Scorpion W2

A U.S. Army soldier wearing an ACU bearing the Scorpion W2 pattern.

Scorpion W2 is a camouflage pattern adopted by the United States Army for future use as the U.S. Army's main camouflage pattern on uniforms, under the name Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP). This new pattern will replace the Army's Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) as the official combat uniform pattern for most U.S. soldiers. The new pattern will also replace the closely related MultiCam, a pattern previously used for troops deploying to Afghanistan.

The original Scorpion pattern was developed by a joint venture of the Army's Natick Labs and Crye Precision as part of the Objective Force Warrior program more than a decade ago. It was then modified into MultiCam by Crye for commercial sales. The Scorpion W2 variant was modified from the initial pattern by Natick Labs. In July 2014, the Army announced that OCP could be used in the field by the summer of 2015.

In early April 2015, Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno revealed that OCP uniforms were beginning to be issued to deployed soldiers going to Afghanistan, Iraq, Europe, and the horn of Africa.[1] The OCP ACU became available for soldiers to purchase starting July 1, 2015.[2] The new ACU will be worn in garrison, training and home station. When asked whether the new OCP ACU will be available for commercial use, Army Spokesperson William Layer said, "This issue is still under internal Army discussion."

Background and selection process

Scorpion W2 pattern

The United States Army came to the conclusion that the Universal Camouflage Pattern did not meet all of the concealment needs for Afghanistan’s multiple regions.[3]

In 2010, the United States Army Camouflage Improvement Effort considered twenty-two entrants. The Army eliminated the patterns down to five finalists who exceeded the baseline patterns and the Scorpion W2 was among them in the Army's in-house submission (The Army later withdrew their submission leaving the four commercial vendors).[4] The finalists in the Army's Phase IV camouflage testing were: Crye Precision; ADS Inc. and Hyperstealth Inc.; Brookwood Companies Inc.; and Kryptek Inc.[5]

The 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDA or NDAA), prevents any service from adopting a new camouflage pattern not already in inventory before the NDA, unless they get all other services to adopt the same pattern. As a result, the Army had to consider existing camouflage patterns within the United States Department of Defense.[4]

Initially, the Army's first pattern choice was the MultiCam pattern developed by Crye Precision, but allegedly due to "printing fees", procurement discussions broke down.[3][4][6] Crye Precision developed the original Scorpion pattern under a government contract in 2002; the pattern was modified by the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in 2009 and named the Scorpion W2 pattern.[4][7] The Army owns the licensing rights for Scorpion W2, which lowers the overall cost, and allows the Army the option to restrict the pattern to service members only.[3][6]

The U.S. Air Force will equip airmen with OCP uniforms deploying on missions attached to Army units. However, the OCP will not replace the "tiger-stripe" patterned Airman Battle Uniform, which will remain in service for garrison use. This decision is a departure from the previous Air Force decision to adopt its own digital pattern after the Army unveiled the pixelated UCP in 2004.[8]

Rollout

The Army Combat Uniform patterned in OCP first became available on 1 July 2015 at 20 locations in the United States and in South Korea, with first-day sales exceeding $1.4 million. More installations will begin sales later in 2015, although soldiers deploying on real-world missions will receive uniforms and equipment printed in OCP. Most parts of the new ACU being purchased are the coat, trousers, patrol cap, and the T-shirt and belt in the new Coyote 498 color, though soldiers are allowed to continue to wear their current T-shirt, belt, and boots in Tan 499 until October 2019, when the new pattern becomes mandatory. Body armor, packs, and pouches in previous UCP and MultiCam patterns will be worn until they can be altered with OCP.[9]

Variants

There is no indication yet that the Army is pursuing adopting other color variants of Scorpion W2. If they do, however, they may consider using or modifying their woodland and desert version of the Scorpion W2 pattern that was created for the 2009 Natick camouflage testing.[3]

The name Operational Camouflage Pattern is meant to emphasize its use beyond Afghanistan to all combatant commands, unlike the MultiCam pattern on which it is based. A "family" of uniform patterns based on the OCP will also be made, including a dark jungle-woodland variant and a lighter pattern for desert environments.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tan, Michelle (3 April 2015). "Army chief shares update on new camo rollout". Army Times.
  2. ↑ "Operational Camouflage Pattern Army Combat Uniforms available July 1" (Press release). Washington, DC: United States Army. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Harper, Jon (May 27, 2014). "Reports: Army selects new camouflage uniform pattern". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gould, Joe (May 23, 2014). "Army selects new camo pattern". Army Times. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  5. ↑ Cox, Matthew (May 23, 2014). "Army Selects New Camouflage Pattern". Military.com. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Cox, Matthew (May 27, 2014). "Army taps Scorpion pattern to replace highly criticized Universal Camouflage Pattern". Fox News. Military.com. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  7. ↑ "US Army Selects Scorpion Camouflage Pattern". Soldier Systems. 23 May 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ Cox, Matthew (3 September 2014). "Air Force Says 'No' to New Camouflage". Military.com.
  9. ↑ Cox, Matthew (8 July 2015). "Soldiers Line Up to Buy New Camouflage Uniforms". Kitup.Military.com.
  10. ↑ Gould, Joe (31 July 2014). "Army announces rollout date for new camo". Army Times.

External links

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