UCP-Delta pattern in Kandahar province, Afghanistan

Defense Tech has the first exclu­sive look at the Universal Camouflage Pattern — Delta being worn by US Army personnel in the field in Afghanistan.

Also check by at Soldier Systems for additional pictures, including the MultiCam competitor in the field trials.

MultiCam in Kunar province, Afghanistan

Finnish M-05 snow camo on Strike-Hold!

Over at Strike-Hold!, Lawrence has been as busy as Santa’s elves collating a wish-list of  currently available (although how available might depend on who you are!) snow camouflage. Have you written your letter to QM Claus yet? If not, check it out!

This article from a government website explains the rationale behind the choice of new camouflage for the Ministry of Defence:

** EDIT ** Updated December 22nd with new images from the final DSTL press release

TESTING THE NEW MULTI-TERRAIN CAMOUFLAGE

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the Ministry of Defence civilian scientists, working with the MOD Defence Clothing Project Team, has tested and trialled new multi-terrain camouflage clothing that has been proven to improve mission effectiveness across a range of different backgrounds.It is the first time in 40 years the Armed Forces have changed the camouflage pattern. George Philpott, Land Battlespace Systems, Dstl, says: “Dstl scientists researched and tested whether a mixed multi-terrain camouflage pattern would improve mission success and basically keep soldiers hidden for longer during ambush operations or when on patrol. It is not just a question of colours; we looked at texture and tone of patterns, how the light reflects and how well it disguises the wearer when observed both close up and at a distance.

“Dstl‟s work is all about creating battle-winning technology for UK armed forces on current operations, and we‟re proud we were able to cram all the work in to just six months, with extra people working a lot of extra hours to get this research and testing complete.”

Troops in Helmand, Afghanistan, operate in a mixed landscape: desert, woodland, mountainous, urban etc. Dstl assessed whether a multi-terrain camouflage was better than the standard army woodland camouflage disruptive pattern material (DPM) or the desert DPM and if so what is the best pattern, or balance of colours. The two current camouflage schemes were tested alongside an existing off-the-shelf multi-terrain camouflage to see which performed best across various backgrounds that soldiers are likely to encounter across the landscape in Afghanistan.

Computer modelling was carried out across representations of the green zone, desert and transition backgrounds. Soldiers operated in various scenarios in a simulated set of environments to test how the different camouflages performed in situations where staying undetected was important.

Overall the multi-terrain performed best, supporting the theory that a multi-terrain camouflage offers improvements when soldiers move between different places and backgrounds. Dstl also conducted interviews and subjective testing with service men and women to understand and evaluate whether they would actually be happy to wear the new camouflage and whether the concept of a multi-terrain camouflage was desirable and effective.

As a result of this work, it was determined that a multi-terrain camouflage could improve mission success so Dstl set about testing available multi-terrain patterns and creating new ones for testing.

Christopher Jones, Air & Weapons Systems, Dstl, adds: “In addition to existing aerial photography, Dstl sent cameras to Helmand for soldiers to take specific scientific photographs of the various backgrounds and landscapes they operate in.”

Dstl teams in the UK, at Fort Halstead, near Sevenoaks in Kent and at Portsdown West, near Portsmouth in Hampshire, measured the colour properties for each image and identified seven major background types. These colours were then used for Dstl‟s camouflage optimisation and testing programme.

Christopher Jones continues: “The colours and backgrounds in Helmand are similar to those found in parts of the UK, so we used the colour data from Afghanistan and used it to identify places where there was a good colour match, to allow us to run large scientific trials.”

The Afghanistan background colours were used to generate new multi-terrain type camouflage based partly on the shapes and patterns of the existing UK woodland DPM. These were tested against the current army woodland and desert uniforms, to act as a baseline, and a commercially available pattern from Crye Precision.

Ten camouflage suits were trialled in five tests to assess overall performance with pilot trials held before the final main testing. The trial team developed experimental techniques, which were initially established through collaborative research with other NATO countries.

Lt Col Toby Evans, military advisor, Dstl, adds: “The detailed tests and trials looked at everything from how easy is it to spot these camouflages in different terrains and backgrounds to simply asking the soldiers who helped on the trial, which one do you like best and would feel happy wearing?

The tests

Observer assessment – a live trial with military personnel asked to judge the performance of each suit at 50m, 100m and 150m. The trial was carried out at Stanford Training Area, Norfolk and at RAF Donna Nook, Lincolnshire as they contained areas with similar colours and backgrounds to Helmand. Additional testing was also carried out at night to test low light performance.

Statistical assessment – using a computer model of how camouflaged objects are detected, each suit was tested for its match to the seven identified different backgrounds.

The following three trials took place at Catterick Garrison and included a large number of army personnel:

Order rank – soldiers ranked how well close-up images of the suits performed against the seven backgrounds.

Time to detect – Dstl measured the time it took soldiers to detect the 10 different camouflage patterns in the seven backgrounds using a computer-based assessment.

Personal preference – soldiers were asked which their favourite three patterns were based purely on appearance and any patterns they wouldn‟t like to wear.

The results

The results showed the Crye Precision Multicam performed the best, on average, across all the trials. The final camouflage has a pattern that is similar to the current woodland DPM as it allows for easy identification between soldiers and this type of pattern consistency proved popular during the research.

Dstl is currently looking at future research into army camouflage clothing, optimising the camouflage to perform well in a variety of landscapes and backgrounds around the world to support wider operations. If this is successful the outcome could become the standard camouflage for all UK armed forces.

http://strikehold.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/more-about-the-uks-new-mtp-camo-uniforms/

http://soldiersystems.net/2009/12/20/more-on-new-brit-camo/

MTP close up

In the last few days some military news sites, blogs and forums, and now the BBC and the Daily Telegraph, have been reporting on a surprising announcement from the British Ministry of Defence: A new camouflage pattern has been developed, to address the problem of operating in areas that include both arid or desert terrain and cultivated ground, such as that found in Afghanistan’s ‘green zone’ astride the Helmand River.

Why is this a surprise? Well, apart from the fact that Britain has used the iconic disruptive pattern (DPM), with minor changes, since the end of the 1960’s, and has always professed itself quite happy with it -  and the auxiliary desert DPM -  there is the suddenness of it! Even though the camouflage is being introduced to troops as an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR), as an example of bureaucratic camouflage (what the Russians call maskirovka), the development and trialling of this pattern has been textbook.

At the beginning of this year I was made aware that our special forces (UKSF) were looking for a multi-terrain pattern to use for their issued uniforms. They specifically wanted Crye Precision’s MultiCam® (which I understand they are permitted to wear and purchase  themselves from the manufacturer), but there was a barrier to domestic production presented by US restriction on the use of the licence. Other patterns, including Hyde Definition’s homegrown PenCott camouflage, were considered, but the colours and tonal gradations that characterise MultiCam® were what the UKSF valued above all in a design.

Crye's MultiCam® pattern

All seemed to go quiet, and UK Special Forces personnel continued to be seen in assorted uniforms and camo patterns, including MultiCam®. But while all this was going on, much fanfare and spectacle was created by the Personal Equipment and Common Operational Clothing (PECOC)  program, which, as this blog reported, looked all set to introduce a family of far less radical DPM derivatives in to service. The colours of temperate DPM would be changed slightly, the desert pattern would acquire a sparse overprint in a third, darker brown, and  new ‘intermediate’ multi-terrain DPM (with a four colour palette of 3 browns and a green that was vaguely similar to MultiCam®’s colours) would be introduced for use on personal load bearing equipment and helmet covers. Or so we all thought.

Evidently, a satisfactory solution to the UKSF’s needs was quietly found by having Crye secretly create a bespoke pattern for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). Quite when it widened from UKSF to became an all-forces affair is unclear, as throughout the development and trials process there was no inkling of the new Crye Multi Terrain Pattern (MTP), outside of those with a need to know. Any mentions of a new digitally designed pattern or a DPM with MultiCam® colours were thought to refer to the PECOC program, which was running along a confusingly (conveniently?)  similar parallel track. Trials were conducted in the UK, Cyprus, Kenya, and Afghanistan, but were kept secret with confidentiality agreements (even the Official Secrets Act can be employed without too much creative thinking), intellectual property protection, and MoD royalty rights. Of course, we all sign the OSA when we join the military, but rumours of new developments always bubble to the surface before long. That little to nothing leaked out is testament to the stringency with which the rules were enforced, and the effectiveness of the MoD’s maskirovka campaign. I don’t know which units were involved in the trials, but it’s certainly easier to do this kind of thing with elite special operations troops who understand and value security. If they should be accidentally spotted wearing a new multi-terrain pattern while trialling it in the course of their normal duties, it can easily be explained away as MultiCam®, which no-one would think to question (at more than a few feet away it’s pretty hard to tell the difference between the two Crye designs anyhow).

Crye Multi-Terrain Pattern

The pattern itself looks exactly like you might imagine a hybrid between DPM and MultiCam® would. The unique Crye blends between colours are there, as well as their signature ‘bird-dropping’ blobs and streaks of very dark brown and extremely light grey. The shapes within the pattern, however, are very much more reminiscent of temperate DPM than the laterally-elongated woodland camouflage forms of classic MultiCam®. It’s a very pleasing design aesthetically, and promises to blend in various environments just as well as its American progenitor. And just like MultiCam®, it suffers when it comes to long-range disruption, as there just isn’t enough contrast in the pattern. Hopefully, that failing will be of minor significance in the tactical environment in which it will be used, besides which, it is generally becoming acknowledged (at long last) that 21st Century armies are not often going to be fighting from and within bits of dense woodland or across trackless desert plains, but will spend the majority of their time approaching, entering, attacking and defending rural or suburban areas, with their characteristically close engagement ranges. Any camo design that addresses the new paradigm gets my support.

The MT Pattern, on standard No.8 combat uniforms, body armour and personal load carrying equipment (PLCE), is due to be issued to troops rotating through Afghanistan next year with a wider roll-out to the rest of the military beginning the following year.

This wiki article on the British Army Rumour Service website explains the thinking behind multi-terrain patterns like MultiCam®. Contains language unsuitable for minors.

How can it be, Friends?

The tree hasn’t even been up for a month, and apparently an army of spiders has covertly taken taken up residence in its branches.  These busy little web-builders must be decked in green camo for the holidays, because I haven’t seen even ONE scooting across the carpet or knitting its way to webville.

But be sure:  I am not exaggerating.  The tree is being decked with unwanted tinsel, and the morning light streaming in all glorious and wintery does nothing to hide the tangled mess of spider creativity.

What am I to do??  DUST THE TREE?!

Well, it’s probably a good thing.  I really don’t have much to do at this time of year anyway.

214 yards superwash merino handdyed

Here is the full skein picture (before setting the twist, so overlook those twisty spots & the poor skein job!)

Camo skein

Regardless, it looks like manly yarn to me.

I also realized I forgot to blog photo the latest Dragonfly Fibers silk/merino roving I spun up. In the Eureka colorway (greens & golds). This is heavy laceweight singles

Eureka-silk/merino singles 552 yards

It is very pretty, but I am getting a little “greened” out.

CONTEST ENDED!
Dawn was the winner!

DAWN - Best in Camo contest winner

]]> http://pickmypic.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/contest-26-best-in-camo-part-ii/ Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:45:28 +0000 culturapopnaweb http://pickmypic.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/contest-26-best-in-camo-part-ii/

It’s voting time!! The category is “Best in Camo” and these are the girls who submitted their photos… See which one is your favorite and cast your vote at the poll box thingy at the end of this post.

The voting poll box is multiple choice… so, you can choose for more than just one girl!
And we received too many entries for this contest, so I had to divide the contestants in different posts… but there will still be only one winner!
Don’t forget to check the other posts related to this contest, okay?

The contest ends in one week! Good luck to all the contestants!!

11. TYANNE - 24

12. DEE - 20

13. CLAIRE - 22

14. NIKKI - 18

15. CAMILA - 24

16. DAWN - 23

17. KATJA - 19

18. KAYLA - 20

19. ASHLEE MARIE - 22

Some details have emerged via Army Times of the environmental trials to find the US Army’s new camouflage pattern, including a group photo of the contenders. As you can see below, the patterns being tested are (from left): AOR II, UCP, Multicam, Desert Brush, UCP-Delta and Mirage. Confusingly, two trials are ongoing  – one is a battalion level camo face-off between Multicam and UCP-Delta, with the winner supposedly then immediately becoming the in-theatre camouflage for US Army soldiers deployed to Afghanistan. The other trial (shown here) is much more like the traditional army camouflage evaluations carried out by the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, where a few soldiers, or even mannequins, are dressed in the patterns being tested and photographed against various backgrounds, real and artificial. This evaluation is purportedly intended to select a new ‘universal’ camouflage that in the near future will be worn at all times in all operational areas.

At the moment, with only this shot to go on, it is difficult to call any of them, but I’d say that UCP is obviously by far the worst, and the Delta version doesn’t seem to have improved it much – the coyote and grey blend together, and too little of the tan element remains to create the contrast necessary for texture and pattern.

AOR2 is seen to be a vertically oriented pattern after all, which ought to work well when troops are prone, but is a mockery of the science that went into its creation when worn upright like this: Landscapes – especially arid landscapes – break down into bands of horizontal elements, which is why many digital camouflage patterns have a somewhat stripy appearance. The colours look as though they could work well though (it is noticeably greener than Multicam, despite using a similar colour palette).

Multicam, Mirage and Desert Brush all blend better than the rest in this photo, but Desert Brush is the only one in which I can detect a useful macro-pattern. This feature is important for reducing long-range identification of the wearer, and was a key aspect of  the design of the superlative Canadian Cadpat ‘temperate’ and ‘arid’ digital patterns. Further photo’s may reveal macro-patterns in some of the other designs, so we ought to reserve judgement until we have more information.

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The Camping Trip (Part 1)

Until just recently, I always drove with the windows up. However, in an effort to save gas, and consequently, money, I decided to cut the A/C and roll down the windows. And I must say I don’t think I can ever go back. (Except when it is really cold. Or really hot for that matter. Actually, the more I think about it, it still has to be pretty perfect weather for me to keep the windows down.)

 But there we were. Kid’s taking on the great wilderness. Like birds flapping their wings to learn for the first time they can fly. But we were driving down the road with the windows up, and let me just say the car was getting a bit stuffy. I was definitely ready to get to the cabin, if for no other reason than to just get a breath of fresh air.

 As we pulled up to the office for the cabins, my mind quickly moved from fresh air to whether or not I would survive the night. There was a lone streetlight in the parking lot, which was just bright enough to give light to nothing. It felt like we were driving into a scene from a horror movie. We decided that someone needed to go check and see if the door was unlocked. I volunteered Jeff, mainly because I was afraid I would pee on myself if I moved.

 The cabin was pretty small. Not something you would stay in for vacation, but definitely better than sleeping on the ground. It even had a TV. But every time we turned it on, a breaker was thrown and the electricity would go out. (It was at this time I expected someone to jump out of the closet with a hatchet.)

We spent a little time chatting, eating brats, and what not. I mentioned to Jeff that I had never owned anything camouflage before. He was nice enough to give me a camo hat that he had. And I figured that since I had a camo hat, I was a real outdoorsman. So I spent the rest of the weekend talking about hunting and Muck boots in a strange accent.

 Mason was having to write part of a movie script for one of his classes, so Jeff and I thought we would help him out. You know, make sure he has a real vision of the entire movie, as well as making sure his ideas didn’t suck. We had this real awesome idea for the movie. One where a little girl comes from the future to tell a man that he must save her life. I say “we” had a good idea. It was mainly Jeff and Mason’s idea. For some reason, they thought all my ideas for the movie were real dumb.

 I had just thrown out an idea about how the girl could have been a former student in her hero’s karate class, which Mason welcomed with, “Maybe you should just be quiet,” when my life changed forever.

 At this point, I was getting a little tired, as well as being frustrated because my awesome ideas weren’t being taken seriously. I felt like Tom Green on The Celebrity Apprentice. So I hugged onto a pillow and rolled over on my back. And if not for Jeff, I would be dead right now. Because I am very trusting, I sat still as Jeff killed a spider which was ready to pounce. For sake of the story, it turned out to be the most poisonous spider in the world!

I had trouble sleeping because my mind was going a million miles per hour. I searched every inch of the cabin for spiders, which I suddenly had an extreme fear of. I also couldn’t get over the fact that I would never be a real man until I had me a pair of Muck boots. Plus the bed pretty much sucked. I think I might have preferred the ground.

 As we got ready to go the next morning, it was bittersweet. We had survived (Although just barely). But as we left, it felt good to know that what started as a trip with two men and one scared little boy taking on the great outdoors, three men were returning. That’s right, Jeff had become a man.

I was confident that I would not get shot.

Ok everyone,

I got to thinking, and I came up with the top 15 ways you know you are addicted to hunting. Surely, all of you out there can add to the list, and I’m interested in what you have to add. So, place your comments below and lets see if we can get this list up to 100.

* Your ring-tone on your cell phone is an elk bugle
* When you approach your wife from down wind
* You instinctively range out everything as you drive by it
* When you drive at night, you are almost too occupied with finding glowing eyes on the road side.
* Your Christmas list consists of nothing but hunting items.
* Your daily routine includes using scent eliminating shampoo in your shower
* Out at the bar, you and your buddies use the Pope & Young scale to size up women
* When Earth scent becomes your cologne of choice
* When does estrus isn’t an un-pleasant smell, but instead strangely compelling.
* When you drive to work, practicing calls to tapes in your car
When you find yourself putting a stalk on your refrigerator, to get a midnight snack
* Your wear your tree-stand harness to hang up the Christmas lights or clean out the gutters.
* When your boxer shorts have deer on them
* Your idea of fancy home decor, are a set of antler sheds.
* Every time a bird flies by you do the “I shoot you with my finger” gesture.

So there you have it everyone, hope you enjoyed it. Pass it on to your friends and make sure you comment below so we can get this list up to 100.

Good hunting,
John

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The Strike-Hold! blog brings you news of  the ANA (Afghan National Army) and their new digital camo. Apparently, they don’t want to be camouflaged effectively for arid regions: more important to them is to look unlike any of the multinational forces in the region.

Some readers may recognise the pattern as Hyperstealth’s Spec4ce Forest. Click to read more of Lawrence’s post at Strike-Hold! or the blurb from Guy Cramer at Hypersteal

Mobiado ha anunciado Professional CAMO, su nuevo móvil de lujo.

La carcasa del Mobiado Professional CAMO ha sido realizada en aluminio anodizado y los botones son de acero inoxidable. Además tiene un extraño estampado de camuflaje pintado a mano en cada una de las 200 unidades que se pondrán a la venta.

En cuanto a los aspectos técnicos, sabemos que el Mobiado Professional CAMO será un móvil tribanda, con una cámara de 1.3 megapíxeles, radio FM, Bluetooth, GPRS y EDGE.

La pantalla tendrá una resolución de 208 x 208 píxeles y 65000 colores. Además el móvil tendrá una memoria interna de 50MB ampliables con tarjetas MMC.

En cuanto a la autonomía tendrá una batería que durará aproximadamente 12.5 días en espera y 5 horas hablando.

Las dimensiones del Mobiado Professional CAMO serán de 105 x 46 x 20 milímetros y pesará 142 gramos.

Todavía no se sabe la fecha de lanzamiento ni el precio, pero está claro que no será nada asequible.

Como en muchas otras terminales de lujo ultra-caras, estamos ante un teléfono con un diseño poco funcional, además de tener unas características técnicas bastante alejadas de los móviles de última generación. Eso sí, la utilización de materiales alternativos que evitan que se deteriore es muy interesante.

The never ending partnership between Supreme and Vans continues with the release of the new v-106 model. The shoes are featured in 4 different colorways, including two solid suede renditions and a set of canvas camouflage joints, both boasting Supreme’s original camo print. The suede models will retail for Approx. $140  while the other two see a Approx. $129  price tag. Stay tuned for more info.

-Source: Hypebeast.