Marines Get Permanent Press Battle Dress

June 20 -- The U.S. Army may have adopted a nifty new black beret, but it's the U.S. Marines who are firing the biggest salvo in the military fashion wars.

The corps is striking off in a whole new direction, announcing this month it will push ahead with new, specially designed camouflage uniforms that it says represent the leading edge of battlefield clothing. It marks the first significant change in "battle dress uniform" in 20 years.

The Marines are going high-tech with their "cammies."

Woodland Pixels

The designers turned to digital-style images for the new look, coming up with a striking, pixilated camouflage pattern to replace the large, familiar splotches of black, brown and green — known as "woodland camouflage." The pattern resembles the pixels of a computerized printout.

The new small pattern lets a Marine virtually disappear by walking into brush or a wooded area, said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James L. Jones, who has spearheaded the new uniform effort. For the first time, in January, Jones "modeled" the latest in battle dress on a trip to San Diego.

The uniform was designed with field needs in mind, according to Jones. It has more brown tones (known as "coyote brown") than current uniforms. That particular change was the result of initial feedback from Marine Corps scouts and snipers who reported brown tones were better hues to help stay hidden.

Jones said the new pattern better reflects the optical realities of the battlefield. "There are no straight lines in nature," he points out.

Another version of the uniform has light brown and sandy shades for use in the desert.

No More Ironing

The new cammies have other features not seen before, including at least one that's sure to be popular in the ranks — the new fabric is "permanent press." That means leathernecks will no longer have to spend time at the ironing board.

The chest pockets will have Velcro fasteners. Velcro can be noisy, but that is not a concern because the pockets would be buried under a flak jacket in combat situations, which would muffle the sound.