The Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) were the fatigues that the armed forces of the United States used as their standard uniform for combat situations from September 1981 to April 2005. Since then, it has been replaced in every branch of the U.S. military. Only the U.S. Navy currently authorizes wear of the BDU uniform at locations such as U.S. Special Operations Command until a Navy-specific digital woodland camo uniform is available. BDUs are also still worn by officers of the US Public Health Service in dirty or austere environments, and is often the prescribed uniform for any deployment activities. BDU-type uniforms still see active use in other nations (most of them ex-US stocks transferred under US security assistance programs), while others are still worn by some US Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies or activities who may work in tactical situations, such as the DEA and SWAT.
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These uniforms are called battle dress uniforms because they are intended for use during "battles", as opposed to "garrison" dress uniforms worn at parades and functions. The general design and configuration of the U.S. BDU uniform was similar to that of Vietnam-era jungle fatigues, which were in turn similar in configuration to specialty uniforms worn by U.S. paratroopers during World War II.
The Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) appeared in September 1981 in the woodland camouflage pattern. It was based primarily on the woodland colors of Northern Europe. It used shades of green, brown, tan, and black, initially printed onto cotton-nylon blend twill cloth. A lightweight BDU uniform was introduced in 1989 with the pattern printed on 100% rip-stop poplin cloth. It was the first camouflaged uniform approved by the Army since the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, where the ERDL pattern was in limited use. The BDU soon replaced all earlier camouflage pattern uniforms for all wooded, jungle, and tropical environments, and, by 1989, had completely replaced the standard olive drab uniforms that were used since 1952.
Since 1981, changes included the addition and subsequent elimination of buttoned waist adjustment tabs, the size reduction of the collar, and refinements in stitching and fit.
BDUs were initially only issued in a 50/50 nylon and cotton twill blend (the Temperate Weather BDU (TWBDU)). Complaints regarding the heat retention of these uniforms, especially following the invasion of Grenada in 1983, led to the introduction of the Hot Weather BDU (HWBDU). The Hot Weather BDU coat and trousers were constructed of 100 percent ripstop cotton, in a four-color woodland camouflage pattern. However, after complaints of shorter wear and frayed cuffs, along with requirements imposed by unit commanders to starch the all-cotton uniform for parade, the Enhanced Hot Weather BDU (EHWBDU) replaced the HWBDU commencing in 1996. The EHWBDU are made with 50/50 ripstop nylon and cotton poplin blend.
BDU's are printed with infrared-brightened dyes. Near infrared (NIR) Signature Management Technology is used in the uniforms to help prevent detection by NIR Image Converters. These photocathode devices do not detect temperatures, but rather infrared radiation variances. NIR-compliant uniforms use a special fabric that allows soldiers to appear at the same radiation level as the surrounding terrain, thus making them more difficult to detect. It is advised not to use starch when cleaning or ironing BDU's, since starch weakens the fabric and ruins the infrared protective coating. A pair of BDU's that has been starched even once should not be worn in combat.
While the Italian Army was the first military organization to issue camouflaged clothing, the Germans were noted for their efforts in this field before the Second World War. After much trial, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (abbrev. OKW) authorized Heeres-Splittermuster 31, more commonly known as 'splinter pattern', for use in shelter-quarters (Zeltbahnen) in the 1930s. In 1940, SS-Verfügungstruppe (abbrev. SS-VT; renamed Waffen-SS) designed, tested and issued its own distinctive patterns and layout not long after.
The United States Marine Corps received its first military camouflage pattern in 1942, when the reversible, beach-jungle, three- and five-color frog-skin pattern uniform was issued, based on a 1940 trial design. The U.S. found it to be ineffective and the pattern was withdrawn in 1944 — in part because of anticipated friendly fire incidents before D-Day. Camouflaged helmet covers and shelters were issued in the 1950s in "wine leaf" and "brown cloud" patterns. The U.S. Army also tried a lesser-known camouflage uniform on D-Day and throughout the Normandy operations, like the Marine Corp's uniforms, but it was replaced by the M43 uniform before being used much.
During the Vietnam War, the United States military's four-color ERDL pattern saw limited use amongst specialist units in the US Army, though most were issued the solid olive green OG107 sateens or jungle fatigues, while the Marines adopted the pattern service-wide after 1968.
The ERDL pattern fatigues were identical in cut to the third-pattern OD jungle fatigues, and were available in both a highland pattern (more brown), and a lowland pattern (more green), though the lowland pattern was eventually phased out. Other, unofficial, patterns utilized in Vietnam included black-dyed or spray painted jungle fatigues, often used by special purpose forces, and various Vietnamese Tigerstripe patterns (themselves being based on French Army airborne and Foreign Legion patterns and a British design utilized in Malaysia), or commercial "duck hunter" patterns.
The U.S. military has run trials of many camouflage patterns (some being used by foreign militaries), and issued environment-specific uniforms, notably the six-color "chocolate-chip camouflage" or Desert Battle Dress BDU designed in 1962, and the "nighttime desert grid" (NCDBDU). Both uniforms were used in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. During that war, after initiatives by General Norman Schwarzkopf, the six-color Desert Battle Dress uniform was produced in 100% cotton poplin without reinforcement panels in order to improve comfort in hot desert conditions. All of these Desert BDUs were discontinued after the war.
The Desert Combat Uniform (DCU) in three-color desert camouflage were introduced in 1992, and was utilized in operations in Somalia (1993); it was in service in Afghanistan and Iraq from the start of hostilities, but the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps have both replaced the DCU with newer uniforms (ACU and MCCUU, respectively). The DCU is colloquially called "coffee stains" by the soldiers wearing it. In testing, U.S. Army researchers found that, as in other environments, the color of desert terrain varies, and can range from pink to blue, depending on the minerals in the soil and the time of the day. Since patches of uniform color in the desert are usually 10 times larger than those in wooded areas, it was decided to alter the existing six-color Desert BDU pattern. This led to the development of a three-color pattern DCU, which was adopted. Three-color DCUs replaced the six-color Desert BDU pattern of the 1990s, although six-color desert camouflage helmet covers have continued in use with some U.S. troops since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Interestingly, the New Iraqi Army (trained by U.S. and multinational forces), wear surplus six-color Desert BDU uniforms; likely because much New Iraqi Army materiel is donated U.S. and Coalition equipment.
The development of modern camouflage patterns and the desire of the U.S. military branches to differentiate themselves has resulted in new patterns for uniforms. The U.S. Marine Corps was the first branch to replace their BDUs. The Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform uses the computer-generated MARPAT pattern and several other enhancements. It was approved for wear in June 2001, and the changeover was completed October 1, 2004.
A U.S. Army program running from 2005 to 2007 has largely replaced the BDU with the new Army Combat Uniform (ACU). This new uniform uses a digital pattern like MARPAT, but uses less saturated colors. The neutral colors, foliage green and sand, are designed to be used in desert, woodland, and urban combat situations and is known as the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP). The ACU is used in all environments except for areas with snow, as the ACU works poorly against white. An all-white BDU and the ECWCS are used instead.
In 2007, the U.S. Navy began issuing a digital pattern Navy Working Uniform (NWU) in blue and gray on an experimental basis. While it is neither a tactical uniform nor a battle dress uniform, the NWU is intended to take the place of many existing work ensembles (utilities, wash khaki, coveralls, woodland green, etc.). The disruptive pattern is primarily intended to complement U.S. Navy ship colors and to hide stains and wear, and secondarily to make the wearer a less obvious visual target for hostile forces while working aboard a Navy vessel in port.[1] To meet the Navy's cold-weather requirement, the NWU set will include a fleece jacket, pullover sweater, and parka options. Navy SEALs, Seabees, and other USN personnel deployed ashore under the cognizance of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command still use older woodland and/or 3 color desert BDUs for outdoor operations or activities in specific areas of responsibility (AOR).
In 2004 and 2005, the U.S. Air Force experimented with, but rejected, a blue-toned tigerstripe uniform. In 2006, a new BDU called the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) was adopted, using a semi-pixelated tiger pattern with four soft earth tones consisting of tan, grey, green and blue. It failed, however, to incorporate many of the significant improvements of the ACU and MCCUU. By 2007, it was in current production.[1]. In 2008, responding to criticism that the new Airman Battle Uniform was too heavy and hot in high-temperature environments, the USAF's 648th Aeronautical Systems Squadron at Brooks City-Base revealed plans to switch to a lighter, more breathable fabric for the combat blouse section of the ABU. The original heavyweight nylon/cotton blend was changed to a lighter-weight nylon/cotton poplin material. Priority will go to those serving in the Middle East or other hot-weather theaters.[2]
The U.S. Coast Guard has introduced the new Operational Dress Uniform (ODU) uniform in 2004 to replace the winter and summer "Undress Duty" uniform. Resembling the BDU fatigues, the new ODU uniforms retains the basic design of the old-style BDU uniforms, but with the lower pockets on the blouse being eliminated. The sleeves can be worn "folded up" in a manner similar to the old Army and Air Force BDUs (since disallowed with the new Army ACU) and the trousers "bloused" into the boots (unless boating shoes, especially for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, which patrols for the Coast Guard aboard privately owned watercraft), with the ODU black belt and blackened buckle being worn with the metal tip 2 to 4 inches from the buckle. The dark blue Coast Guard unit baseball-style cap is worn with this uniform. The ODU also has all of its allowable insignia sewn on, eliminating the chance of puncture wounds created by the pins if the individual suffers a blow to the chest while wearing a PFD or body armor. The ODU is not intended to be worn by Coast Guard units which engage in combat operations or are deployed overseas. These units continue to wear camouflage utilities similar to the other branches of the U.S. armed forces.
With the few wear-out date exceptions for USAF and USN personnel described above, BDU in MultiCam woodland camouflage is in use today mainly by the public, public service persons, and some foreign military units. BDUs can also be purchased from civilian vendors in the UCP pattern analogous to the ACU as well, though they are not authorized for wear by U.S. Army soldiers.
Worn by Kosovo Security Forces
Worn by Army of the Republic of Moldova
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