The Desert Night Camouflage pattern is a two-color grid camouflage pattern used by the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...

during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. It was designed to aid soldiers in concealment from Soviet-based

night vision devices A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The de ...

(NVDs). The pattern is now considered obsolete due to the increase in capability of foreign night vision devices. Even with the pattern being obsolete, it has gained interest due to the unusual looks.

History

During the Persian Gulf War, clothing sets in this pattern were issued to U.S. soldiers, designed to be worn over the issued six-color

Desert Battle Dress Uniform The Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU) is a U.S. arid-environment camouflage battle uniform that was used by the United States Armed Forces from the early 1980s to the early to mid 1990s, most notably during the Persian Gulf War. Although the U.S ...

during nighttime operations. No night-specific pattern has been created to replace this gear for nighttime use in a desert environment, as advancements in infrared reflectance technology in first the

Desert Camouflage Uniform The Desert Combat Uniform (DCU) is an arid-environment camouflage uniform that was used by the United States Armed Forces from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. In terms of pattern and textile cut, it is identical to the U.S. military's Battle Dre ...

, and finally the

Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform The Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU) is the current battledress uniform of the United States Marine Corps. It is also worn by Navy personnel (mostly corpsmen, Seabees, chaplains, and their bodyguards) assigned to Marine Corps un ...

and

Army Combat Uniform The Army Combat Uniform (ACU) is the current combat uniform worn by the United States Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Space Force. Within U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, it is referred to as the OCP (Operational Camouflage Pattern) Uniform ...

have eliminated the need for a separate nighttime overgarment.

Design

The DNC's design was made from cross hatches and blotches, which was supposed to break up the wearer's image when looked at through various NVDs. The colors consisted of Axolotl and Laurel Green. The interior of the clothes are made from olive drab green. The design was made for a parka, overpants and boonie hat.

Criticism

During the Gulf War, one scout/ sniper section of a Marine Corps

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

conducted a night test comparing the visibility of the desert night camouflage clothing with six-color desert uniforms and winter overwhites. The night camouflage clothing proved to be more visible than both the day desert uniforms and winter overwhites when viewed though an AN/PVS-5 night vision device. The pattern was seen as effective on NVDs that were made in the 1970s.

Users

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References

Bibliography

* {{Camouflage United States military uniforms Camouflage patterns Military camouflage Military equipment introduced in the 1990s