You guys sure have noticed that US marines now is wearing a new set of camourflage BDU, known as MARPAT. Why do they switch from the old set to a new one?

MARPAT (short for MARine Disruptive PATtern) is a pixelated camouflage pattern in use by the United States Marine Corps, introduced with the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU), which replaced the Battle Dress Uniform. The pattern is formed by a number of small rectangular pixels of color. In theory, it is a far more effective camouflage than standard uniform patterns because it mimics the dappled textures and rough boundaries found in natural settings. This is caused by how the human eye interacts with pixelated images. It is also known as the “digital pattern” or “digi-cammies” because of its micropattern (pixels) rather than the old macropattern (big blobs).

The United States Marine Corps has patented MARPAT[1], and registered the trademark “MARPAT”. By regulation, the pattern and items incorporating it, such as the MCCUU and ILBE backpack, are to be supplied by authorized manufacturers only and are not for general commercial sale, although imitations are available. Authentic MARPAT material is distinguishable by a Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem incorporated into the pattern.

MARPAT has patterns produced by highly complex fractal equations that result in a non-repeating pattern. The purpose of the digitized pattern is to match the visual texture of typical backgrounds. When compared to a white background the MARPAT does look surprising and would seem to catch attention, but when used in an operative environment, its textured appearance and lack of hard edges make it more effective than traditional patterns.
There were initially three MARPAT patterns: Woodland, Desert, and Urban. Currently, only the Woodland and Desert patterns are used by the Marine Corps, replacing the US Woodland pattern and the US Three Color Desert pattern.

Both the Woodland and Desert MARPAT incorporates the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor in the design

Then here’s come the US army new design, ACUPAT.

The Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP), also known as ACUPAT (Army Combat Uniform PATtern) and ARPAT (ARmy PATtern) is the military camouflage pattern currently in use on the United States Army’s Army Combat Uniform.[1] The pattern was chosen after several laboratory and field tests that occurred from 2003-2004.[2] Its digital pattern is a modification of the United States Marine Corps’ MARPAT camouflage and research into Dual Texture (Dual-Tex) Camouflage conducted in the 1970s.

Anyway, I’m still love their original woodland BDU, even it seems less practical nowadays. They look stylish to me, well that’s from civilians point of view, of course…