From the May 17, 2010 Issue of Army Times,

FIVETHINGS EVERY SOLDIER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan are getting new MultiCam uni­forms to help them blend into the environment better. But for now, at least, their body armor doesn’t match the new camouflage.

Equipment experts have a plan to fix that.

The Army decided in late Febru­ary to begin issuing MultiCam uni­forms and equipment to soldiers serving in Afghanistan after the pattern outperformed the Army Combat Uniform’s Universal Cam­ouflage Pattern.

Soldiers deploying to Afghanistan are issued the UCP-clad Improved Outer Tactical Vest and they will be issued a lightweight Army Plate Carrier. The service initially ordered 57,000 plate carriers in the UCP pattern last fall.

In response to the camouflage change, the Army added to its order and asked for plate carriers in the new camo.

Here’s what you need to know about the new gear:
1The fix. The Army will start issu­ing a special kit for “retrofitting” the IOTV and plate carriers from UCP to MultiCam.

2How it works. Soldiers can take the soft armor inserts out of the existing UCP covers, “put it in a kit, and now you have a MultiCam IOTV and a MultiCam plate carri­er,” said Brig. Gen. Peter Fuller, who commands Program Executive Office Soldier.

3When you get them. The Army will begin issuing conversion kits to units deploying to Afghanistan in July. The first planned fielding for units deploy­ing to Afghanistan is scheduled for August.

4More in the works. The Army has increased its plate carrier order from 57,000 to 85,000. The “residual of the plate carriers” will be in Mul­tiCam, Fuller said.

5What’s next in camo. The Army is wrapping up the final phase of its camouflage assessment. Uniform officials are scheduled to make a recommendation at the end of the year regarding the service’s future camouflage strategy.

“I don’t know what the decision is going to be because there are sever­al ways to address this,” Fuller said, explaining that the service could look at multiple patterns. “In Afghanistan, we determined that MultiCam was the most appropri­ately colored uniform; it might not be the most appropriately colored uniform” for other areas of the world.

— Matthew Cox

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