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25 April 2004, Karbala: A Bulgarian soldier nicknamed 'the Cobra' gave Bulgarian President Parvanov a pouch sewn from the Bulgarian flag. The pouch contained earth from the four corners of Bulgaria. [Image: Web site of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria.]

Bulgarian 3-colour desert camouflage
Republic of Bulgaria

Bulgaria has been a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partner country since 1994. Formal contact with NATO began in 1990, when the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally accepted NATO's invitation to establish a regular diplomatic liaison mission at the Alliance Headquarters in Brussels. This was the beginning of the political dialogue, practical cooperation and reform efforts that eventually resulted in Bulgaria joining the NATO Alliance.

Part of the reform process involved the design and trial of new camouflage uniforms that would conform to NATO guidelines. This Bulgarian 3-colour desert camouflage was one of the patterns to be adopted, as a result. It was worn by the Bulgarian military contingent in Iraq.

Like the U.S. three-color desert pattern, this new design comprises large light green and sand-coloured areas, accented with narrower brown elements. However, the shapes used in the Bulgarian desert camouflage show that it is essentially a three-colour version of the Bulgarian 5-colour disruptive pattern camouflage, in which brown has replaced the pale green elements, light green has been substituted for the original black and light green elements, and sand has been substituted for the medium green and wood brown elements.

Bulgarian troops were first deployed to Iraq in 2003, and the last four Bulgarian soldiers were withdrawn from Iraq on January 16, 2006. The Bulgarian contingent's mission included protecting convoys, training Iraqi troops and participating in reconstruction projects in Kerbala and Diwaniya, south of Baghdad.

In all, Bulgaria lost 13 soldiers in Iraq: one to friendly fire, five in accidents and seven in attacks. Additionally, two Bulgarian civilian truck drivers were captured and killed, while a third was ambushed and killed. Three Bulgarian pilots were killed in April 2005, when their Mil Mi-17 transport helicopter was shot down.

kamouflage.net is grateful to Alexander Kolev, for his invaluable contribution to this article. Alexander works for ShopBulgaria.com — please visit their Web site.

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