Uniform Compare

Well, while prepping my uniforms I decided to whip out my camera and snap away. The Air Force is changing utility uniforms, phasing out the BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) in exchange for the ABU (Airman's Battle Uniform). This will be completed by 2011. I currently have both uniforms and they both have their pro's and con's.

The BDU is on the left and the ABU on the right. The BDU is in a "woodland" pattern camouflage...guess where it works best! Since our current conflicts in the Middle East aren't very "woodsy" there is another uniform called the DCU (Desert Combat Uniform). This uniform has been around since 1992 or so, it was created after Desert Storm/Shield when the military figured out that version of the DCU wasn't very good (the design was nicknamed cookie dough). So the BDU and DCU are both being replaced by ABU. Two for one! Good cost savings, right?



Not really. The ABU is a digital tiger strip pattern. Where as the Army's ACU (Army Combat Uniform) and the Marine Corps MARPAT (Marine Pattern) are just a digital design. But the Air Force being the smart war fighters we are, decided to add a color not commonly found in nature: BLUE!!! This pretty much negated any usefulness the ABU has in terms of providing camouflage. In fact, its concealment properties are so terrible the manufacturer of the ABU has apologized for the Air Force using that pattern. Awesome!



To be fair, the ABU is cheaper than having a set of BDUs and DCUs. And as illustrated in this picture, those two patches must be sown onto my BDUs (and a different version would go on my DCUs if I had them). For the ABU our wise leadership decided to do away with unit and MAJCOM (Major Commands) patches.

The Air Force did include some improvements in the ABU though (gasp). It has about a billion more pockets (which I am sure my Brother will love poking fun at). The only functional pocket they added though was for pen's on the forearm. I give the Army credit for that though since we stole it from their ACU design. The Army went with velcro patches and name tapes on their ACU while the Air Force still has sow ons. I am indifferent about that. The ABU also has kept the digital pattern in the name tapes (compare the BDU's and ABU's BRINKWORTH and US AIR FORCE patches above the pockets).

Some customizing I had to do was to cut out an extra layer of pockets/fabric on the inside of the ABU. They decided we needed even more pockets and put two on the inside of the blouse (jacket). This made the uniform unbearably hot. At some points there are 8 layers of fabric. A pair of scissors fixed this problem easily enough. Unlike the ACU, the ABU is allowed to have our sleeves rolled up. The ACU is such a light weight fabric that the Army only allows it to be worn sleeves down.

Another Pro (I think we are at 2 now) is that the ABU is wash and wear. The BDU, after washing, requires a starch bath and some talent with an iron (which I have) in order to give it a professional appearance. The ABU has a permanent crease in the sleeves negating the need for an iron or starch. Infact, it is strictly forbidden to starch the ABU. Since it has "NIR" (near infrared) that makes the uniform harder to detect using IR. So atleast I have that going for me in a uselessly design camo pattern.