire9560]

I loved the DCU's they were like Pajamas when we put them on after NTC in California it was like Heaven ! They dried quicker in Iraq ! The ACU was the freaking worse ! They didn't tell us to wash the ACU before wearing them we all got Chemical Burns from them with the IBA on mostly on our backs ! Mine was so bad it was like 2 degree burn !

[@stfuplsok]

@@wickwire9560 *DCUs 2nd* degree

[@stfuplsok]

spacedredd too* heavy

[@mckokookoo7114]

Could you do one with the finnish m05 patterns

[@gtfkt]

Yes. This.

[@CalintzJerevinan546]

^Finnish not finnish

[@ApophaticCartesian8]

The most badass camo pattern ever.

[@flight2k5]

no its not

[@ApophaticCartesian8]

@@flight2k5 You've convinced me.

[@flight2k5]

Robert Keller yea I don’t really care. The Scorpion shit is way better in ever way sooooo

[@ApophaticCartesian8]

@@flight2k5 Cool.

[@ApophaticCartesian8]

@@flight2k5 Maybe a little. But don't tell no one. 😘

[@johnreed9435]

USMCR 83-87. Woodland camo was my jam

[@jeffrichards5106]

My favorite camouflage pattern over any past or present ones.

[@ReverendMeat51]

I love all the science that went into developing this pattern, very cool. Heavy nostalgia too, even though I was never issued anything in this pattern I wore the hell out of it when I was an edgy high schooler

[@dukecraig2402]

If you were in the military and you didn't have to wear that uniform then count your lucky stars, that shit was so hot in the summer I can't even begin to describe it, they started to use the lighter "rip stop" type of fabric not long before I got out and I never did get any of them, after I got out I couldn't give those things away fast enough, they were absolutely miserable in the Kansas heat and accounted for a lot of cases of heat stroke.

[@mikealson9085]

my personal favorite. I was waiting for it. Thank you.

[@nunyabusiness4904]

I've had a long day and seeing this video after waiting for it since I discovered the channel made it alright.

[@murica3024]

Thank you

[@rebelstormt]

As always an amazing video

[@christophertaylor1153]

Brings back old memories.

[@FreeAmericaChannel]

This was the first uniform I was issued in basic training in 1985. I wore it in Europe (mostly Germany) and Central America (Panama) and it was perfect in both environments. Initially, we got "Elvis" collar BDUs in temperate weight material, but eventually we got the rip-stop light weight uniforms to replace our OD "Jungle Fatigues". I was disappointed when the Army issued me ACUs. That uniform was the wrong color in every environment. Green in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan and tan in the woods of Europe and North America.

[@Trav_Can]

9:42 Wo wo wo... Biggie is wearing a variant of the M1942 "Duck Hunter" pattern here.

[@endthecorruption6663]

All hail M81 woodland camo. The new ACUs are great too but only because they harken back to woodland. Woodland remains my favorite due to the endless discernible combinations the patterns can make on any individual uniform. Probably shouldn't admit this but I can stare at my two woodland uniforms for longer than I care to admit to constantly compare the variations between the two samples😅.

[@Dave-gd1mw]

My military service started in woodland BDU’s. The best thing about them was being able to go on to almost any military base and at least a replacement uniform if needed. When I deployed to Kosovo I destroyed a set of BDU’s on some c-wire. Because the Army and Air Force were both still in BDU’s; I was able to go to Camp Bondsteel and replace my uniform and salvage the patches off my old one. Now every branch has to be different; the DoD should go back to one standard uniform.

[@The_dude_channel]

Thanks for the history of the GOAT camo

[@prestondews1793]

This was my favorite uniform while AD. It worked great in the field, and pressed starch nice with no arm pockets in the way.

[@BuffaloGill]

Today's ACU pattern or ERDL is perfect for U.S. Environment I just must add that ERDL is ideal for northern states such as Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota Wyoming, Idaho and Wisconsin. As the ACU pattern is more fitting for Georgia, Tennessee North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama. While patterns such as 2001 Army pattern for desert Environments for Southern Arizona and New Mexico.

[@roccoborghetti4693]

Love M81 BDUs. Grew up on it and remember the changes to MARPAT and UCP/ACU. If the newer OCP wasn't around I'd have suggested to switch back to the M81s

[@sethritchie4032]

+Uniform History This video plus the ERDL and the urban camo were some of my absolute favorite videos you guys have done! I keep coming back to watch them when I'm painting a figure to make sure I get it right lol. Would love to see you do a piece on the French Foreign Legion, I love how still use a version of the woodland camo. It almost looks like the brown dominant but the green is darker along with the tan. Anywho, I straight up love the channel and content you put out, much love and continued success!

[@JaxGreen]

My most favourite version. Many countries copied or bought it from the USA in the 80s

[@trashpanda314]

I wore woodland and green jungle boots as a young Airborne Infantryman. I hated the ACU and wore my BDUs up until the very last day we were allowed to. BDUs looked way better and were much more effective.

[@normalplayer7377]

I believe this Camo is still being used by Some Marines.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Off duty?

[@normalplayer7377]

@@TheMrPeteChannel Raiders

[@Firefox13A]

Still my favorite. Was proud when I was issued my first set... And was pissed when ACU UCP came out.

[@evinchester7820]

The originals were hot in the summer, that was for sure. Then they came out with the light weights. The BDU heavy weights were wonderful in the winter in Europe, vis-a-vis Germany. The lightweights were nice in winter Europe as well if you had the underwear or spent a lot of time inside.

[@WOLF-ib7xx]

Been wearing woodland camo starting in the 80's. It still holds up today.

[@GuamGuy]

No MARSOC mention :0

[@HannibalsSurplusReviews]

MARSOC uses combat shirt and pants made by crye & drifire mostly this guy probably doesn't have much information about it!

[@15vertigo]

What's there to talk about really? They wore it to blend in with Afghanis. Then, they got associated with it, so they basically sticked with it for the cool factor. Green Berets did it first, anyway ;)

[@HannibalsSurplusReviews]

@@15vertigo navy seals did it first super cool factor!!!

[@HannibalsSurplusReviews]

@Christian Morgan have you seen marsoc/ raiders Facebook page (facebook.com/MARSOCofficial/) Or (facebook.com/MarineRaiderRecruiting/) they have digital MARPAT still too look for dec 10th post!

[@kilo393]

I remember seeing somewhere Army special forces also wearing woodland in Afghanistan.

[@treerat7631]

M81 a classic one of my favorite patterns

[@shadowwolf7622]

I did my Army basic and AIT at Ft Sill,OK during the summer of 82. I was in the 1st groups of soldiers to be issued the BDU's there. The battery across from us, who were 2 weeks ahead of us, were wearing OD shirts and pants and Mitchell camo covers. Our shirt, pants, field cap and helmet cover were woodland. Our issue field jackets were still OD.

[@scubasteve743]

Erdl and dcu will not be forgotten

[@OneTonneNoodles]

MARSOC and Force Recon are bringing it back. Only they can make it look cool in their Crye-manufactered uniforms.

[@derektorres6260]

A very cool and informative video. I'm actually wearing my M65 field jacket in the M81 pattern while watching this.

[@SnoopReddogg]

Australian research on camoflage patterns determined that the colour black wasn't particularly common in woodland and jungle environments. That's the reason you didn't see black in the older DPCU and current AMCU patterns. It's even the reason why black boots were kiboshed from the dress regulations circa 2003 and also the reason why later variants of the F88 and all versions of the EF88 rifles aren't black. With that in mind, the Woodland camo pattern looked the business, but wasn't particularly well suited to the Pacific rim TOAR.

[@zlang1985]

Great videos. But as someone who lives near Natick MA (where Natick Labs is located), pronounced like 'Naydick'

[@doitriteak]

always great videos. Thank you

[@FBI-Banzai7]

💯thanks for making this video🔥💪🏾

[@wayneorellana2549]

Would love to see videos on DPCU and DPM! Keep up the awesome work!

[@hauptmanndosman]

The picture from the oicw test was cool

[@CalintzJerevinan546]

^OICW not oicw

[@SScozzari]

Grammar Nazi FuKa U gRaMmEr NaWzI wE dO fReEdOm RoUnD hEr

[@michaelsteveharristonquisp6466]

Woodland pattern and late 90's early 00's Desert pattern were ICONIC

[@robertdonnell8114]

I wore my DCUs which are basically tan BDUs for Veterans Day and found them to be so natural to wear after 20 plus years. Other than the desert the woodland BDU worked most everywhere else.

[@ritgrant]

I would love to see the history of the rain camo patterns like the Czech "oblacky" or east German "strichmuster"

[@BCage]

Could you do a vid about uniforms throughout history in general ? Maybe it's a bit complicated but it would be nice to see the evulotion of uniforms in general. Also as always i liked your vid keep on the good work.

[@nostradamusofgames5508]

the US military sure do love their acronyms

[@MatoVuc]

7:55 you have no idea how amazed i am that this was a known realization noted in documentation, considering my own experiences with certain modern uniforms.

[@demonprinces17]

This and the 3 color were the best

[@rc501st]

Nice clip of Dutch DPM!

[@imhollywood101]

Its crazy how much personal camo doesn't matter in warfare. Static camo works but you could dress anyway you want and nothing would change.

[@Khanclansith]

When are we going to get a video on the Uniforms of the Rebel Alliance to Restore the Republic?

[@UniformHistory]

In about two or so weeks actually.

[@Seth9809]

Sweet.

[@Khanclansith]

@@UniformHistory Praise sweet baby Yoda!

[@suspicioususer]

*Uniforms of Terrorist traitors

[@miked884]

@@suspicioususer imperial spotted