Reply #41: If you look at the pants, there is no change (Except Color) from the old BDUs

[happyslug]

And these can be traced back to the combat uniforms of Vietnam (and in some aspects WWII). The pockets above the knees were first used by parachutists during WWII for extra storage. I have found that you can NOT put light items in them, but not heavy items (Heavy items tend to pull the pants DOWN. Thus socks, gloves etc end up in these pockets.

The fly is old fashion buttons (i.e. NO Zipper, you button the fly). The reason for this was if the zipper breaks in the field, how do you repair it? The answer is you don't, thus buttons were preferred (You can replace the button with needle and thread and a "quick stitch" meant as emergency repair NOT permanent repair). I was once issued 1950 era field pants (Which I still have). These were heavy thick 100% cotton over-pants to be worn OVER the uniform in cold weather (With or without polyester liner). These had even larger above the knee pockets with a tie down thread in the pocket, Zipper AND button fly. These extreme cold weather pants but were NOT water proof (In temperatures below 20 degree, water proof is real not needed if you have adequate insulation). As you can see no basic change in the pants for combat use has occurred since at least the 1950s (Through the green Utility uniform of the 1960s and 1970s did NOT have the above the knee pockets and had zipper fly). The above the knee pockets has greater use in Cold weather than hot weather, but other that the basic Army uniform pants, has not changed since the 1950s. It works (please note all stitches even in the Utility Uniform were double stitched).

Now the top part of the uniform has changed. Some time it is called a Shirt, other times a Jacket. It also did not change from the 1950s (but did change drastically with the adoption of the ACU Uniform). Again the Utility Uniform was an exception to the rule. the top of the utility uniform was designed to be pucked into the pants like a dress shirt, all other uniforms tops were to be worn outside the pants. In the 1950s onward the various tops has four pockets for various items the soldier wanted to carry. Access to these pockets were often restricted by a soldier's web gear, but he could still access them. Body Armor always caused even further restrictions to these pockets, but the use of body armor was restricted do to its weight and limited effectiveness. With Kevlar, effectiveness of body armor increased and body armor was more widely used by the army then it had been in Vietnam and Korea (the weight of Body Armor decreased how long a soldier can perform do to its restrictions as to sweat AND weight) Thus until the 1980s most units only issued body armor to people in the unit most likely to get hit, everyone else went unarmored. This changed in the 1980s with increase use of body armor related to the decrease in the overall size of the Army and the adoption of the idea that all troops will be transported by Vehicles into combat as opposed to walking (Desert Storm was the first war EVER where all soldiers on one side, the US and its allies, rode into combat as opposed to walking into combat, troops walked into combat during WWII, Korea AND Vietnam). Thus the adoption of body armor is tied in with vehicle transport, for with vehicle transport a commander has to give less weight to how the extra weight of the Armor affects his troops combat ability.

Now given this widespread adoption of body armor, the top had to change. The two bottom pockets were removed for with body armor they were useless (No access do to the body armor). The Collar of the top had to change so NOT to interfere with the body Armor Collar (Thus the ACU has a "Mao" type Collar). Because the army was calling the top a "jacket" and was use to the old BDUs NOT being tucked in, the new ACU uniform top was NOT to be tucked in either.

As to the old BDU top I rarely wore it, except when I had to. In hot weather a T-Shirt was good enough, in colder weather the old Army Field Jacket had better pockets (Thus I wore the top, but used the field jacket's pockets). The old BDU top was to heavy for a shirt and to light to be a good jacket (the rip-stop top was much lighter and "solved" a lot of these problems, but I found just wearing a T-shirt was better). Overall the old BDU top was just ineffective. Given that with the ACU the Army removed the bottom pockets, the Army would have been better going to a tuck in shirt arrangement, overall lighter. This would have exposed the belt of the pants, but in actual combat body armor or web gear would have covered that up. Going to a tuck in shirt would have made the uniform look better, while keeping the overall design in tack (i.e. digital camouflage from what I have read, mixed with natural camouflage does a better overall job of hiding a person then the old BDU pattern, especially when someone is moving). Just comments on the new Uniform from someone who use to wear the old BDU uniform.

One last comment, when I bicycle in cold weather I wear a set of Gore-Tex Farmer's bib style pants. It has Gore-Tex pockets. These are just a pain in the neck to use, for the velcro wants to always reconnect as you try to stuff gloves into the pockets (And this is worse if done one handed, as I often do as the other hand in holding onto my bike). The older system of two buttons on such pockets could be opened with one hand and once unbutton NOT a problem until you want to re-button it. Both re-buttoning and un-buttoning of these pockets buttons can be done with one hand with ease (unlike the fly buttons where two hands have to be used). Overall the buttons is a nicer system, but as you well know making button holes are much more work then ironing on Velcro (Especially true given the Army desire to make sure the buttons are hidden, do to fact exposed buttons tend to show up on anti-personnel radar, a fact known since the 1960s). While Buttons show up on Radar, cloth being more flexible presets less of a flat surface, and thus less effective at being detected by radar (also true of boots, thus the Army has dropped Black high polished boots in favor or suede and other rough surface materials for boots). Comments on the use of buttons instead of Velcro.