Camouflage...

Camouflage can be defined as a means of concealment or misdirection used to avoid detection or contact with an opponent...Although records don't extend that far back, it can be guessed that as soon as man began to stand upright and started to look around for something tasty to broil over his newly invented fire, he may have noticed it difficult to walk up on his dinner because the dinner could see him coming in time to get out of the neighborhood before becoming a menu item...

In time he may have further noticed that some of his tastier and smarter victims were able to conceal their presence by blending in with the environment, thereby escaping his notice as well as his stewpot...Putting his small brain to early use, he probably started to devise his own ways of merging with his surroundings in order to add a little protein to his overly vegetarian diet...

Having surprised a pre-historic buffalo at the water hole, and providing a week's rations for his family with it, he may have wondered what to do with the hide since it proved too chewy for a late night snack...He could possibly have covered himself with it and found it disguised his own appearance and smell allowing him to sneak closer to birds and small game, thereby inventing camouflage and clothing at the same time...

Moving forward a few million years, his descendants had noticed their homespun and buckskin garments allowed them to merge with the American forest to the point where the Redcoats had approached in their straightline formations to can't-miss range before opening fire...Taking note of this, military outfitters began designing uniforms for soldiers which blended in rather than standing out from their surroundings...

In today's wars, combatants have the advantage of not only traditional woodland camo patterns, but winter, desert, urban, night, even digital or infrared avoidance designs to prevent detection and identification...Specialty fighters such as snipers and their spotters employ ghillie suits of their own making allowing them to move into their desired locations unnoticed by their targets...These specialists can add or remove features from their disguises as needed while they move through their territories using items found in the local environment...

One of the best known examples was USMC Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock as he assassinated an NVA general in the general's own camp...Hathcock slithered 1,500 yards under the very noses of his enemy using his skills to not only blend in with, but to become the jungle environment, taking four days and three nights to do so...During this time he carried and concealed not only himself, but his weapons and equipment needed for the job and for his withdrawal...

To the unknowing critic, his legendary exploits may seem like something from the overactive imagination of a Hollywood screenwriter...Disbelievers are as welcome to their opinions as they are to mine, but mine were confirmed in two one-on-one conversations I was privileged to have with Gunny before his death from MS and the burn wounds which exacerbated the affliction...He and I talked of nothing militarily related when we met, but I know in my heart that this was a man incapable of claiming an unearned victory...

Gunny was adept at camouflaging anything except the truth; when he said it happened, it happened exactly as he told it...I've found the same to be true with another sniper of long acquaintance...I won't name him as he is still active, but over the years the information I've harvested from him has been invaluable...He is also an active game hunter whose skills ensure his meat locker stays full...

Some hunters of deer in the deep woods have found too much camouflage to be a deadly hindrance, as other less experienced hunters have mistaken movement for game, and have wounded or killed other hunters simply by failing to identify their target before shooting...Many hunters have taken to wearing blaze orange in a woodland camo pattern to give themselves a better chance of returning to civilization in the vertical position...A deer's eyesight can keenly detect movement and patterns, but blaze orange does not stand out in their vision...

Even navies of the world have used camouflage patterns on warships at sea...A ship at sea may be too large to escape visual sighting, but dazzle camouflage, with its odd geometric shapes and patterns can disguise a ship's size, speed, direction and purpose long enough to confuse an enemy and gain a firing advantage...It was used extensively in World Wars One and Two...

The fighter aircraft in my squadrons during my USAF enlistment in Germany were painted in woodland camo on top to blend in with surroundings when seen from above...The bottoms were painted to match the skies when viewed from the ground...Similar color schemes were used on the same aircraft in Vietnam...But our RF-4C's were painted dull black since their recon missions were undertaken at night...

Camo patterns are also used as a fashion statement in today's world, but as we have seen, it has legitimate uses beyond commanding press attention at political meetings...

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