Pentagon Blows Millions on Afghan Camo
Dr. John Woods 06.22.17
A recent report was released indicating the U.S. Pentagon purchased $28 million worth of camouflage uniforms for the Afghan Army. That fact in and of itself is not such a big deal considering we support militaries all over the world, but doling out that much of our money seems a bit much for a useless item.
The problem was the camo pattern the Afghan Army selected. The pattern known as Spec 4ce Afghan Forest Pattern was apparently selected without consultation by the Afghan defense minister. So, what is wrong with it?
Well, it’s primarily green, brown, and black and looks like a forest habitat — and only two percent of the Afghanistan landscape is forest land. Two percent. The balance is of course, rock, desert, and mountainous terrain, with colors of gray, charcoal, and earth tones. There is virtually no natural green to be found where Afghan soldiers generally operate.
As far as effective camouflage is concerned, the Afghan soldiers might as well be wearing pink. The mottled green camouflage stands out like a sore thumb, making soldiers more vulnerable than they ought to be,
The Afghan defense minister chose the Spec 4ce Forest Pattern from a company in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada named HyperStealth Biotechnology. At our expense, Afghanistan used $28 million of our dollars to buy 1,364,602 uniforms with an additional 88,010 pairs of pants. (It seems the least they could have done was buy the uniforms from an American company.)
One would think there would be a system of checks and balances in place before the U.S buys supplies and gear for a foreign military. Just imagine what they are spending on other items without Pentagon approval.
