Infantry: A Cacophony of Camo
22nd December 2018
With the proliferation of different camouflage uniforms since the 1960s it was only a matter of time before someone collected images and data on the thousands of different camouflage patterns that have been put to use in the last century of so. The site in question is camopedia.org and it organizes the patterns by nation with another section for non-military patterns (for police mainly). The adoption of camouflage patterns for uniforms accelerated after 2003, in part because so many of them could be seen via digital pictures posted on the Internet. That proliferation of camouflage patterns led to their use for non-camouflage uniforms. In other words work and dress uniforms began to use camouflage patterns. And so it continues, but the process was not without its bumps, detours and utter failures.
Among other fatuities, this led to the Navy adopting a blue-green based camouflage pattern, nicknamed ‘blueberries’, that seemed specifically designed to make sure that if somebody went overboard on a cruise they would never be found by rescuers. Seriously, what need has anybody on board a ship for a camouflage uniform? Who are they going to be hiding from, their CPO? This was sure and certain proof, if anybody needed it, that the people in charge of determining what sailors wear are on some serious drugs.