Army Combat Uniform: Past, Present, and Future

Since its introduction in 2004, the Army Combat Uniform has gone through several changes over the past seven years. Changes have included modifications to the uniform's design and moving from one camouflage pattern to two. ACU's original pattern, Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP), proved to not blend in well with Afghanistan's terrain of woodlands, mountains, and desert whereas the MultiCam® pattern has. Therefore, uniforms in MultiCam® have exclusively been issued to soldiers in Afghanistan since 201 and the Army is presently performing tests to find a new more universally acceptable camouflage pattern.
Replacing the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), ACU was a significant redesign. At the time, ACU was described as "shapeless" and "untucked" and consisted of a jacket, trousers, and patrol cap in Universal Camo, along with a moisture-wicking t-shirt and tan combat boots. The new uniforms had Mandarin collars, Velcro fasteners, zippers instead of buttons, knee pouches on pants, and sleeve pockets instead of bottom pockets.
UCP was another drastic change for Army uniforms. A digital camouflage pattern, UCP was based on MARPAT, used by the Marine Corps, and has a color scheme of Foliage and Alpha greens, light brownish grey, and grey-yellow brown. Tested by PEO Soldier Systems with soldiers in Iraq and stateside, UCP was designed to blend into desert, urban, and woodland environments. The pattern, however, proved to be more effective in urban areas but did not blend well in woodlands. The pattern's lack of black, which is disruptive in urban areas, is said to be the cause of UCP's decreased effectiveness in woodland environments.
MultiCam® was chosen to replace UCP after testing for a new camouflage pattern solely for the Army Combat Uniform in Afghanistan in 2009. A multi-environmental camouflage pattern, MultiCam® tricks the human eyes' perception of color by taking on an overall green or tan appearance. A gradient pattern, MultiCam® uses a brown to light tan gradient base, which is broken up by drab green dotted by dark brown and pink blotches. For optimal concealment, the camouflage pattern varies across the fabric, which disguises volume and shape.
A new camouflage pattern is the future of ACU. In July 2010, the Army began testing woodland, desert, and transitional patterns in 15 military-operating environments. Seasons, elevations, terrain, and soil are all taken into consideration in testing. While MultiCam® is part of the test group, digital patterns desert and woodland MARPAT and AOR 1 and 2 are the other contenders.