MINDEF
LATEST:
SAF uniform to take on
pixellated look
By Teh Joo Lin (1 Aug 2008)
THE Singapore Armed Forces is planning to replace its uniform with
something which will make its soldiers harder to spot in the
jungle.
Instead of the black, green
and brown fatigues which soldiers here have been wearing for more
than two decades, the new uniform is said to resemble what the
United States Marine Corps uses now.
The uniform will adopt new
technology which uses smaller pixels of colours to create a complex
pattern.
This is in contrast to the
present uniform which has larger splotches of colours.
The Defence Ministry issued a
tender for the new uniforms in the middle of last month.
The latest design change will
be the largest revision of its kind in 25 years for the SAF. The
current military combat uniform - known among soldiers as the No. 4
uniform - was introduced in 1983. It features splotches of black,
brown and green printed in an interlocking pattern, which helps the
soldier blend into the foliage.
It replaced the earlier
single-coloured Temasek Green uniform.
No official details about the
new uniforms are available, but The Straits Times understands an
announcement is expected next month.
However, the impending change
has already fuelled discussion in online forums among servicemen.
Some national servicemen (NSmen) had also been briefed on the new
combat greens on their recent returns to camp.
Much of the talk has been
speculation about how the new uniform looks, which other militaries
have adopted the camouflage and where the ranks will appear on the
new fatigues.
There are about 300,000 active
and full-time national servicemen. All are expected to be issued
the new uniforms.
The new look is also intended
to be more functional than cosmetic.
The camouflage pattern is
supposed to be harder to pick out in the jungle, based on how the
human eye interacts with pixellated images.
Like the US Marine Corps, the
Canadian military has a pixel pattern on its uniform.
When contacted, defence
analyst Bernard Loo said he had seen the US Marine Corps in
training with their pixellated uniform on the beach, 'and it works
very well for them'.
Dr Loo said the new Singapore
uniform was likely to have been put through its paces by the
SAF.
'I assume they would have
tested it against the likely area of operations and found the new
camouflage pattern works better than the present one.'
Another change - the
rank insignia on the new uniforms will be worn on the chest instead
of on the shoulder epaulettes.
The new fatigues are likely to
be introduced in phases, with soldiers in active units donning them
first.
Asiaone.
