Why are there so many foreign construction workers wearing the
SAF Camouflage No 4 ?
May not be ours. The SAF copied its design from the US ERDL camo
of Vietnam War vintage (which itself was based on a 1948 version,
according to the Net.) The camo pattern can also be very subtle,
for trademark purposes.
One can confirm by checking for the "Property of the SAF" label, as
suggested. Those sold at Beach Road or Sungei Road may not come
with this ID. But the real authentication, I learnt from military
collectors, is the NSN (National Stock Number) number stamped on
each piece of equipment. (Hence the SAF can theoretically trace
back to whom it was originally issued, if records were
maintained.)
I have not seen MINDEF make a very clear stand on this
issue.
They clamped down once, as I recall, but it was a very long time
ago -- early '90s? But the then-mindset was also that everyone
thought all the issued stuff must be returned after reservist (or
else must sign 1206).
These days -- esp. after the introduction of eMarts -- we now know
which stuff are disposable, expendable, or both. The SAF also
sounded quite reluctant when responding to Cut Waste Panel
questions about what to do with old equipment & the recycling
topic in general.
But the legal ramifications are there under the SAF Act, but I'm
not sure how enforceable it is with something like a No.4 camo.
They've already changed the design many times over the years; I was
told my December 1985 batch was the 3rd or 4th one to wear it, so
we're now talking about 22 years & almost 90 intakes, which
each enlistee drawing 4-5 pairs & a fraction of them never
needing them cuz they wore No.3's instead. It'll be quite anal to
track those uniforms which have been in circulation all these
years.
