Uniforms of the United States Armed Forces

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A U.S. Armed Forces Joint Ceremony at the D.C. National Guard Armory in April 2008

Each branch of the United States Armed Forces has their own uniforms and regulations regarding them.

Combat uniforms overview[edit]

See also: List of camouflage patterns § North America

  • Army – ACU
    currently, three patterns are in use - UCP, MultiCam, also known as OEFCP, and OCP, a pattern similar to but distinct from Multicam

  • Marine Corps – MCCUU
    (woodland and desert variants)

  • Navy – NWU
    Currently, three patterns are in use: NWU Type I, which is primarily blue, AOR-1, which is primarily tan, and AOR-2 (shown above), which is primarily green.

  • Air Force – ABU

  • Coast Guard – ODU

  • Coast Guard – CGCUU (used in oversea deployment or combat operations)

  • Other – MultiCam, used by U.S. Army and ground U.S. Air Force units deployed in Afghanistan, and Special Operations Forces.

Service dress uniforms overview[edit]

Current camouflage patterns[edit]

List of current camouflage patterns and uniforms
Branch Camouflage pattern Image Notes In use since
Flag of the United States Army.svg
U.S. Army		 Universal Camouflage Pattern, used for the Army Combat Uniform (ACU)

Units deployed in Afghanistan use MultiCam instead, known as OEFCP (Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern). As of 2015, Scorpion W2 (designated OCP), a variant of Multicam, is now the main issued camouflage pattern for U.S. Army units.		 ACU Universal Camouflage Pattern.jpg
and
Multicam pattern.jpg		 On June 16, 2009, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill requiring the Army to buy new, different uniforms for the War in Afghanistan, with camouflage pattern that would better suit the Afghan environment.[1] From 2010 onward, U.S. Army units deployed in Afghanistan were issued uniforms with MultiCam pattern. In 2015, the U.S. Army announced it will fully adopt the Scorpion W2 camouflage pattern (which is very similar to MultiCam) as the main camouflage for its units. UCP will be completely phased out with U.S. Army units by 2019. Units such as the 75th Ranger Regiment who had already widely adapted MultiCam by then, will continue to use the pattern into the foreseeable future due to its similarity to Scorpion W2. UCP: 2005
MultiCam: 2010
Scorpion W2: 2015
Flag of the United States Marine Corps.svg
U.S. Marine Corps		 MARPAT pattern, used for the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU) in two variants, woodland and desert. MARPAT woodland pattern.jpg MARPAT desert pattern.jpg The USMC's MARPAT pattern was the first digitalized (pixelated) pattern in the U.S. military, unveiled in mid-2001.[2][3][4] It was first available in January 2002 and was mandatory by late 2004.[5][6] 2002
Flag of the United States Navy.svg
U.S. Navy		 Navy Working Uniform (NWU) NWU Type I camouflage pattern swatch.jpg
and
NWU Type III camouflage pattern swatch, AOR 2.jpg		 There are three variants of the camouflage. Type I standard blue-grey intended to be the standard shipboard and ashore working uniform for all Navy personnel but subsequently disapproved for shipboard wear due to lack of flame resistance (unveiled in October 2004, in 2016 it was announced the uniform would be withdrawn from service on 1 October 2019); Type II desert variant authorized only for Naval Special Warfare units in desert environments; Type III woodland variant, initially authorized only for specific land based units but subsequently announced as the standard ashore working uniform for all navy sailors from October 2019 onward. Type II and III are similar in hue to MARPAT, with the former lacking the brown hues of MARPAT. 2009
Flag of the United States Air Force.svg
U.S. Air Force		 Digitalized tigerstripe, used for the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU).

Air Force ground-based units, security units, and special operations units, that are deployed in Afghanistan, use MultiCam instead, known as OCP pattern.		 ABU camouflage.jpg
and
Multicam pattern.jpg		 Fielding of MultiCam began in September 2010. 2007

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Maze, Rick (June 15, 2009). "Troops in Afghanistan would get new uniforms". Army Times. Gannett Government Media. Retrieved November 26, 2013. Congress is about to order new combat uniforms for troops in Afghanistan after hearing complaints that camouflage that was fine in Iraq doesn't work so well in a mountainous and often muddy environment. 
  2. ^ Jontz, Sandra (February 24, 2001). "Marines' followed Canadians' example in use of digitally-designed 'cammies'". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on June 6, 2002. Retrieved June 6, 2002. 
  3. ^ Starr, Barbara (June 20, 2001). "From Cammies to Pixies?: Marines Dump Old Wrinkled Duds for Permanent Press and Pixel Patterns". ABC News. ABC News Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on June 25, 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2001. 
  4. ^ Oliva, Mark; Childs, Jan Wesner (July 3, 2001). "Officials went to the source to ensure new Marine uniform pleased troops". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on July 25, 2001. Retrieved July 25, 2001. 
  5. ^ United States Marine Corps. "U.S. Marines Combat Utility Uniforms 2003" (PDF). United States Department of the Navy. United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008. The woodland pattern combat utility uniform was first made available to selected commands on 17 January 2002. 
  6. ^ "New uniform debuts today". Around the Fleet. Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. January 17, 2002. Retrieved September 19, 2013. 
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