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Uncover your potential', indeed! Once you stop ogling the girl, though, you might notice that this Australian Special Air Service (SAS) recruiting poster shows Australian Disruptive Pattern Camouflage to very good effect. [Image courtesy Brad Turner collection.]

U.S. Night Camouflage, Desert
United States of America

First seen during the First Gulf War, U.S. Night Camouflage, Desert, is an unusual camouflage, to say the least. This two-colour pattern, which features a dark green grid and small, irregular clumps of dots on a light green background, and was apparently designed to produce an interference pattern that would interrupt the pixelised images produced by first-generation night vision devices.

However, there is every reason to believe that U.S. Night Camouflage, Desert, was a spectacular failure. A United States Marine Corps (USMC) scout/sniper section, stationed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the commencement of Operation Desert Shield, allegedly conducted some informal experiments, to determine whether or not the grid pattern worked as claimed. The tests were conducted using parka shells and overpants patterned in U.S. Night Camouflage, Desert, U.S. six-color desert camouflage pattern uniforms and winter white oversuits. The experiment was conducted on two separate nights — one completely overcast and the other clear and moonlit. Observers used the naked eye, AN/PVS-4 individual weapons night-sights, AN/PVS-5 night vision goggles, and an infrared TOW missile sight.

The experiment found that U.S. Night Camouflage, Desert, actually increased the chance of a soldier being observed, when viewed through any night vision system. The only circumstances under which it did not assist the observers was on the overcast night, when observed with the naked eye.

Surprisingly, the 'winter overwhites' performed extremely well on both nights, when observed with the AN/PVS-4 and AN/PVS-5 night vision systems. However, the only way to avoid detection, when observed through the infrared TOW missile sight was to wrap one's self in a quality 'space blanket'.

kamouflage.net is grateful to Steve Grammont, for his invaluable contributions to this article.

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