The U.S. Woodland is a camouflage pattern that was used as the default camouflage pattern issued to the United States Armed Forces from 1981, with the issue of the Battle Dress Uniform, until its replacement in the mid to late 2000s.[2] It is a four color, high contrast disruptive pattern with irregular markings in green, brown, sand and black. It is also known unofficially by its colloquial moniker of "M81" after the Battle Dress Uniform it was first used on,[3] though this term was not officially used by the U.S. military.
Although completely phased out of frontline use in the U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. Woodland is still used on some limited level by some branches such as MOPP suits, equipment and vests left over while some modernized uniforms (either BDU or commercial) were worn specifically by special forces such as USMC Forces Special Operations Command and United States Navy SEALs.
Development and history
The woodland pattern is nearly identical to the brown-dominant version of the ERDL pattern, only differing in that it is enlarged by 60 percent. The enlargement was made in order to extend the effectiveness of the camouflage pattern to as close to 350 meters as possible [4]
These changes reflected a shift in the tactical focus of the United States military from fighting an extremely close-range war such as the one in South Vietnam to a longer-range one such as on the fields of Europe.[5]
Near InfraRed compliance
Many old M81 Woodland BDUs are made with Nyco. It is not labeled as NIR compliant however testing done on the material and dyes used in the creation process found it to be effective in camouflaging under InfraRed light.[6][7]
Coloring
The US Woodland pattern was printed slightly darker than ERDL for two key reasons. First, the chosen colors complemented the pattern sizing, creating a monotone appearance at greater distances and enhancing the effectiveness of the pattern. Second, there was a strategic consideration for large-scale production, where fabrics tend to be lighter than intended due to the production process. By starting with slightly darker colors, the eventual fading of the fabric through use, and washing would result in colors moving closer to the desired target, thereby prolonging the garment's useful life.[6]
In the U.S. Army, the woodland-patterned Battle Dress Uniform was replaced by the digital Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) found on the Army Combat Uniform, introduced in 2004. UCP itself was replaced by the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) in 2019. The pattern is still used on MOPP suits and some older models of body armor yet to be retired, such as PASGT vests and Interceptor Body Armor.
U.S. Navy
The U.S. Navy no longer uses the Woodland pattern. Most of the Navy has transitioned to the Navy Working Uniform, which uses digital patterns in either a woodland colorway (NWU Type III) or, for some deployed tactical units only, a desert version (Type II).
The Air Force phased out the woodland pattern battle dress uniform in 2011 when they went to the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) which used a pixelated version of the tiger stripe pattern. It was in turn replaced by the Army's OCP by 2021.[9] The Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force's civilian auxiliary, also used woodland patterned BDUs until being discontinued 15 June 2021.[10]
Russian Internal Troops wearing LES, a Russian camouflage pattern similar to the woodland camouflage
Afghanistan: Taliban used copies and US made uniforms circa 1996 to 2001 before the invasion of Afghanistan. Uniform copies and US uniforms used by Taliban during insurgency period. After 2021 takeover woodlands continued to use by Islamic National Army.
Montenegro: Used by the Montenegrin Special Anti-Terrorist Unit.[35]
North Korea: Reported to be used by North Korean soldiers stationed in the DMZ from 2010.[36]
Philippines: Woodland uniforms and gear is commonly used but also universally superseded by their locally produced DPM patterns.
Russia: Russia uses near-copies (Komplekt kamuflirovannogo obmundirovannogo [KKO] and Лес or Les [forest]) and true copies (NATO) worn by MVD Agencies such as the Internal Troops and Spetsnaz GRU units.[37][38]
South Korea: Initially in the early to mid-1980s several local variations were produced in limited amounts and used by certain units in the ROKA and the ROKMC. In 1990 the Republic of Korea Armed Forces introduced a locally produced version based on US woodland (TonghabKorean: 통합) across all branches, which was the standard issue pattern for uniforms, vests, webbing and helmet covers until 2010 when it began to be replaced by digital patterns Granite B for ROKA and ROKN, digital "tiger stripe" style camouflage pattern, known as 물결무늬 (Wave pattern) - aka WAVEPAT - or 해병 디지털 (Marine digital) for ROKMC and Doksa (독사 or "venomous snake") for ROK-SWC due to reports of North Korea issuing copies of Woodland, however the woodland pattern still continues to see limited use.[39]
Canada: Formerly used by the Canadian Forces as the pattern of helmet covers for the M1 Helmet (both regular and paratrooper variants), the PASGT Helmet and the Spectra Helmet otherwise known as the 'Barrday Helmet'.[45] The Woodland pattern had originally entered service around the same time as the US and had become the standard issue cover by the late 1980s, replacing the older Mitchell Pattern covers.[45] The cover pattern was fully phased out and replaced by CADPAT by the mid-2000s.[45] Helmet covers as well as uniforms (like former US BDUs) and webbing equipment are still seen in Woodland pattern for OPFOR training.
Georgia: Former standard issue camouflage pattern of the Georgian Armed Forces, replaced in 2007.[21]
Iraq: Formerly used by reformed post-2003 Iraqi military.[46][47]
^Desmond, Dennis (1997). Camouflage Uniforms of the Soviet Union and Russia: 1937-to the Present. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN978-0764304620.[page needed]
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