Oh, the weather outside is frightful.
And your OCP is so delightful.
But since outside you have to go…
Mix the camo, mix the camo, mix the camo.
As temperatures drop and snow blankets your post, leadership absolutely does not want you to freeze.
That's why it's perfectly OK to wear cold-weather gear made of the old Universal Camouflage Pattern over top of your Army Combat Uniform made of the new Operational Camouflage Pattern.
The Army has yet to incorporate OCP with its organizational clothing and individual equipment, so most soldiers will be using wet- and cold-weather gear designed to match grey-green UCP. This includes the fleece cold-weather jacket, the wind cold-weather jacket, the soft shell cold-weather jacket and trousers, and the extreme cold/wetd-weather jacket and trousers.
"Soldiers should continue to use the equipment they have been provided to remain safe and warm in environments that call for it," said Sgt. Maj. Eva Commons, the uniform policy sergeant major for Army G-1, in an Army news release.
In the release, the Army also clarified name and service tape instructions: When wearing the UCP-colored fleece jacket, the tape patterns should match the fleece and not the pattern of the ACU underneath.
The wear-out date for the old ACUs with UCP is Sept. 30, 2019. Until then, units should expect to see some of their soldiers wearing UCP ACUs and others wearing OCP ACUs.
Other uniform guidelines:
The new OCP uniform also includes a new darker T-shirt, belts and boots. These can NOT be worn with the old UCP uniform.
Soldiers CAN wear the old UCP belt, T-shirt and boots with the new OCP uniforms.
Deploying soldiers will continue to receive equipment that matches the MultiCam uniforms, a pattern very similar to OCP. The MultiCam gear will continue to be used for deployers as stocks are used up, and the transition to OCP advances.
Tony leads a team of more than 30 editors, reporters and videographers dedicated to covering the news that affects service members and their families. Tony is responsible for strategy of the Military Times digital brands, the print publications, video and multimedia projects for Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times.
