One would think that there are not too many variations in clothing patterns with regard to soldiers camouflaging themselves. One would be wrong. Each branch - Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force - has its own camouflage uniform; in fact, most have more than one pattern. Since 2002, the number of camouflage patterns worn by the military has increased from two to ten.
In 2002 the Marines were unsatisfied with the existing patterns. So, they took two years and $319,000 to develop two new patterns, one for desert and one for woodland. Not to be outdone, in 2005 the Army decided to produce a "universal" camouflage. Two-and-a-half million dollars later they did it. However, they soon discoverered it was not working in Afghanistan and another $2.9 million brought them one that could be used there. The Army is still not satisfied and is developing another pattern; this one is 'cheap' - $4.2 mil and counting.
Two years later in 2007 it was the Air Force's turn. After spending more than $3 mil, they had it. Howsomever, it could not be used in Afghanistan. Also, very few Air Force people actually fight on the ground; thus, the number of people that needed the camouflage was quite small. The Navy was more economical when they created their own uniforms in 2011; they spent only $435,000 designing three styles.
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