For those of you who may have read the topic about the formation of an Airsoft team and saw the mention of ABU's and did not know what the heck we were talking about the Airforce has created the new Airman Battle Uniform. It is the Airforce's version of the Army's ACU's.

I see one or two of these a day as well as Army peeps is their ACUs. That's what happens when you work at a grocery store on one side or the other of a Military base, see a lone O3 in a flight suit once in a while but when she comes threw I take notice.

Very nice looking ABU.But I don't get why the Airforce needs a version of the Army's ACU's.

All the branches are switching to a digital pattern which started with the Marine Corps, the Air Force and the Army uniforms just look a little similar but not a whole lot. The Navy is changing over to their own digital pattern as well, similar to the MAR Pats with some minor differences other then the colors is the chest pockets are straight up and down not at a slant like on the MAR Pat or the ACUs and the branch emblem embroidered right onto the left chest pocket.

However the ABUs are pretty much a BDU design, though in a digital pattern, not quite a totally new uniform like the ACUs or MARPAT.

I've also moved this thread to the Costume & Props area, as the ABUs have been shown on Stargate Universe...

From what I have herd the Airmen don't care for the ABU's as much as they do the ACU's I guess

something to do with they suck in warm climates..

Never been fond of the digital pattern.

I think the digital pattern is ok for what they had originally intended it, but seeings how our troops are currently going up against enemy who are not using a lot of high tech equiptment it's not proving highly effective for them. I haven't had a chance to see the new ABU's in person yet so for the time being I will hold off on commenting on them...

One thing I have heard about the Navy Work Uniform is that it has to be dry cleaned due to a chemical in the dies that cause the uniform to turn orange when coming into contact with salt water. Some areas add salt in the treatment process to soften the water.

there not to bad, i think there better for desert conditions, the marine uniform is better for woodland,

the marine one is like the German Flecktarn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flecktarn witch is probaly the best stuff in the world.

the prob is over there they just cant shoot someone even if they know there the bad guy..
the bad guys dress like the civlians and it makes it hard to know who is who and you dont know untill they are getting shot at..
and a bomb well it dont need to see u to do its thing..

one of my teachers told me about this, he was over there.

It seems to me (with my intel background) that it is obvious to all that the camo of today for the terrorist is Civies of the hour. Even if it is a camo of a prego teen with a suicide vest under it. All are soldiers, all are expendable.

I have always said the best place to hide is in plain sight. If you blend in with the environment in which you are placed then you hide no matter what style of BDU, ACU, ABU, Marpat, and NWU you wear.

Those of you who may be wanting an army persona may want to hold off on the ACUs. Our LTC told us that we're gonna be switching to MultiCam in the near future. May be something to look at. Some spec-ops units are actually using it now and they like it a lot more. ACUs only really blend in with THE COUCH. (If you haven't seen that picture look it up. )

Just a heads up, look into MultiCam.

Multicam is already in use in Afganistan but most of the Army will continue to use ACUs until the Army runs out and considering the bulk orders it has made that will take a few years.