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Great DCU, most likely worn after 1998, since Goverment made desert branch and qualification insignia were not authorized until that year.

 

Thank you very much! Didn't know that :)

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From a deeper analyses of the DCUs that I showed before, I found those numbers printed inside the pockets.

 

Does anyone of you know what those numbers are?

 

The number starting with 7 is from the cavalry DCU while the other starting with 6 is from the 82nd DCU

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Cap Camouflage Pattern I

I have those numbers in light blue stamped in the pockets of a SEAL modified DCU and and another modified uniform, not sure what they are.

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From a deeper analyses of the DCUs that I showed before, I found those numbers printed inside the pockets.

 

Does anyone of you know what those numbers are?

 

The number starting with 7 is from the cavalry DCU while the other starting with 6 is from the 82nd DCU

Those numbers are "cutter tags" used to help assemble the uniform.

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Those numbers are "cutter tags" used to help assemble the uniform.

Thank you!! I thought that they were some kind of identifying number of the owner of the DCU...completely wrong ?

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DCU contract date is the most unreliable way to make estimate when the DCU was worn.

 

Indeed true, the only proof a contract date provides it that it was not worn before the a certain date.

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What I found odd in this DCU is that the drill sergeant patch is sewned so that the pocket is closed and not usable. Someone can tell me if this is a known practice or not?

 

 

 

Yes - I have several BDU's where that has happened. It's also not unheard of for pocket flaps to be sewn shut for a sharper appearance, but I don't know what the deal is with the pocket patches.

 

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Yes - I have several BDU's where that has happened. It's also not unheard of for pocket flaps to be sewn shut for a sharper appearance, but I don't know what the deal is with the pocket patches.

 

 

Pocket patches CAN be sewn on so that the pocket is still usable. However it is necessary to remove the pocket first, sew on the patch, and then sew the pocket back in place. This is the most expensive way to add pocket patches to a uniform.

 

If use of the pocket isn't necessary, it is much cheaper to simply sew the patch on with the pocket still in place, which will leave the pocket unusable (since the threads go through the patch, the packet, and the body of the jacket).

 

A practical/frugal soldier who knows they won't use that pocket may be fine with the simpler method. Besides, they'll have three other pockets on the jacket plus all of the packets on the DCU pants to use. Also, in the field they'll likely be wearing a vest over their uniform, making the pockets on the jacket mostly useless anyway.

 

Just depends on the needs of the soldier and how much they are willing to spend on their uniform.

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Any comment about the fact that the cavalry DCU could have been worn during the deployment of the 2-7 cavalry in 2004 in Iraq? Could be?

I have to say that the DCU shows signs of strong use and the cavalry patch is a little bit frayed.

I found on google a picture of an LT of the 2-7 in 2004 that maybe could be the owner of this one.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This one is Coast Guard, with a patch for Port Secruity Unit 307, which patrols Guantanamo Bay. I found online a different member of this unit wearing the same DCU and patch.

 

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Bob, It's a great Coast Guard DCU, they are indeed rare and getting harder to find. It looks like an early uniform, later versions had the Deployable Operations Group tab over the 307th patch starting in about 2007. In addition to Gitmo, Port Security Unit 307 served in Iraq and in Haiti during the 2010 Haitian earthquake relief operation.

 

Our new book "Desert Uniforms, Patches, and Insignia of the US Armed Forces" has a chapter devoted to Coast Guard DBDUs, DCUs and insignia. It was a great opportunity to highlight the role of Coast Guardsmen who served in Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cuba and Haiti.

 

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Here is one of my Coast Guard PSU 307 DCUs where the patch and tab are mounted on velcro. you can see the shadow where the original patch was attached before the addition of the Deployable Operations Group tab.

 

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Any comment about the fact that the cavalry DCU could have been worn during the deployment of the 2-7 cavalry in 2004 in Iraq? Could be?

I have to say that the DCU shows signs of strong use and the cavalry patch is a little bit frayed.

I found on google a picture of an LT of the 2-7 in 2004 that maybe could be the owner of this one.

 

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. There can't be too many prior-enlisted 1LTs who were Ranger, Master-Blaster (Master Parachutist Badge), 2x CIB AND drill sergeants so if you have a picture of one, that's likely him. That seems to be a very unique and collectible DCU and I would think it wouldn't be too hard to figure out who it was. Whoever that 1LT was he's likely retired now, probably made it to at least Major or even LTC. Since he has two awards of the CIB that means he'd be a Desert Storm vet as well as OIF/OEF.

 

I was in OIF in 2004 (in Kuwait) and can absolutely verify that the DCU was the uniform we wore. I didn't even see an ACU until we were getting ready to leave country around the end of November-December of 2004.

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This one is Coast Guard, with a patch for Port Secruity Unit 307, which patrols Guantanamo Bay. I found online a different member of this unit wearing the same DCU and patch.

 

attachicon.gif1.jpg

 

attachicon.gif1a.jpg

 

attachicon.gifphoto.jpg

 

Very interesting. I saw a few Coasties in Kuwait when I was there. Why would they wear a DCU in Gitmo though? Wouldn't the regular woodland BDU be more appropriate for that area? Or did all deployed PSU's wear DCUs?

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Very interesting. I saw a few Coasties in Kuwait when I was there. Why would they wear a DCU in Gitmo though? Wouldn't the regular woodland BDU be more appropriate for that area? Or did all deployed PSU's wear DCUs?

 

They wore what the Navy wore since they conducted joint operations. And up to around 2012 the Navy wore the DCU in a number of deployed environments, including Gitmo. For example here is Rear Adm. David B. Woods, commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, in 2012. In about 2013 the Coast Guard adopted the Navy Working Uniform Type III (NWU III) for deployed environments.

 

 

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Both of PaulR's Coast Guard DCUs shown above are featured in the Coast Guard chapter of "Desert Uniforms, Patches, and Insignia of the US Armed Forces".

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Recently, I picked up this Seabee DCU with submarine and Seabee Combat Warfare Enlisted Badge (thanks Kevin for the ID!). I normally don't buy DCUs without the nametape, but the insignia combination made it a must-have. I believe that the vet was with NMCB-25 or NMCB-26 which were reserve units in the Indianapolis area. If anyone has thoughts on identifying the vet, please feel free to post.

 

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This is where the name tape once was.

 

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Also on the underside of the collar, beneath the rank, the number "335" is written. Is this a battle roster number?

 

 

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