Source: Army sets dates for new camo rollout

Army Times — Tue, 05 May 2015 14:30:07 -0400

From: Army Times

The Army expects combat uniforms made of the new Operational Camouflage Pattern to start hitting store shelves on July 1, an Army official has confirmed.

New coyote brown boots to complement the new uniform won't be available until August, the source said.

New recruits should start receiving them in their clothing bags by January, according to the source, who has knowledge of the roll-out but requested anonymity.

Army public affairs declined to discuss the roll-out plan at this time.

Army Times' source said the target wear-out date of old ACUs made of the unpopular Universal Camouflage Pattern, has been set for October 2018. That means, until then, soldiers in garrison could see a mix of uniforms including MultiCam, which has been issued to soldiers deploying to Afghanistan since 2010 and more recently to those in Iraq.

Soldiers have clamored for more details on the new camo, and related wear rules.

The Army has yet to issue guidance on whether new darker accessories (boots, T-shirt, belt) can be worn with old uniforms or vice versa.

In early April, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told a virtual town hall that OCP would be available in late summer or early fall, and would be issued in clothing bags soon after.

Both MultiCam, and OCP feature a more traditional (non-digital) camo pattern of muted greens, light beige and dark brown.

The Army had said there would be desert and jungle variants of OCP, but this far there have been no details or imagery of potential variants.

The new ACUs are expected to have design changes as well:

- The internal knee and elbow pads will be gone.
- The upper-sleeve pocket will be an inch longer and zippered instead of Velcro.
- The cargo pocket will lose its cord-and-barrel lock.
- And the lower leg pocket flap will have a button rather than Velcro.

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2015/05/05/details-emerge-ocp-acu/26923509/