Why do all militaries look the same now? Where does this uniform come from and how did it spread every where like this?

Everybody's uniform was actually more similar in the past. The old tri-color pattern for the majority of militaries.

Then the Marines changed to MARPAT. Other branches and countries started researching new patterns, though many seem like variations of MARPAT

>tri-color
I misspoke when I said tri-color, that was the name of the old desert pattern. I meant was woodland camo. This is the style when most everyone did look the same

Well why did knights look the same? Checkmate

LATPAT is shyte for the summer, but for spring, fall, winter and urban it's fairly decent. If there's green all around, you stand out horribly - even moreso in the dark. I've stood watch at night, and someone wearing Woodland blends woth the darkness, whole a LATPAT figure is a white blob.

But yeah, I'm pretty sure some dodgy deals were in place when it was developed. "Yes, and having the shape of the country in the pattern makes sense".

We're getting slightly less shyte MultiLATPAT now. That again seems like a "palms were greased" project.

Woodland is fucking marvellous for temperate climate, though.

>Then the Marines changed to MARPAT. Other branches and countries started researching new patterns, though many seem like variations of MARPAT

OC

Fuck, didn't attach the image.

>Why do all militaries look the same now?
because armies tend to want to use what works, rather than what looks pretty anymore.

WWI killed the military flair that was worn in centuries past where battles were fought in formations, bright red/blue colors and spiked Prussian hats only gave away positions for artillery to blow people out of cover as machine guns cut down those who are forced out.

ACU's/camo uniforms create long range illusions that make it harder for snipers or other long range shooters to focus on single targets, but is a relatively moot point at close to mid-range combat where any standard uniform would do. It's mostly protection from long range. it's not foolproof at long range but it does make it harder to focus on a target, which is enough to save lives if they can't reliably headshot people from thousands of yards.

Otherwise people would stick to what was used in World War II/Korea/Vietnam, etc, simple colored green/khaki uniforms that are lightweight so as not to weigh a soldier down during an advance.

Though most armies/navies keep the more noticeable flair in their dress uniforms. You'll still see Italians wearing feather hats and the French wearing their blue high collared shirts and kepi hats.

>woodland camo

The BDU shall forever be the greatest combat uniform ever made. There's a reason it's the most popular camouflage in the world. Much like the AK-47, it's cheap, durable, and it works.

Isn't there a woodland version of LATPAT?

Navy can use it, because the Marines are under it. Seabees, Riverines, and some other rates wear a variation. I like the meme, though.

Seabees were actually still wearing BDU and DCUs until just a few years ago.

Yes, MultiLATPAT. They literally changed like 1/5 of the pixels. Dude in the middle is LATPAT, the rest are modelling the new hotness of MultiLATPAT.

For having spent fucking years developing it, it still falls pretty fucking short of what the summer looks like here.

Oh, and added bonus - they went with new uniform cuts for it, so the pants now have some fucking corset like contraption that reaches up to your fucking ribcage. And it has zero breathability.

FIY, even the service nickname for LATPAT is "pixel".

Just shared it with some Marine buddies

>For having spent fucking years developing it, it still falls pretty fucking short of what the summer looks like here.

Well in modern times, they're usually trying to maximize profit for the uniform manufacturer themselves.

>the pants now have some fucking corset like contraption that reaches up to your fucking ribcage. And it has zero breathability.

Ouch.

Like I said, BDU is the best because it keeps things simple.

yeah, but you see them in this most often these days

Singapore's uniform looks similar. As do many militaries

Please tell me they're planning on ditching the blueberry NWU...

I think shipboard sailors, and medical still rock it, though I have seen some in these

China's PLAN Marines don't wear the same thing as other Marines.

My unit uses BDU for most of the year, despite regulations essentially saying it's not a uniform anymore, in essence making us unlawful combatants, lel.

But yeah, the ways they manage to fuck up custom military gear here is absurd. The MultiLATPAT chestrig? Got MOLLE on the back, but all the pouches on the front are sewn and and non-modular. Delightful.

Oh, fun fact you've probably never heard about - all our current uniforms are sewn by convicts. So quality follows, and literally every field exercise 2-3 lads in my platoon rip their LATPAT pants crotch.

>a few overweight shitbags slipping through the cracks is representative of a country's entire military

AOR2 FOR TIER-1 ONLY!!!

We're all going to gruacamoles by next year

>Oh, fun fact you've probably never heard about - all our current uniforms are sewn by convicts. So quality follows, and literally every field exercise 2-3 lads in my platoon rip their LATPAT pants crotch.

US Military has the exact same problem. In fact, you almost certainly got the idea for it from us. American prison labor is so cheap, even the Chinese can't compete with it.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison–industrial_complex

>tfw the "Land of the Free" effectively operates what amounts to a voluntary version of the Nazi concentration camp labor system in broad daylight

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Wirtschaftsbetriebe

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Main_Economic_and_Administrative_Office

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IG_Farben_Trial

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pohl_trial

Minus the Typhus and gas chambers of course. Better hope America never loses a major war though, because this will almost certainly be classified as a war crime.

Was not aware of that. Well sheeeit.

Mind you, I am reasonably sure ours are given the choice of shortening prison time (slightly) or accruing some monies they are paid upon release - as opposed to sitting on their arse for the duration. Given that choice I'd sure be sewing.

Yeah I understand that, but we shouldn't be in the business of having our national security reliant on prison labor. If not for the risk of sabotage, than because it's simply bad taste.

Oh, no doubt. A comrade of mine acquired offcuts of LATPAT (can't normally get any) - to camo gear you've bought third party and such.

Box had two syringes in it. Fuck all of that.

The fuck is it with dudes who go on boats being issued with blue camo? Why the fuck would you want to make it hard to visually identify a man overboard? It's not like it's going to prevent the enemy from seeing you when you're ON A FUCKING BOAT.

Dumb as fuck desu

Why would the airforce need camo?

I do agree that pre 2001 US military camo is supreme

birds

Downed pilots, these crazy niggas who parachute into hostile territory to collect weather data before sorties.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force_Special_Operations_Weather_Technician

Probably other guys too. I mean, when you have the dorkiness that is the chair force where you aren't expected to bring your tray to the trash in the cafeteria, and have elaborate anime sword ceremonies, you kind of need some things to make your branch not look like a bunch of faggots. In addition to everything cool about military aviation, of course.

as combat evolved, the battlefields narrowed down significantly and the protection/specific weapons/uniforms correspond to the advancement

ancient combat took place in all areas regardless of terrain/fortifications, crossbows and heavily armored troops developed into more of an emphasis on defensive advantage, advancement of firearms and artillery lead to full sieges becoming less common and an emphasis on open field, open field combat became far less common with high fire rate firearms and accurate artillery, sieges and partial sieges became irrelevant with air superiority, and now the only combat is fought where both sides highly rely on visibility and assertive/defensive advantage. partially visible units have an inherent advantage if both sides have similar weaponry, and there's always an ideal camouflage pattern for any given climate/area

i prefer the digicamo personally, except for the navy who shouldn't be wearing camo at all desu

>implying MARPAT is shit

youtube.com/watch?v=KJFj7SvXRQc

How many points in history did weaponry reach a level where no amount of protection available at the time would be able to stop it?

Armor has never been good at dealing with heavy blunt weapons. A mace let you bash your way through pretty much any worn protection.

25 year rule. This is a question for /k/

No, it's about the history of modern camouflage, which (unless you're being pedantic) became widespread during the Cold War.

That lady looks like she's about to be stabbed by that thing.

>For the purpose of determining what is history, please do not start threads about events taking place less than 25 years ago. Historical discussions should be focused on past events, and not their contemporary consequences.
Read the sticky.

It prevents the obviousness of stains from grease, oil, paint, and other things like that you commonly come into contact with on a ship. At least, the NWU type I was specifically meant for that; the Chinese are probably just legitimately retarded.

I thought pilots still wore OD flight suits.

But yeah, PJ's, Combat Controllers, and the like; the Air Force still has some direct combat roles. Plus base defense/MP's and whatnot.

You do realize the Cold War started in 1947, right? Hell, Desert Storm falls under the 25 year rule.

Thought this about pilots as well, which made me wonder. One of the upper links said more and more were ditching their flight suits and mentioned camo (although, that was just a very cursory search so don't take my word as the definitive answer).

Kinda curious why it took this long for a move like that to happen honestly, even if it is happening on the lower end of the chain first instead of command issuing camo flight suits. Can't cost too much more to have them made in camo print instead of straight OD

Although picturing a pilot walking to his plane in that tiger-stripe, or any other camo for that matter, just feels wrong to me. Might be better for the pilot, but OD is kinda iconic like that for pilots IMO

China thinks marines actually fight underwater lmao

Nobody is talking about Choco Chip or things like that. They're talking about MARPAT, UCP (erroneously calling it ACU), and the like.

>Historical discussions should be focused on past events, and not their contemporary consequences.
Read this again. And how OP is talking about militaries looking the same now. Not how they looked the same during Desert Storm or some shit.

>The modern US Military is truly a pathetic shell of what it was 20-30 years ago
What was the last real war we won? We haven't done shit since Korea except kick over some sand castles in Iraq, Afghanistan, Panama and Grenada.

>get a marginally interesting thread for once rather than /pol/ thread #8273
>this is against the board rules hurr durr

Of all the threads to complain about you choose this one? Neck yourself.

>What was the last real war we won?
Civil war

See >What was the last real war we won?

Persian Gulf War hands down. The US Military surpassed its own expectations there. Foreign policy experts and commanding generals were expecting the ground campaign to be a bloodbath rivaling the Battle of the Somme. The Army War College put "acceptable" losses at 20,000.