By RUSS BYNUM, Associated Press Writer
FORT STEWART, Ga. - Army soldiers are being issued new fatigues with easy-to-use Velcro openings and a redesigned camouflage pattern that can help conceal them as they move rapidly from desert to forest to city in places like Baghdad.
"It might give you the extra second you need, save your life maybe," Sgt. Marcio Soares said Tuesday after trying on the new all-in-one camouflage uniform that is the first major redesign in Army fatigues since 1983.
Soares' unit, the Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade, is the first to be issued the new fatigues as part of a $3.4 billion Army-wide makeover being phased in over the next three years.
The uniform will replace the standard forest camouflage — green, brown and black — and the desert camouflage — tan, brown and grey — now used by U.S. troops in Iraq.
Twenty-two changes were made to the uniforms, most notably the new camouflage pattern.
Instead of bold jigsaw swatches of colors, the new camouflage pattern uses muted shades of desert brown, urban gray and foliage green broken into one-centimeter segments. Black was eliminated completely because it catches the eye too easily.
The resulting camouflage — similar to a pattern the Marines adopted two years ago — conceals soldiers in forest, desert or urban battlegrounds, said Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Myhre, the uniform's lead designer.
"In Baghdad, you can go from the desert to vegetation to the city in 10 minutes," Myhre said. "What we realized very quickly is there's no camouflage that's the 100 percent solution for any environment."
Other changes were prompted by complaints from soldiers in the field. Jacket and pocket buttons, which can snag on nets and other gear, have been replaced with zippers and Velcro.
Pockets at the jacket's waistline were moved to the shoulders, where soldiers can reach them while wearing body armor. And the uniforms have a looser fit, with more room to wear layers underneath.
Rank, unit and name patches attach with Velcro rather than being sewn on. Infrared-reflecting squares on the shoulders make friendly troops easier to identify while using night-vision goggles.
