Military Uniforms: Military Camouflage Clothing

Remember Lydia Bennet's admiration for George Wickham and her constant raving about his scarlet uniform or for that Raina's infatuation for Sergius Saranoff in Arms and the Man.The uniform and the uniformed men,at some point or the other ,have charmed all of us ,am I not right? Unfortunately I am going to give you some more information about these uniforms, that might as well snatch away some glamour from these assumed chivalrous men.

Military uniforms are designed with all the minute details in mind like the place, rather the soil on which the soldier has to fight, the climate, the vegetation of that place and the climate. Why so? It is because they cannot afford to be seen by the enemy even when inside the enemy territory therefore they need to camouflage themselves in the colors of nature-Green, Brown etc. When designing a military uniform one also has to keep in mind the extreme conditions that they encounter at times and the most important thing is that they have to carry quite a few things but cannot afford to have extra baggage since they already carry weapons which are heavy enough.

Uniforms also differentiate military personnel from civilians and instill a degree of discipline in the soldiers. Military uniforms also depend on the native style of dressing and various conditions like the British uniform was red probably because red dye was cheaper at that time.

Initially soldiers wore a lot of "red" which marked them out of the mass and also was the royal color and also it was believed that the bloodstains would not show on a red fabric. The Roman, Ottoman as well as the British Empire issued uniforms that were red.

Evolution of Military uniforms
Throughout the ages the military uniforms have changed the form, color and the fabric in accordance with the resources of the authority. The French army initially took it up in the seventeenth century. Until nineteenth century the military uniforms were quite ornate with embellishments but gradually it was discovered that colors like red and white were actually getting soiled very fast since the soldiers, at times, had to even sleep in their uniforms.

Until 1914 most of the armies retained the bright colors of their uniform only as parade and off-duty wear like the Russian troops retained the dark green uniform introduced by Peter The Great in 1700.British army also retained their scarlet uniform as their parade uniform. Khaki started taking over the men in action as and how wars started taking other dimensions other than just serving the purpose of glorifying the triumphant king. The British Army adopted the khaki after First war of Independence in 1857,then the Russo Japanese War in 1905 led to the Russians changing themselves into grayish khaki. Likewise most of the armies took up the khaki that would help them in camouflaging as well as suit the work profile, which involves extensive physical exercise.

With the First World War, there was an end to all the colorful and embellished uniforms and this was the commencement of khakis, grays, and bottle greens to match with the demands of the modern military operation. Not only the uniforms but also the whole military gear went through a sea change. The helmet, the shoes and all the accessories accepted the change that was approaching. The helmet was made of steel and now it is taken care that it is made in such a way so as to face actual combat situations in modern times where the war is more psychological and technological. The whole idea is to make the soldiers look intimidating to the enemy troops.

Let me give you some interesting facts about the military look and gear. Military haircut, which is very short, was primarily encouraged to promote hair growth and soldiers were encouraged not to keep beards so that the gas masks fitted well.

Military Camouflage Clothing
Camouflage is a way of protective coloring that conceals the organism from being differentiated from the surroundings. In military lingo it is the uniform of the soldier, which makes him indiscernible from his surroundings. There are various patterns like the following:

• Desert Brush
• Urban Track
• Woodland Track Mod
• Urban Track.

Noticeably the color black was discarded from the whole scheme of military colors because black is not found in nature frequently. Moreover the color black could be differentiated from the black fabric and made the soldiers an easy target. The Desert Brush is one pattern, which is appropriate in all the surroundings like deserts, rocky plateaus, and woodlands. It also camouflages soldiers in the urban surroundings.