The Few, the Proud, the Well-Dressed
Most people turn to Paris or New York for cutting-edge fashions, but couture designers do have a few blind spots. For example, they rarely use snipers to test new wardrobes for invisibility. And they ignore such design essentials as “butt patches,” “omnidirectional flow” and “improved wet-to-dry capability.”
Fortunately, the military is picking up the slack. Although the house of Dior was on the right track last year with its--no joke--$6,740 camouflage ball gown, it wasn’t practical for combat use. So the Marine Corps, in conjunction with an Army lab that reportedly pioneered the technology behind M&Ms; and Spam, set out to update the Corps’ 22-year-old combat uniform.
Last week, Camp Pendleton unveiled the results to an enthusiastic throng of sergeants, some of whom lined up at 4 a.m. to be the first to buy the new duds.
“It’s like the Tickle Me Elmo doll,” said Sgt. Major Royce Coffee, surveying a line of shoppers that snaked around Camp Pendleton’s Military Clothing Store.
Advance buzz on the new uniform was so great that four Marines drove in from a base in El Paso, Texas, just for the sale.
The most striking feature of the uniform is its “digital” camouflage pattern. In contrast with the current motif of brown, black and green splotches, the new scheme is a computer-generated montage of tiny green, black and khaki squares.
Think of it as the military equivalent of a George Seurat pointillist painting.
Up close, it’s a collection of dots, but from a distance, it’s supposed to blend in with surrounding environments.
The version that went on sale at Pendleton last week (and earlier at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina) is for woodland combat.
A desert model is coming soon. And an “urban camouflage” variation is on the drawing board.
“We’re going to hypnotize the enemy with this pattern,” joked one sergeant standing in line to buy the new uniform. “It’ll just confuse the heck out of them.”
The Marine Corps has applied for three patents on the uniform, which also features miniature eagle-globe-and-anchor emblems imprinted on the fabric.
The uniform even has its own Web site (www.tecom.usmc.mil/mcub/utility), which states by way of introduction: “As the Marine Corps moves forward into the 21st century, we continue to look for new ways to improve the lethality, survivability, durability and comfort of our Marines.”
Thus was the new spring line inspired. The design team included a former West Point professor who tinkered with camouflage in the 1970s, military snipers who rated the patterns for invisibility, and researchers at the Army’s Natick, Mass., laboratory.
Rank-and-file Marines also got to weigh in via online surveys and field testing of prototypes early last year.
“Somebody used their heads when they designed this,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey S. Krongaard, who received an advance set of the duds several weeks ago and demonstrated some of the innovations to the media at Camp Pendleton. Among the highlights: ergonomic breast pockets (slanted for easier access), recessed buttons on the sleeve cuffs (so they won’t snag), elasticized waistbands and pleated trousers.
Other changes include removable elbow and knee pads, and a thicker seat or “butt patch” for less wear and tear.
But the most immediate benefit lies in the fabric. Although still a 50-50 cotton-nylon blend, the new version is wash-and-wear, which means Marines no longer need to starch and iron their clothes.
The military brass want Marines to have more time for their families and other duties, said Capt. Burrell Parmer, who is following the new uniform around as sort of its unofficial spokesman.
*
On Friday, Pendleton Marines were already calculating the money they would save. So were several Oceanside dry-cleaning businesses that cater almost exclusively to Marines having their uniforms pressed and starched. The permanent-press uniforms “could affect us big time,” said the owner of Dorothy’s Military Shop and Laundry.
Then again, the current uniforms also weren’t supposed to need dry-cleaning, said Donna Tompkins, who manages ABC Laundry and Surplus. “I’ve had guys in here today [with the new uniforms] saying they’re going to dry-clean them anyway,” she said. But she noted that base officials are adamantly opposing dry-cleaning and conceded that she might have to lay off some employees.
If so, it won’t happen immediately. The Marine Corps is phasing in the new uniforms over four years. Soldiers are expected to purchase one $67 set of jacket, hat and pants per year, until they own two sets each of the woodland and desert camouflage outfits. Also being phased in are rough-leather brown boots (no more spit-and-shine) at $68 a pair. For enlisted men and women, the cost will be reimbursed through a uniform allowance, but officers are on their own.
Sergeants are getting first crack at the uniforms as a reward for their service, Parmer said.
Krongaard, for one, is happy to have company.
“Until today, I’ve been one of the only people on the base that had one,” he said. “People kept coming up to me, wanting to touch it. I’m tired of being a spectacle.”
Even civilians might soon join the act. Krongaard says his son has already spotted a knockoff of the camouflage at Wal-Mart.
