Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP), originally codenamed Scorpion W2, is the primary U.S. Army camouflage pattern adopted in 2015 for the Army Combat Uniform (ACU), replacing the Universal Camouflage Pattern by 2019. It also superseded MultiCam, previously used in Afghanistan. The U.S. Air Force replaced its Airman Battle Uniform with OCP, and in 2019 the Space Force adopted it as well. Developed by Natick Labs and Crye Precision under the Objective Force Warrior program, OCP uniforms began issuing in 2015 to soldiers deployed worldwide, including Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Horn of Africa. The pattern became available for purchase starting July 2015.
Background
Selection process
In the early 2010s, the U.S. Army concluded that the UCP did not adequately meet all of the concealment needs for Afghanistan's multiple regions.3
In 2010, the United States Army Camouflage Improvement Effort considered 22 entrants. The Army eliminated the patterns down to five finalists who exceeded the baseline patterns and Scorpion W2 was among them in the Army's in-house submission (the Army later withdrew their submission leaving the four commercial vendors).4 The finalists in the Army's Phase IV camouflage testing were Crye Precision; ADS Inc. and Hyperstealth Inc.; Brookwood Companies Inc.; and Kryptek Inc.5
The 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDA or NDAA), prevents any service from adopting a new camouflage pattern not already in inventory before the NDA, unless they get all other services to adopt the same pattern. As a result, the Army had to consider existing camouflage patterns within the United States Department of Defense.6
Initially, the Army's first pattern choice was the MultiCam pattern developed by Crye Precision, but allegedly due to "printing fees", procurement discussions broke down.78 Crye Precision developed the original Scorpion pattern under a government contract in 2002. The pattern was modified by the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in 2009 and named the Scorpion W2 pattern.910 The Army owns the licensing rights for Scorpion W2, which lowers the overall cost, and allows the Army the option to restrict the pattern to service members only.11
Rollout
The ACU patterned in OCP first became available to U.S. Army soldiers on 1 July 2015, at 20 locations in the contiguous United States and in South Korea, with first-day sales exceeding $1.4 million. More installations began sales later in 2015, although soldiers deploying on real-world missions began receiving uniforms and equipment printed in OCP before that date. The color of the T-shirt and belt worn with the OCP ACU are Tan 499, as opposed to the desert sand color for the previous uniform, although soldiers were allowed to continue to wear the older color T-shirts, belts, and boots until October 2019. Body armor, packs, and pouches in previous UCP and MultiCam patterns will be worn until they can be replaced with OCP.12
On 14 May 2018, the U.S. Air Force announced that all airmen will transition from the Airman Battle Uniform to the OCP uniform. Airmen were authorized to wear OCP uniforms beginning 1 October 2018. Recruits in basic training, and cadets in Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, and Officer Training School were issued OCPs beginning 1 October 2019. All airmen were required to own OCP uniforms by 1 April 2021. Unlike the Army, the Air Force uses brown thread for name tapes and rank insignia and have a subdued-color flag patch at all times instead of when on deployment.13
The U.S. Space Force has also adopted the OCP uniform, but with navy blue thread for ranks and tapes.14
Users
- Australia: US-made Air Warrior PSGC vests in OCP were worn by Australian Defence Force aviation aircrews.1516
- Lebanon: Lebanese Armed Forces have worn US Army made OCP ACU uniforms as their standard camouflage uniform since 2017.
- South Korea: Worn by KATUSA units, replacing Universal Camouflage Pattern.
- Ukraine: Used by regular Ukrainian Armed Forces and reservists supplied by U.S. Armed Forces as of 2022.
- United States: Current standard camouflage of the U.S. Army since 2015 and U.S. Air Force since 2018.
- United States Army
- United States Air Force
- United States Space Force
- United States Navy (individual augmentees)17
- United States Coast Guard (SMTC/DSF)18
- Many State Defense Forces, military units under the command of individual state governments, utilize modified versions of the OCP uniform for their personnel.19
See also
- MARPAT, a digital camouflage used by the United States Marine Corps
- Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform, a similar camouflage pattern issued to the Australian Defence Force from 2014 onwards
- Multi-Terrain Pattern, a similar camouflage pattern issued to the British Army from 2010 onwards
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operational Camouflage Pattern.References
Tan, Michelle (3 April 2015). "Army chief shares update on new camo rollout". Army Times. http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2015/04/03/army-issues-new-camo-deployers/25241363/ ↩
"Operational Camouflage Pattern Army Combat Uniforms available July 1" (Press release). Washington, DC: United States Army. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015. https://www.army.mil/article/149543/Operational_Camouflage_Pattern_Army_Combat_Uniforms_available_July_1/ ↩
Harper, Jon (27 May 2014). "Reports: Army selects new camouflage uniform pattern". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 8 June 2014. http://www.stripes.com/news/reports-army-selects-new-camouflage-uniform-pattern-1.285675 ↩
Gould, Joe (23 May 2014). "Army selects new camo pattern". Army Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014. https://archive.today/20140608181751/http://www.armytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014305230076 ↩
Cox, Matthew (23 May 2014). "Army Selects New Camouflage Pattern". Military.com. Retrieved 8 June 2014. http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/05/23/army-selects-new-camouflage-pattern.html ↩
Gould, Joe (23 May 2014). "Army selects new camo pattern". Army Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014. https://archive.today/20140608181751/http://www.armytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014305230076 ↩
Harper, Jon (27 May 2014). "Reports: Army selects new camouflage uniform pattern". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 8 June 2014. http://www.stripes.com/news/reports-army-selects-new-camouflage-uniform-pattern-1.285675 ↩
Gould, Joe (23 May 2014). "Army selects new camo pattern". Army Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014. https://archive.today/20140608181751/http://www.armytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014305230076 ↩
Gould, Joe (23 May 2014). "Army selects new camo pattern". Army Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014. https://archive.today/20140608181751/http://www.armytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014305230076 ↩
"US Army Selects Scorpion Camouflage Pattern". Soldier Systems. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2015. http://soldiersystems.net/2014/05/23/us-army-selects-scorpion-camouflage-pattern/ ↩
Harper, Jon (27 May 2014). "Reports: Army selects new camouflage uniform pattern". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 8 June 2014. http://www.stripes.com/news/reports-army-selects-new-camouflage-uniform-pattern-1.285675 ↩
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs (8 July 2015). "Soldiers Line Up to Buy New Camouflage Uniforms". Kitup.Military.com. http://kitup.military.com/2015/07/soldiers-line-buy-camouflage-uniforms.html ↩
Cox, Matthew (14 May 2018). "Air Force transitions to a single combat uniform". AF.mil. https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1520066/air-force-transitions-to-a-single-combat-uniform/ ↩
Hodge Seck, Hope (17 January 2020). "Space Force Offers First Peek at Camouflage Uniform". Military.com. Retrieved 1 October 2020. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/01/17/space-force-offers-first-peek-new-camouflage-uniform.html ↩
"Exercise Care Bear taking patients to new heights". Retrieved 2 September 2022.[failed verification][better source needed] https://news.defence.gov.au/service/exercise-care-bear-taking-patients-new-heights ↩
"Exercise Vigilant Scimitar". 16 May 2022.[failed verification][better source needed] https://images.defence.gov.au/assets/Home/Search?Query=20220516adf8595729_0399.jpg&Type=Filename ↩
"The Air Force Is Down With The Army's OCP. The Other Branches, Not So Much". Task & Purpose. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2022. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-force-uniform-army-camouflage/ ↩
"SEAC visits USCG Special Missions Training Center at Camp Lejeune". 15 February 2024. https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8252510/seac-visits-uscg-special-missions-training-center-camp-lejeune ↩
"About The State Defense Force". StateDefenseForce.com. 1 November 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2023. https://statedefenseforce.com/main/about-the-state-defense-force/ ↩