Military uniforms comprises standardized dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and military styles have gone through great changes over the centuries from colourful and elaborate to extremely utilitarian. army surplus clothing in the form of standardized and distinctive dress, intended for identification and display, are typically a sign of organized military forces equipped by a central authority.

Military camouflage became an essential part of modern military tactics after the increase in accuracy and rate of fire of weapons during the 19th century. Until the 19th century, armies tended to use bright colors and bold, impressive designs. These were thought to daunt the enemy, foster unit cohesion, allow easier identification of units in the fog of war, and attract recruits. In addition, bright uniforms, such as the red coats formerly used by the British, tended to deter desertion.

Conversely, the intent of camouflage is to disrupt an outline by merging it with the surroundings, making a target harder to spot or hit, or to confuse an observer as to its nature. Different countries have undergone different evolutionary stages towards the development of army surplus clothing.

The formation of the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in 1979, with its remit to operate in the Middle East, and protect U.S. interests in the Persian Gulfregion, saw the issue of the first U.S. desert army surplus clothing, a six colour Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU), that had been originally designed in 1962. With a base pattern of light tan overlaid with broad swathes of pale olive green and wide two-tone bands of brown, the clusters of black-on-white spots scattered over it resulted in it being nicknamed the “chocolate chip” pattern. It was worn by U.S. troops taking part in the biennial Bright Starexercises in EgyptFORSCOM peacekeepers in the Egyptian Sinai. Feedback from these users indicated that the design contrasted too much with the terrain. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the dark areas of the pattern warmed up more than the paler parts under desert sunlight, and retained the heat longer. The six colours were also more expensive to manufacture than three or four colours, and so the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center began the search for a substitute. Samples of sand and earth from the Middle East were measured for optical and infrared reflectance, and seven trial patterns were created using these statistics. The patterns were evaluated in fourteen different desert locations and narrowed down to one favourite. The resulting “Desert Camouflage Pattern: Combat” was standardized in 1990, but was not ready before troops deployed to Saudi ArabiaGulf War of 1990-1991. Consequently U.S. forces wore the six colour DBDUs during the campaign. An initial batch of desert BDUs in the new scheme was enroute to the Middle East when hostilities ceased.[4] The pattern, officially issued with the new army surplus clothing (DCU) in 1993, consisted of a subtle blend of large pastel green and light tan shapes, with sparsely placed, narrow, reddish brown patches, leading the design to be unofficially nicknamed the “Coffee Stain” pattern. This remained in service for over a decade, most notably during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Currently this pattern is being replaced by various digital pixel patterns. during the 1980s, and by  during the

Types of Military Caps

Although the military wore special clothing and armor as early as Ancient Greece and Rome, most soldiers fought in their civilian wear and perhaps some form of helmet and other protection. Many of the helmets were also decorated with a colorful plume to distract the enemy and identify friends and foes. In the late 1600s, different branches of the military began designing their own unique uniform styles. Over the years, a wide variety of hats and caps have been worn with these uniforms for design, warmth and protection from the elements.

    Bearskin Hats

  1. According to a book by John Whiteclay Chambers II, the British Army foot guards started wearing tall grizzly bearskin fur hats in the 1670s. The military thought these hats would make the men look taller and more intimidating during battle. In 1815, after the Battle of Waterloo, all soldiers were allowed to wear fur caps. Even today, each battalion receives a bearskin hat on loan when assigned to ceremonial responsibilities at Buckingham Palace in London. In the past, each man owned his own hat, but now the guards only receive one when necessary. Some of the hats, kept in storage when not used, are more than 100 years old. The newest ones are made of synthetic fur due to complaints from animal activists.

    2. Civil War Hats

  2. Hats were were worn with both the Union and Confederate Civil War uniforms. The first Union hats were made of heavy black wool felt. They were controversial because they looked too much like civilian hats. Although many of the officers continued to wear these earlier wool hats, the lower ranks began wearing kepi, or the billed caps seen in most Civil War photographs. The Confederate soldiers also wore kepi, with different colors depending on rank. The fez was worn by those American Union and Confederate soldiers who modeled themselves after zouave soldiers, North African troops fighting with the French Army. However, this hat was also not adequate for the battlefields. The fezes did not shield the soldiers’ eyes from sunlight and were impractical during the winter.

    3. Hitelmacher Hats

  3. When Israel was first partitioned as a separate country in 1947, the new government ordered hats from New York manufacturers. These first hats were made by a company called Hitelmacher, or Yiddish for “hat maker.” From then on, the hats were named after this manufacturer. These straight-sided round hats, which had an unbendable visor, leather chinstrap, sweatband and drop-down cloth on the back to protect the soldier’s neck, were very practical. They were worn to the Sinai Campaign in 1956.

    4. Boonie Hat

  4. The wide-brimmed boonie hat was first worn by the Vietnam War soldiers. They either were olive drab, woodland or tiger-striped. The tiger stripes were best for camouflage. The boonie was ideal for the tropical weather, with its hot, humid and rainy days. Many soldiers from all of the U.S. military branches continue to wear this hat today because of its practicality.

    5. New Army Uniforms

  5. In 2008, the United States Army made the blue Army service uniform (ASU) the official mandatory wear. All Army personnel must wear this uniform as of July 2014. The ASU takes the place of two previous uniforms — the “Army Green” and “Army White.” It is based on what is now called the “dress blue” uniform, which goes back to the Revolutionary War. The Continental Army wore blue in contrast to the red British coats. It also is indicative of the blue Civil War Union uniform, which led to the term “the Blue and the Gray.” The beret is the standard headgear, unless a commander directs corporals and above to wear the service cap. ROTC/JROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) cadets wear a gray beret with their uniform. The black beret is now standard for all soldiers.

Different Types of Army Boots

Army boots come in various forms and the military forces of developed nations provide their armies with combat boots that can be used for various purposes. An army man can never opt out of boots during his service and this is so due to the wide range of benefits offered by the boots. Combating requires traversing through a lot of terrains, mostly tough, natural and places where the elements are against humans.

The following are the different combat boots given out in the army boot camp for the new recruits:

1. Patent leather combat- They are dress boots to be worn with the formal army dress, which is of high quality leather and does not require polishing.

2. Paratrooper- Jump boots worn by paratroopers. They have zippers and are used for uniformity reasons.

3. General Issue combat- To be worn with the battle or army uniforms. They are in black leather with laces and requires polishing.

4. Jungle-They have canvas uppers and drainage vents to prevent water from clogging, and is used for rough jungle terrains.

5. Desert- Full leather tan colored boots of suede leather and cannot be polished.

6. Tanker- Come with leather straps instead of lace and is made fully of leather, mainly used in tanker operations.

7. Extreme cold weather boots- They are referred to as Mickey Mouse boots, bunny boots or ECWs, are made of rubber. They come in black or white color and thick felt liners that keep moisture and cold out. They come with an inflation or deflation option as well.

Each type of combat boot is designed to give the best performance for the situation and hence the utility may vary from military operations in the jungle to the desert to the snow capped mountainous terrains