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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.]

Canadian Forces Land Forces Garrison Dress jacket camouflage
Canada

Issued between 1989 and 1994, the distinctive Canadian Forces (CF) Land Forces Garrison Dress jacket camouflage featured one of the more curious camouflage patterns ever to be issued by any nation's armed forces. Its peculiarity, though, does not arise from the pattern itself, which is an unremarkable four-colour camouflage of brown, dark green and medium green elements on a tan background. Rather, it is remarkable because it was intended only for office and garrison use; it was not for field use. As such the colours, allegedly, were chosen not for their camouflage effect but by virtue of the fact that they did not clash with the dark green colouration of the Garrison Dress beret and trousers.

To this day, no-one has been able to determine the reasons for which a camouflage jacket should be worn exclusively in barracks. The mystery is amplified by the fact that the field dress uniform of the Canadian Forces, at that time, was issued only in solid CF Green. It is known, however, that the Garrison Dress jacket was extremely unpopular. This lack of acceptance is generally attributed to its construction from a 100 per cent polyester fabric, which did not breathe and was very uncomfortable to wear.

kamouflage.net is grateful to Henrik Clausen, Steve Grammont, Terry Warner and the unofficial Canadian Military Police Web site, for their invaluable contributions to this article.

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