Re: BDU masking (was Re: CMD Future Wars products)

On Fri, 16 Aug 1996 PsyWraith@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 96-08-16 09:48:56 EDT, you write:
> 
> << On Thu, 15 Aug 1996 23:41:07 -0400 PsyWraith@aol.com writes:
>  .Theoretically they are supposed to dampen thermal imaging, which
leaves
>  >the ones that don't, the hands, feet, head etc. My point is that 99%
of
>  >the grunts on the field DON'T have access to such things. Only
special
>  >op units, some squad, maybe platoon, more likely COMPANY commanders
will
>  >have access to them. At Ft. Benning we tried requesitioning some for
>  >training mind you. Do you think we could get them? Noo.... 
> 
> Well Paul, all BDU's are supposed to have the ability to thermal mask.
 I
> know all the field units on Bragg have dampening BDU's.  82nd and
USASOC, and
> that's stock from Clothing Sales.  Not sure why you didn't have them
at the
> School.  And having head, hands and feet still exposed still doesn't
give you
> a normal human silhouette.  That is an edge you may be able to use,
> especially against tired sentries.  
> 
> Morgul

	"All" BDUs? Aren't we forgetting a small detail here: USA is NOT

the whole world, again. I don't seem to recall the Chinese army using 
those. Nor the Tsetshenian rebels. Or the Filipino Communist guerrillas.

Only countries with extraordinary amounts of money to waste on neat tech

will have neat tech. So have the BDUs with thermal dampening, but with a

cost attached. They could go under a general cost for "ECM" or somesuch 
for infantry. Mind you, I don't think the Finnish army has IR dampeners 
in their BDUs, either...Some of the combat harnesses we used were from 
the sixties... Why throw them away and buy new, expensive ones, when
they 
still work just fine? Early footage from Yugoslavia showed T-34 tanks 
rolling in front of an "armoured column". Why didn't they use M1a1 
Abrams? Guess what: They couldn't afford to equip their whole army with 
them... Same with the BDUs. They cost more.

	-Oh, and don't forget one of the Murphy's rules of combat: All 
else being equal, the side with the simpler uniforms wins...

			Niko "GNiko" Mikkanen
creator@cute.cute.fi  WWW-Homepage under construction
(www.cute.fi/~creator/)
	"It's not that I dislike the 'Divide and Conquer' bit, but
	it's the 'Ruling With an Iron Fist' part I really enjoy" -Me