US Army Combat Uniform (ACU)
The United States Army wears the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) while in combat or for special events. In the 1980′s the Army wore the Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU) but made some changes to make it easier to breathe and not so hot. The new uniform became known as the ACU. The cost of a single uniform is $76 dollars. Soldiers need to separately buy name and branch tags.
The ACU uses the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) that blends green, tan and gray together. It works best in a desert or wooded land. The colors lighten and darken depending on sunlight. This actually simplified things for the military quite a bit. Before they had different patterns for desert and wood land combat. The universal pattern means they only need a single uniform that can work in any area.
It is worn with a green t-shirt underneath. and a jacket is optional. The jacket has hook and loop attachments for name tags and rank insignia. Five badges are allowed to be on the ACU. There’s also a place to latch on the American flag and an infrared tab.The Infrared is sewn onto the shoulder so at nighttime it’s easy to spot the good guys from the bad.
The pants are worn with Rigger’s Belt, which is a two inch nylon belt. There are velcro pouches on the knees to put pads into. The pants have an elastic drawstring and have velcro on the calf’s for extra storage.
A MICH TC-2000 Combat Helmet is also worn with the uniform. They are either maroon, tan, green or black. There are special tan socks that are meant to be worn alongside the ACU combat boots. The boots are at least 8 high.
The ACU is a lot more complicated than people may think. There are a lot of regulations that go into the uniform while it’s being made.