U.S. Woodland

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.[1] 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,[2] though this term was not officially used by the U.S. military.

U.S. Woodland
Digitized swatch of the U.S. Woodland pattern
TypeMilitary camouflage pattern
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1981–2012 (U.S. military)
Used bySee Users (for other non-U.S. users)
WarsInvasion of Grenada
United States invasion of Panama
Lebanese Civil War
Somali Civil War
Persian Gulf War
Yugoslav Wars
Operation Uphold Democracy
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War
2008 Cambodian-Thai stand-off
Russo-Georgian War
Syrian Civil War
Russo-Ukrainian War
Production history
Produced1981–present

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 printed from an enlargement of the original.[3] The woodland pattern was enlarged and the borders of the splotches were re-drawn to make them less regular. Part of the earlier pattern was left off the later pattern because the enlargement made them no longer fit on the width of the bolt of cloth. The pattern does not repeat horizontally across the width of the bolt, but only vertically along its length. The pattern was officially adopted in 1981.[3]

The effect of enlarging the pattern was to make the pattern more visible at a distance, avoiding "blobbing", where smaller areas of color seem to blend into larger blobs. This also gave the pattern a higher contrast, making it stand out more sharply at close distances and defeating the camouflage effect at closer range. Digital and Flecktarn camouflage patterns resolve this problem by using a range of blob sizes to give a similar effect whatever the distance.

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.[4][5]

Usage
U.S. Army National Guardsmen on an exercise in 2000 while wearing Woodland BDUs and PASGT helmets

U.S. Army

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).

U.S. Marines

The Woodland Pattern BDU was phased out by the Marine Corps with the introduction of the digital MARPAT Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform in 2002, although it was reintroduced for the United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command in 2011[6] and was also worn by MARSOC forces in the War in Afghanistan.

U.S. Air Force

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 Tigerstripe pattern. It was in turn replaced by the Army's OCP by 2021.[7] The Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force's civilian auxiliary, also used woodland patterned BDUs until being discontinued 15 June 2021.[8]

State defense forces
Captain Gay of the Virginia Defense Force wearing ACU pattern woodland camouflage.

Several state defense forces use the Woodland Pattern on their BDUs.[9] Members of the Virginia Defense Force wear a Woodland version of the Army Combat Uniform (ACU).[10][11]

Law enforcement

The pattern also sees use among police departments, such as the Rhode Island State Police.[12]

Users
Russian Internal Troops wearing LES, a Russian camouflage pattern similar to the woodland camouflage

See also

References
  1. Christine O. Hardyman, ed. (1988). "Chapter 7: Support Services". Department of the Army Historical Summary FY 1981. United States Army Center of Military History.
  2. "Woodland Back". Soldier Systems. November 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-11-20.
  3. "ERDL Archives - Soldier Systems Daily".
  4. "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-24.
  5. "Making a 21st-century US military uniform every branch can wear - News - Stripes". www.stripes.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-22.
  6. "MARSOC adopts woodland Crye Precision uniform". Military.com. 22 August 2011.
  7. Losey, Stephen (May 14, 2018). "The long-awaited OCP uniform is on its way to the Air Force — and here's when you could get it". Air Force Times. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  8. "CAP REGULATION 39-1 - CIVIL AIR PATROL UNIFORM REGULATION" (PDF). NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS CIVIL AIR PATROL. March 5, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  9. "Questions & Answers about the Tennessee State Guard". Third Regiment of the Tennessee State Guard Official Website. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  10. "VDF Regulation 670-1" (PDF). vdf.virginia.gov. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  11. "Frequently Asked Questions". Ohio Military Reserve. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  12. "Uniform Gallery- Rhode Island -State Police". risp.ri.gov. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  13. "Afghanistan - Camopedia". www.camopedia.org. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  14. Larson (2021), p. 126.
  15. Larson (2021), p. 194.
  16. Larson (2021), p. 199.
  17. Larson (2021), p. 203.
  18. Larson (2021), p. 205.
  19. "Specijalne-jedinice.com - Special Anti-terrorist Unit of Republic of Srpska". specijalne-jedinice.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018.
  20. Larson (2021), pp. 209.
  21. "Canadian Forces Woodland1". www.mpmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  22. "Kamouflage.net — U.S. Woodland pattern camouflage". www.kamouflage.net. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  23. "Croatian Woodland shirt". camouniforms.net.
  24. "Croatian Woodland Shirt 02". camouniforms.net.
  25. Larson (2021), p. 219.
  26. "Estonia - Camopedia".
  27. Larson (2021), p. 477.
  28. Larson (2021), p. 390.
  29. jwh1975 (9 June 2015). "Uphold Democracy 1994: WWII weapons encountered".
  30. "Iraqi Woodland Camo". Middle East Militaria.
  31. "New Iraqi Woodland Camo Uniform". Middle East Militaria.
  32. Larson (2021), p. 255.
  33. Larson (2021), p. 268.
  34. "Latvian M07 LatPat Camouflage". 29 April 2020.
  35. "Latvian US M81 Woodland Camouflage". 4 May 2020.
  36. "Lithuanian Woodland jacket". camouniforms.net.
  37. "STANDARDIZED U.S.-LED COALITION FORCES UNIFORM" (PDF). apps.dtic.mil. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  38. "Luxembourg gets its own camo pattern!".
  39. Larson (2021), p. 275.
  40. "Specijalne-jedinice.com - Special Anti-terrorist Unit of the Republic of Montenegro". specijalne-jedinice.com.
  41. "Dutch Army Adopts Netherlands Fractal Pattern Camouflage - Soldier Systems Daily".
  42. "Nigerian Armed Forces ~ M14 Arid Pattern". 29 December 2020.
  43. "North Korean soldiers at Joint Security Area sporting new uniforms, photos reveal | NK News". 22 November 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-03-04.
  44. Camouflage Uniforms of the Soviet Union and Russia: 1937-to the Present by Dennis Desmond, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. (December 1, 1997) ISBN 978-0764304620
  45. Galeotti (2015), p. 39.
  46. "From Russia with Love, Syria's AK-74Ms". bellingcat. 19 February 2015.
  47. "VDF chaplains provide support at Fort Pickett chapel".
  48. Larson (2021), p. 458.
  49. tintucvietnam.vn (2018-03-04). "Tìm hiểu về quân phục ngụy trang của quân đội Việt Nam (phần 2)". Tin tức Việt Nam - Cập nhật tin tức trong nước hôm nay (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2019-04-16.

Bibliography
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Woodland pattern.
  • Galeotti, Mark (2015). Spetsnaz: Russia's Special Forces. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1472807229.
  • Larson, Eric H. (2021). Camouflage: International Ground Force Patterns, 1946–2017. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 9781526739537.
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