MultiCam

MultiCam
MultiCam
	A computerized rendering of a swatch of MultiCam
Type	Military camouflage pattern
Place of origin	United States of America
Service history
In service	2004–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	War in Afghanistan; Iraq War
Production history
Designer	Crye Precision
Designed	2002
Manufacturer	Crye Precision; MultiCam variants made in other countries
Produced	2002–present
Variants	Arid, Tropic, Alpine, Black; See Variants for MultiCam camos made in other countries

MultiCam is a camouflage pattern designed for use in a wide range of conditions produced by Crye Precision. Variants of it, some unlicensed, are in use with armed forces worldwide. The pattern is also available for civilian usage.

History[edit]

A mannequin wearing an early prototype of a MultiCam combat shirt in July 2004.

A U.S. Army soldier at the U.S. Capitol in June 2005, modelling an early prototype MultiCam combat shirt at a military technology convention.

USAF airmen wearing the Army Combat Uniform in MultiCam during the mid-2010s

First unveiled and designed in 2002,^[2] MultiCam was designed for the use of the U.S. Army in varied environments, seasons, elevations, and light conditions. It is a seven-color,^[3] multi-environment camouflage pattern developed by Crye Precision^[4] in conjunction with United States Army Soldier Systems Center.

The pattern was included in the U.S. Army's move to replace the 3-Color Desert and Woodland patterns, but in 2004 lost to the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) that came to be used in the Army Combat Uniform. Nonetheless, it remained in limited use by the Army in the mid-to-late 2000s for its "Future Force Warrior" program demonstrations.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

MultiCam was re-commissioned by the U.S. Army in 2010, replacing UCP for units deploying to fight in the War in Afghanistan, under the designation, Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern (OEF-CP).^[12]^[13] It had already been used by some American special operations units and civilian law enforcement agencies.^[14] The U.S. Army is scheduled to discontinue the use of UCP in October 2019.^[15]

MultiCam is available for commercial sale to civilians.^[16]

A version of MultiCam has been adopted by the armed forces of the United Kingdom as the Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP), replacing their previous DPM camouflage. MTP retains the color palette of Multicam but incorporates shapes similar to the previous DPM scheme. After using the Multicam scheme in Afghanistan, Australia has also adopted its own version, combining the pattern of Multicam with the color palette of its earlier DPCU / Auscam pattern.

On 25 November 2013, Crye Precision unveiled a family of MultiCam variants. The variants are designed for arid, tropical, and snow-covered environments, plus a black variant for use by law enforcement tactical teams.^[17]

Appearance[edit]

U.S. Army Rangers of 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment wearing Multicam while demonstrating the Future Force Warrior project at Fort Bliss, Texas, in February 2007.

MultiCam has a background of a brown to light tan gradient, overprinted with a dark green, olive green, and lime green gradient and a top layer of opaque dark brown and cream-colored shapes spread throughout the pattern. This allows for the overall appearance to change from predominantly green to predominantly brown in different areas of the fabric, while having smaller shapes to break up the larger background areas.

The MultiCam color scheme in Hex triplet is as follows:(i) Cream 524 B8A78B; (ii) Dark Brown 530 48352F; (iii) Tan 525 967860; (iv) Brown 529 6F573F; (v) Dark Green 528 5A613F; (vi) Olive 527 8C7D50; and (vii) Pale Green 526 85755C.^[18]

Non-licensed copies of the original pattern will often have slightly different colors, creating an altered overall effect.^[19]

Variants[edit]

Australia[edit]

On 19 November 2010, after trials by Australian special operations forces, the Australian Defence Force announced that Multicam will be standard for all regular Australian Army personnel in Afghanistan. Multicam, it is said, provided "... troops with greater levels of concealment across the range of terrains in Afghanistan – urban, desert and green." Previously, depending upon the terrain, Australian troops had to transition between green and desert colored Australian Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniforms (DPCU or AUSCAM).^[20]^[21] On 30 May 2011 the Defence Material Organisation announced that they had obtained licence to produce Multicam in Australia for US$4.7 million and Crye would also design a new uniquely Australian pattern for another US$3.1 million.^[22]

The Australian Army decided to standardize MultiCam-patterned uniforms starting in October 2014 called the Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform (AMCU). The AMCU is manufactured domestically by Australian Defence Apparel and Pacific Brands Workwear Group and comes in two variations, field and combat, using a tested Australian Multi-Camouflage Pattern that can operate in bush, desert, and jungle conditions. Previous Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniforms and Australian MultiCam Pattern Operational Combat Uniforms will be worn until all Army personnel have been issued with the AMCU.^[23]

Australian special forces in Multicam, June 2010
AMCU combat uniform and kit in Iraq, 2016

Chile[edit]

The Chilean Marine Corps, Chilean Naval Special Warfare Division, and the Chilean Air Force Commandos adopted Multicam in 2009. Multicam is the standard issue uniform of the Chilean Marine Corps.

A Chilean Naval Special Warfare Division (Chilean Navy Amphibious Expeditionary Brigade) unit wearing Multicam.
An Air Force Commando wearing Multicam.
Multicam Naval Infantryman Uniform.

Georgia[edit]

A domestic variant of MultiCam is in use with the Georgian Armed Forces as standard issue for all military branches as well as special units of the MIA and State Security. The pattern got adopted somewhere in 2010 replacing the DWC and MARPAT and since has been produced in a slightly altered version that fits better to the local environment.

Infantrymen of the Georgian 33rd LIB during mission readiness exercise.
A Georgian ranger during mission rehearsal for Afghanistan deployment
Georgian troops seen wearing a mix of MultiCam and MARPAT.
Georgian officer of the Batumi Separate Light Infantry Battalion in Afghanistan

Poland[edit]

A modified version of MultiCam has been adopted by the some of Polish Special Forces. It is named Suez.

From left: Suez, MultiCam, OCP

Russia[edit]

Multicam has also been adopted by some Russian Spetsnaz units, including FSB Alpha, the SSO, and by the Internal Troops of the MVD.

Russian FSB officers in December 2010, during an operation in Makhachkala.

United Kingdom[edit]

The colors of the Multicam pattern were also used in the development of the British Forces Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP). British forces deployed in Afghanistan used the Multi-Terrain Pattern from March 2010 onwards. The colors used in Crye's MultiCam technology were determined to be the best performing, across the widest range of environments (by a significant margin) when compared with the two existing Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) designs in use at the time and was subsequently selected as the basis for the new MTP camouflage, combined with the existing DPM base pattern.^[24]^[25]

British Army paratroopers train on Ukrainian weapons, July 2011.
British Army Soldier in Full Kit in Afghanistan, February 2011.

United States[edit]

MultiCam is currently in use by the U.S. Special Operations Command,^[26] and some private military contractors.^[27] Several members of the U.S. Army's Charlie Company, 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment were also seen wearing MultiCam when followed by ABC News.^[28] In 2010, U.S. soldiers deployed to Afghanistan were issued MultiCam versions of the Army Combat Uniform, as the existing Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) was found to be inadequate for the terrain.

In May 2014, the Army selected a pattern similar to MultiCam called Scorpion W2 to replace UCP, naming it the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP). The original Scorpion pattern was jointly developed by Crye Precision and the Army for the Objective Force Warrior program in 2002, and Crye made small adjustments for trademark purposes to create MultiCam. Because Scorpion is similar to MultiCam, the same color Velcro, buttons, and zippers can be reused.^[29]^[30] OCP resembles MultiCam with muted greens, light beige, and dark brown colors, but uses fewer beige and brown patches and no vertical twig and branch elements.^[31] On 31 July 2014, the Army formally announced that OCP would begin being issued in uniforms in summer 2015.^[32] Soldiers are allowed to wear uniforms and field equipment patterned in MultiCam until they can acquire OCP, which is allowed until MultiCam uniforms' wear-out date projected on 1 October 2018.^[33] Beginning October 1, 2018, USAF personnel will begin transition from ABU's to OCP until 2020.

Some local, state and federal law enforcement agencies also make use of the pattern, including the Drug Enforcement Administration's Foreign-deployed Advisory and Support Teams (FAST) teams operating in Afghanistan as well as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Special Reaction Team, the Spokane, Washington Police Department, and the Oregon State Police SWAT team.

An early prototype Scorpion pattern uniform on display at the Pentagon in May 2002.
DEA FAST agents in Afghanistan, in June 2008.
U.S. Army Special Forces in Farah Province, in April 2009.
U.S. Army soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division in Logar Province, in January 2011.
U.S. Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, in March 2011.
A U.S. Air Force Combat Controller operating in Haiti as part of Operation Unified Response, in January 2010.