The U.S. Military Might Switch to One Universal Camo Design

The U.S. Military Might Switch to One Universal Camo Design



If you think you spend crazy amounts of money on camo, think again. The U.S. Military has a bigger budget on camouflage clothes than you do. How much you ask? Well, let’s just say all the branches combined have already spent $12 million on developing seven different patterns throughout the years. But pretty soon the entire armed forces might be rocking one universal design.



Swollen wartime budgets afforded each brand to go H.A.M. and create a design of its own. It’s gotten so out of hand (err, stylish) that some of the patterns being produced might be great for your next street style shot, yet not even safe to use in battle.



To give you an idea on how much camo is being used in the U.S. military, here’s a quick breakdown. The Army uses woodland—a streetwear favorite—and desert camo. In 2005 they introduced the All Combat Uniform that was supposed to cover all environments, but it ended up sucking and proved ineffective. "All the tests we have done say it doesn't work…it puts our soldiers at risk," says Gen. Raymond Odierno.



The U.S. Air Force’s hybrid digital tiger stripe might be the coolest out of the bunch. Why do people flying fighter planes need camo exactly? Beats us. As for the Navy, just look at the movie Battleship and you’ll see Rihanna famously rocking their uniforms.



Last but not least is the Marines’ digital camo pattern. This is the most effective out of the bunch. Armed troops can use it to hide in the jungle, the desert, and even from night vision goggles.Great handbags and replicalouisvuitton for men and women! What more can you ask for?



Now, these varying uniforms might come to an end. Politicians are trying to pass a bill to get the U.S. Military to use one standard uniform across all branches. "Combat uniforms are about survivability," said Rep. Bill Enyart, and simply put, many of the new patterns have proved to be ineffective. "If you want to separate yourself, do it in your dress uniform. It doesn't do us any good to have a battlefield where you have three or four uniforms,” mentions one defense official. If the bill does get passed, we think there are a couple of designers out there that can take the unused fabric off the government's hands. Check the photos above for the different patterns currently used by the U.S. Military.



SPRINGFIELD - For Gianna Mitchell, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Wilbraham & Monson Academy, life would not be the same without soccer.



So, when Mitchell, of Springfield, recently realized that many children in poor countries play soccer without the best of equipment, she decided to do something about it.



“My family travels a lot, and when we visited Costa Rica and Mexico, I saw that they love soccer in those places,” Mitchell said. “But, I saw that they didn’t have the right equipment to play. We have so much equipment here, it just kind of made sense to give them what they needed.”



Mitchell, who has played soccer since she was 4, said she decided she needed to do something.



“They didn’t really have shin guards or cleats,” she said. “They were just playing with sneakers, or barefoot.”



Mitchell, a high honors student, heard that Wilbraham & Monson Academy administrator Chris Sparks had a connection with a soccer team in Haiti, so she decided that’s where she would focus her attention.



“I really wanted to help someone else that may not have the luxury to get what they need to play what they love,” she said. “Sometimes you have an idea and you talk about it but you don’t do it. I felt like I needed to get it done.”



Mitchell first sent out an email to family and friends, telling them about her plan. She realized that was limiting her outreach, so she decided to tell administrators at her school, who helped her get the word out.



Mitchell has formed a non-profit, Two-Six for Kicks (26 is her soccer number), through which to collect cleats, shin guards, uniforms and soccer balls. She’s also taking monetary donations. She’s made a lot of progress already.



Click on their website www.unionmilitaria.com for more information.

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