The Army is considering replacing its combat uniforms according to the Army Times.  It will test variants of the Marine Corps Marine Pattern or MARPAT camouflage.

According to Army leaders, the Army wants to replace the current Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP).  UCP is the 3 color pattern in the Army Combat Uniform.  UCP, fielded in 2004, has been criticized for providing poor concealment and failing to allow soldiers to blend into different backgrounds on the battlefield. 

                            
                             Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP)




The service is looking for an "operationally and scientifically validate" camouflage pattern that provides concealment in any deployed environment according to the project manager of Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment.   A minimum of 3 camouflage patterns will be selected (Woodland, Desert and Transitional).  The transitional camouflage pattern will cover everything between woodland and desert camouflage. 

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The ACU pattern, or UCP, will not be part of the test.  The Army will test USMC Woodland and Desert MARPAT and similar MARPAT type patterns called AOR 1 & 2.  AOR 1 & 2 are treated to reduce infrared signature.  The Marine Corps owns the rights to MARPAT and has approved of testing, but will retain the rights for USMC use only in order to distinguish Marines from other services.  Their concern is making sure patterns are different enough to make them unique to each service.  

                           
                            USMC Woodland/Desert MARPAT pattern

Army Senior Enlisted personnel in Afghanistan listed "serious concerns .. regarding UCP's camouflage effectiveness during combat operations," according to the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in Massachusetts.  The Army answered with MultiCam in 2010 for soldiers deployed to Afghanistan after it proved more effective than many other patterns, including UCP. 

Soldiers in Afghanistan lost confidence in the effectiveness of UCP and prefer MultiCam or MARPAT.  After testing the new Army Camouflage Pattern fielding could occur as early as Oct of 2012. 

                   
                    U.S. Army MutiCam Pattern
                
Soldiers can find more information about the New Army Camouflage Pattern  in the Army Times.