Most people know what military green looks like either from museums, shows or media. This is a colour that most people can associate with the military in any country with some small variations. The reasoning is very simple why. It’s because the green blend in with the greenery on a battle field when the soldiers are out in the forest or park.
The colour works like camouflage. Camouflage is a pattern that blends into the background that an object could hide or hunt undetected. This is common in nature as a part of biomimicry where animals use colours to match their environments like a chameleon. The word camouflage comes from the French verb “to make up for the stage.”
Before 1898, the US military did not use camouflage as a part of their uniforms. During the Spanish-American War, military troops smeared mud on their uniforms to cover the blue uniforms easily seen by Cuban snipers. In 1902, they changed the summer army uniform to a brown khaki influenced by the British army in India.
The army also adopted camouflage colours for its winter service uniform. The “blue” uniform was now for “dress” and special occasions. The newly adapted drab colour, a dull greenish-brown, was used. It was called olive drab. Olive drab was used on not only uniforms but on vehicles, weaponry, shelter equipment and solider accessories. The more intense variation of the military green would be olive green. These two types of greens are commonly found in nature and were first used to blend in the background of a field. The word “drab” refers to a dull light brown colour.
The Military uniforms differ in colours most of the time for military divisions (army green or navy blue) to rank.
The colour is used on camouflage patterns and military ascetics like tanks, guns, helmets, helicopters and jet planes are this colour. Helicopters and jet planes are mostly parked or in storage so when they are not in use they have to stat hidden somehow.
During the First World War, technological changes like machine guns, trench warfare and aerial photography made the development of low-visibility uniforms necessary. The US Army formed a camouflage unit of people who made up camouflagers on the field. The unit was occupied with people of civilian occupations like artists and designers. The US Army Corps of Engineers experimented with camouflage uniforms in 1940 during the Second World War era. In 1943, when the US Marines occupied the Solomon Islands wore reversible beach/jungle coveralls with green and brown “frog” patterns. The frog pattern was used on their helmets, ponchos and shelters. When US troops landed in Normandy, they had painted splotches and stripes on their jumpsuits. The uniforms had weak dye hence the brown side of the suit washed out and turned pink.
During the Korean war, the uniforms, helmets and shelters were in a leaf and twig pattern. The uniforms were discontinued but the shelters and helmets were fine.
By the Vietnam war there was no official camouflage pattern for the front line army. Past designs like the Battle dress Uniform, which was a four-colour pattern uniform was developed by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory in 1948. They went with the solid olive-green army uniform called the “Boonie suit.” Two developments of unofficial patterns were used during this wartime. The black horizontal pattern stripes over a dark-and-light-green background adopted from the Vietnamese tiger-stripe pattern which was based on either the French patterns from 1953 or the commercial “duck hunter” patterns. The Navy Seals, Green Berets and other Special Forces acquired the Tiger-stripe pattern in 1965.
By the 1970s, the M81 woodland was a four-colour pattern of black, brown, green and khaki. It became the new US standard for camouflage. It was designed for a European environment for all branches.
For the Grenada invasion in 1983, the military wore an updated Battle Dress uniform by 1981 to incorporate woodland camouflage. During that time a six-colour desert shaded uniform became associated with the Gulf War. The uniform was nicknamed the chocolate chip. It had dark brown and grey hues with black specks. It was later replaced with a more subtle three-colour pattern of tan, brown and light khaki green. A nighttime camouflage desert pattern was designed with little black squares and checks if white and black used on jackets. It was designed to throw off night-vision devices.
By 2004, computer-generated patterns were used for the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. It was called the Universal Camouflage Pattern. It consists of three colours green, gray and tan which was to help blend in environments like woodlands, deserts and urban places. This was later phased out for the Operational Camouflage Pattern with a muted green, light beige and dark brown.
Reference:
Universal Principles of Color ‘ Stephen Westland and Maggie Maggio – Camouflage – pg 38 – Rockport – 2023
Under The Moonlight 
Most people know what military green looks like either from museums, shows or media. This is a colour that most people can associate with the military in any country with some small variations. The reasoning is very simple why. It’s because the green blend in with the greenery on a battle field when the soldiers are out in the forest or park.
The colour works like camouflage. Camouflage is a pattern that blends into the background that an object could hide or hunt undetected. This is common in nature as a part of biomimicry where animals use colours to match their environments like a chameleon. The word camouflage comes from the French verb “to make up for the stage.”
Before 1898, the US military did not use camouflage as a part of their uniforms. During the Spanish-American War, military troops smeared mud on their uniforms to cover the blue uniforms easily seen by Cuban snipers. In 1902, they changed the summer army uniform to a brown khaki influenced by the British army in India.
The army also adopted camouflage colours for its winter service uniform. The “blue” uniform was now for “dress” and special occasions. The newly adapted drab colour, a dull greenish-brown, was used. It was called olive drab. Olive drab was used on not only uniforms but on vehicles, weaponry, shelter equipment and solider accessories. The more intense variation of the military green would be olive green. These two types of greens are commonly found in nature and were first used to blend in the background of a field. The word “drab” refers to a dull light brown colour.
The Military uniforms differ in colours most of the time for military divisions (army green or navy blue) to rank.
The colour is used on camouflage patterns and military ascetics like tanks, guns, helmets, helicopters and jet planes are this colour. Helicopters and jet planes are mostly parked or in storage so when they are not in use they have to stat hidden somehow.
During the First World War, technological changes like machine guns, trench warfare and aerial photography made the development of low-visibility uniforms necessary. The US Army formed a camouflage unit of people who made up camouflagers on the field. The unit was occupied with people of civilian occupations like artists and designers. The US Army Corps of Engineers experimented with camouflage uniforms in 1940 during the Second World War era. In 1943, when the US Marines occupied the Solomon Islands wore reversible beach/jungle coveralls with green and brown “frog” patterns. The frog pattern was used on their helmets, ponchos and shelters. When US troops landed in Normandy, they had painted splotches and stripes on their jumpsuits. The uniforms had weak dye hence the brown side of the suit washed out and turned pink.
During the Korean war, the uniforms, helmets and shelters were in a leaf and twig pattern. The uniforms were discontinued but the shelters and helmets were fine.
By the Vietnam war there was no official camouflage pattern for the front line army. Past designs like the Battle dress Uniform, which was a four-colour pattern uniform was developed by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory in 1948. They went with the solid olive-green army uniform called the “Boonie suit.” Two developments of unofficial patterns were used during this wartime. The black horizontal pattern stripes over a dark-and-light-green background adopted from the Vietnamese tiger-stripe pattern which was based on either the French patterns from 1953 or the commercial “duck hunter” patterns. The Navy Seals, Green Berets and other Special Forces acquired the Tiger-stripe pattern in 1965.
By the 1970s, the M81 woodland was a four-colour pattern of black, brown, green and khaki. It became the new US standard for camouflage. It was designed for a European environment for all branches.
For the Grenada invasion in 1983, the military wore an updated Battle Dress uniform by 1981 to incorporate woodland camouflage. During that time a six-colour desert shaded uniform became associated with the Gulf War. The uniform was nicknamed the chocolate chip. It had dark brown and grey hues with black specks. It was later replaced with a more subtle three-colour pattern of tan, brown and light khaki green. A nighttime camouflage desert pattern was designed with little black squares and checks if white and black used on jackets. It was designed to throw off night-vision devices.
By 2004, computer-generated patterns were used for the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. It was called the Universal Camouflage Pattern. It consists of three colours green, gray and tan which was to help blend in environments like woodlands, deserts and urban places. This was later phased out for the Operational Camouflage Pattern with a muted green, light beige and dark brown.
Banner credit: Photo by Victor Rodvang on Unsplash
Reference:
Universal Principles of Color ‘ Stephen Westland and Maggie Maggio – Camouflage – pg 38 – Rockport – 2023
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