BLReed
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2009
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While not standing out on the battlefield would seem fairly obvious, the use of camouflage by the U.S. military only dates back 60 years. And, the use of camouflage by any army dates back just a couple of centuries.
Basic Green and Khaki
Today, we think of khaki as comfortable casual wear but it was born out of military necessity and was among the first types of camouflage.
In England, irregular units adopted drab colors, as did gamekeepers, to hide from game and poachers. By the Napoleonic Wars, British rifle units – including the 95th – were outfitted in green jackets. This was a contrast to the scarlet uniforms of the day. Those British 'red coats' dated back to the New Model Army ordinance, and were based on the traditional colors of the Yeoman of the Guard and the Yeomen Warders. Red is a color of the Tudor Rose, and the earliest 'red coats' were worn with white trousers – the original 'Union' flag of the United Kingdom was red and white.
As the British Empire expanded, it soon became apparent that scarlet uniforms made of heavy wool were unsuitable for tropical climes, such as the Indian subcontinent. Yet, for the better part of 70 years, the British Honourable East India Company, as well as regular army troops that served in India, retained their scarlet uniforms. This changed when Sir Harry Lumsden raised a Corps of Guides in 1848 for frontier service at Peshawar, near the Afghan border in what is now Pakistan. These troops wore uniforms based on their native attire. The uniform consisted of a dust colored smock that closely matched the local soil. It was thus named after the soil’s color using the Persian word "khaki," meaning ash-colored.
Read More
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/10/21/evolution-us-military-camouflage-from-basic-green-and-khaki-to-digital-patterns-and-beyond.html?intcmp=hphz06
Basic Green and Khaki
Today, we think of khaki as comfortable casual wear but it was born out of military necessity and was among the first types of camouflage.
In England, irregular units adopted drab colors, as did gamekeepers, to hide from game and poachers. By the Napoleonic Wars, British rifle units – including the 95th – were outfitted in green jackets. This was a contrast to the scarlet uniforms of the day. Those British 'red coats' dated back to the New Model Army ordinance, and were based on the traditional colors of the Yeoman of the Guard and the Yeomen Warders. Red is a color of the Tudor Rose, and the earliest 'red coats' were worn with white trousers – the original 'Union' flag of the United Kingdom was red and white.
As the British Empire expanded, it soon became apparent that scarlet uniforms made of heavy wool were unsuitable for tropical climes, such as the Indian subcontinent. Yet, for the better part of 70 years, the British Honourable East India Company, as well as regular army troops that served in India, retained their scarlet uniforms. This changed when Sir Harry Lumsden raised a Corps of Guides in 1848 for frontier service at Peshawar, near the Afghan border in what is now Pakistan. These troops wore uniforms based on their native attire. The uniform consisted of a dust colored smock that closely matched the local soil. It was thus named after the soil’s color using the Persian word "khaki," meaning ash-colored.
Read More
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/10/21/evolution-us-military-camouflage-from-basic-green-and-khaki-to-digital-patterns-and-beyond.html?intcmp=hphz06
