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The Army's New AFV Camo Paint Job


patches
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No not today, but yesterday, nearly 40 years yesterday. This from the November 1975 issue of SOLDIERS Magazine.

 

post-34986-0-16708100-1428368724.jpg

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Ms. Jarvis' outfit looks like something out of my high school yearbook. Times were different.

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RustyCanteen

Ms. Jarvis' outfit looks like something out of my high school yearbook. Times were different.

 

The camouflage isn't bad either. :D

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Some of the patterns adopted in the early 1970's would just look bizarre by today's standards. These appeared in a recruiting brochure.

Army Europe APC TOW.JPG

Army Europe tank 4 small.JPG

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Some of the patterns adopted in the early 1970's would just look bizarre by today's standards. These appeared in a recruiting brochure.

gwb. These are from Army Recruiting brochures I know, but do you have the date on them? The Government Printing Office copyright some where on them shows, or normally shows the date.

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gwb. These are from Army Recruiting brochures I know, but do you have the date on them? The Government Printing Office copyright some where on them shows, or normally shows the date.

 

These are scans from my files. I don't have it handy right now, but I want to say 1974. Back cover has...

Army Europe Be All You can be 2.JPG

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These are scans from my files. I don't have it handy right now, but I want to say 1974. Back cover has...

While the brochure no date dates to the early 80s the photos don't, probably dates from a little later than 1974 maybe 1975. I say all this because the slogan Be All That You Can be came out in the early 80s, at the time the slogan as you will remember was Join The People who Joined The Army, this was the slogan at least till 1979 and later 80-82 when I was in, I think the Be All You Can Be came out around the time I was getting out in late 82.

 

The Camo jobs in these two photos I believe were interim ones 1975-79, before the new camo for AFV and other vehicles as mentioned in the artical started to applied.

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Just checked a photo book of mine with only photos I took when I was in the 2/12 Cav 1st Cav Div in 80-81, I have a few photos with APC in them, interestingly some have camo jobs that are like the ones posted by gwb, while a few have camo jobs like the one in the article I posted.

 

And here's one with the camo like the ones gwb posted, I forgot I posted it in the Let's See Your Military Related Photos, (In the Photos Forum).

 

This one is from July 1980.

 

post-34986-0-55667900-1372396173.jpg

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The photos from the recruiting brochures show the unique 4-color MASSTER (Modern Army Selected Systems Test, Evaluation and Review) camo scheme that was used by Seventh US Army in Germany starting in 1973. It was part of a test that led directly to the adoption of the MERDC scheme in 1976. The MERDC scheme used a basic pattern and substituted colors from an approved palette to create eight different combinations based on locale and season. It was replaced by the NATO standard 3-color camo in 1988.

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Thanks B229, found this page on the MASSTER paint

 

http://www.oocities.org/wark_on_geo/morecam.htm

 

Perhaps my APC in the photo I posted and others that appear to be MASSTER, are a cross between MASSTER and MERDC. or they were old vehicles from West Germany reissued back in the states?

 

I got to try and find an photo of the Jeeps and Trucks we had in Alaska in 81-82, they had this kind of MASSTER/MERDC like jobs, but included White splotches

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Wharfmaster

What do you think people are going to say 20 years from now about the blue camo the Navy is now wearing ?

 

 

 

Wharf

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What do you think people are going to say 20 years from now about the blue camo the Navy is now wearing ?

 

 

 

Wharf

Have they started painting their shore based wheeled vehicles in it yet! :lol: Now that would be wild!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Using my new scanner, I am now able to scan at will :D .

 

Got these other two photos of our APCs at Hood in 1980-81.

 

These kinda look like MASSTER Camo right, both were taken at our motor pool in March 1981. The one where I'm kicking our yet again broken down mount has a MASSTER like job. The other was taken by me at the rear of our Platoon row, the one on the far right is different in paint scheme then the one right next to it, that one appears to be MERDEC, while the far right one appears to be more MASSTER.

 

post-34986-0-06862600-1430764227.jpgpost-34986-0-07710500-1430764250.jpg

 

 

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Patches: your tracks are all in the four color MERDC scheme. The MASSTER scheme's use was limited almost entirely to Seventh Army and went away when the MERDC scheme came out. I'm sure there was some overlap, and there is certainly a lot of variation and "interpretation" since these are all soldier applied at the unit level.

 

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The Meatcan

Flashes, those are neat pix. Real nice examples of the various camo schemes of the era.

Terry

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Patches: your tracks are all in the four color MERDC scheme. The MASSTER scheme's use was limited almost entirely to Seventh Army and went away when the MERDC scheme came out. I'm sure there was some overlap, and there is certainly a lot of variation and "interpretation" since these are all soldier applied at the unit level.

 

Yes, I'm gathering your right B, especially with your very correct view on interpretation. We did indeed repaint our in November 1980 for an AG inspection. A few guys from the company in fact, including one guy from my platoon, a buddy named Hess, got ARCOMs for volunteering and working 48 hours straight in finishing up where we left off all company tracks, recovery vehicles and soft skins.

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flashesandovals

Flashes, those are neat pix. Real nice examples of the various camo schemes of the era.

Terry

Thank you

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Thank you

 

And thank you for illustrating the three different camo schemes! Very nice looking jeeps too!

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Now that I got my scanner, here's two photos of the White mixed Camo we had in Alaska.

 

 

post-34986-0-11094800-1430933166.jpg

A Gamma Goat, here even the canvas tarp on the cargo section got a White mottling, photo taken in late May 1982.

 

post-34986-0-72346200-1430933181.jpg

And me standing with a Jeep in the background (eating a John Wayne Bar :lol: ). Jeeps in the AK were hard top, made that way I believe, never did see up there the usual jeep with removable canvas tops, photo taken earlier in the month of May 82 around the end of Break Up.

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