BDU CAMO (battle dress uniform)

The Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) is a camouflaged combat uniform that was used by the United States Armed Forces as their standard combat uniform from the early 1980s to the mid-2000s. Since then, it has been replaced or supplanted in every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.

BDU-style uniforms and derivatives still see widespread use in other countries (some of them being former U.S. surplus stocks transferred under U.S. security assistance programs), while others are still worn by some U.S. federal, state and local law enforcement agencies or activities who may work in tactical situations, such as the DEA FAST and SWAT teams.

As late as 2014, BDUs were worn by officers of the U.S. Public Health Service as the prescribed uniform for deployment, but have since been replaced by a variant of the U.S. Coast Guard's Operational Dress Uniform.

First issued in limited number to garrison leaders, officers and generals to all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces in September 1981 for replacement of the long worn and aging Olive Drab colored uniforms or OG-107, the following month, the Battle Dress Uniform began field issue military wide.^[10]

Since 1981, changes included the addition and subsequent elimination of buttoned waist adjustment tabs, the size reduction of the collar, and refinements in stitching and fit.

BDUs were initially only issued in a 50/50 nylon and cotton twill blend, called the Temperate Weather BDU, or TWBDU. Complaints regarding the heat retention of these uniforms, especially following the invasion of Grenada in 1983, led to the introduction of the Hot Weather BDU, the HWBDU. The Hot Weather BDU coat and trousers were constructed of 100 percent ripstop cotton, in a four-color woodland camouflage pattern. However, after complaints of shorter wear and frayed cuffs, along with requirements imposed by unit commanders to starch the all-cotton uniform for parade, the Enhanced Hot Weather BDU (EHWBDU) replaced the HWBDU commencing in 1996. The EHWBDU's components are made with 50/50 ripstop nylon and cotton poplin blend.

BDUs were printed with infrared-brightened dyes. Near infrared (NIR) Signature Management Technology is used in the uniforms to help prevent detection by NIR Image Converters. These photocathode devices do not detect temperatures, but rather infrared radiation variances. NIR-compliant uniforms use a special fabric that allows soldiers to appear at the same radiation level as the surrounding terrain, thus making them more difficult to detect. It is advised not to use starch when cleaning or ironing BDUs, since starch weakens the fabric and ruins the infrared protective coating. A pair of BDUs that has been starched even once should not be worn in combat.

The tropical weight uniform was not as durable as the temperate weight uniform. The tropical uniform would only last for 4–6 months of use when rotating four uniforms for duty, while the temperate uniform would last over a year under the same conditions.

U.S. Army[edit]

All United States Army soldiers formally received their first batches of the BDU as its new field and garrison uniform in the temperate weight cut on October 1, 1981. In addition, Patrol caps, boonie hats and the M-65 jacket were issued in the new camouflage pattern in time, including a new light brown T-shirt and black webbed belt with brass buckle.

The BDU was the first camouflage uniform approved by the U.S. Army since the Vietnam War, where the ERDL pattern was in limited use. The BDU soon replaced all earlier camouflage pattern uniforms for all wooded, jungle, and tropical environments, and by 1989, had completely replaced the standard olive drab uniforms that had been used since 1952.

U.S. Marine Corps

The ERDL-patterned BDU was first introduced to the United States Marine Corps in 1977, as they phased out the Olive Drab Green (OD) uniform. The BDU became the issued uniform for the U.S. Army in September 1981 in the woodland camouflage pattern, to begin replacing the Olive Drab Green (OD) or OG-107 colored fatigues, which had been standard wear since the early 1950s. The change was to better conceal wearers effectively in woodland or tropical Areas of Operation with macro shaped patterns, as opposed to OD, which had only a single shade of green. It was based primarily on the woodland colors specifically of northern Europe. It used shades of green, brown, tan, and black, initially printed onto cotton-nylon blend twill cloth, known as the "Temperate Weight" uniform. A newer lightweight "Tropical Weight" BDU uniform was introduced in 1987 with the pattern printed on 100% cotton rip-stop poplin cloth, to better prevent smaller rips from enlarging.

Originally, no nametapes were worn with the USMC's BDUs, which was officially referred to by the USMC as a "camouflage utility uniform" (CCU) during its usage. However, in October 1991,^{[12][13][14][15]} the USMC began the wearing of nametapes on their BDUs (and DCUs and DBDUs) in order to comply with NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG), becoming mandatory by October 1992. In the USMC's case, a nametape bearing the wearer's last name was worn embroidered above the right pocket, and a nametape reading "U.S. MARINES" being embroidered was worn above the left pocket. The MCCUU which replaced the BDU continues this.

The USMC's BDU was worn with a stenciled ironed-on Eagle, Globe, and Anchor (EGA) centered on the wearer's left breast pocket, below the pocket flap. Early USMC BDUs featured "USMC" lettering below that EGA, however, that was discontinued later on, with only the sole EGA being used by the end of the BDU's tenure with the USMC. The EGA was ironed-on to the BDU blouse pocket by USMC recruits at the end of MCRD upon completion of their training to signify their christening as U.S. Marines. The same was done on the eight-point "utility cover" hat that was worn with the USMC's version of the BDU. The BDU's successor, the MCCUU, has the EGA embroidered instead of stenciled on the blouse and all hats.