How to Hide, c. 2007: Velcro & Pixels Posted by Rosa Brooks

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Malcolm's soldiers disguise their assault on Castle Dunsinane by holding tree branches from Burnham Wood over their heads. (They thus fulfil the prophesy: "Macbeth shall never vanquished be until / Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him.")

In the high tech era of modern combat, disguising yourself as a tree won't cut it anymore, and the Army has responded with by replacing the old fatigues and BDUs with new "Army Combat Uniforms." The new uniforms replace the old green/brown splotches with grayish digital pixels, which means that when a soldier in a new Army Combat Uniform stands directly in front of a large computer screen, you won't be able to see him.

No, really. Apparently it works in the desert, too.

The new ACU also replaces archaic medieval devices such as "buttons" with velcro. My question: what happens when some poor soldier is in a situation where being quiet is really important? Hunkered down, outnumbered, hoping to wait out the enemy patrols and make it back to safety.... But, he desperately needs to get at something that is IN HIS POCKET or under his shirt... and there is no way to do this without a LOUD velcro-ripping noise, which gives away his position!

Okay. I am certain that the best and brightest military minds are aware of this issue and it is not actually a problem. Right? Right?

(Learn more about the ACUs and see lots of pictures at Globesecurity.org.)

Comments

[Caitlyn]

I live near the Pentagon and have gotten a kick every day from the Army and Air Force personnel running around in their cammies, while the Navy and Marines wear their traditional uniforms. It seems like they have tried to buck themselves up with the "I am a Warrior/War Fighter" attitude and a belief that the clothes make the warrior. The same goes for the Air Force pilots in their one piece flight suits on the way to and from work at the Pentagon. While I have taken this uniform shift lightly in the past, Bill Arkin's recent column addressing military attitudes toward the non-military has me wondering if it isn't taking one more step in pushing the military into an increasingly separate culture from the rest of the citizenry that they are drawn from and whom they are to serve and protect.

[bitchin b]

I have had some sour experiences with the ACU. The uniform does not work well in the desert and it certainly does not perform well in a woodland enviroment. I believe that the only place it will work to conceal a man is in an urban enviroment and then concealment is not a priority as you need speed and agressiveness in urban combat operations.
The ACU is in my opinion merely a fashion show statement designed to fix a non-existent problem.

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