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(well done, Tim!)
Uniforms may save soldiers‘ lives
Camouflage gear helps an army disappear
Carmela Fragomeni
The Hamilton Spectator
Barry Gray, the Hamilton Spectator
Corporal Theresa Theriault of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry wears one of the new uniforms given to local members of the reserves.
We‘re not being invaded by the United States army.
Nor has Hamilton been overrun by a radical new group.
You will, however, soon start seeing men and women around town in camouflage army fatigues.
It will take a little getting used to, so Captain Tim Fletcher of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry wants people to know that the men and women in those fatigues are the same army reservists they have seen many times before.
The only difference is the uniform.
The RHLI is among Canada‘s first army reserve units to be issued the new fatigues.
The uniform, named the Canadian disruptive pattern (CADPAT) uniform replaces the plain olive-drab coloured uniform that soldiers and reservists have been wearing since 1968.
"It‘s radically different," Fletcher points out.
CADPAT has already been deployed in stages to the regular army for about a year, and Canadian troops in Afghanistan could be seen on television wearing it.
Fletcher said despite such broadcasts, the new fatigues could be somewhat startling to civilians long used to seeing the current one-colour uniform.
The new uniforms will be distributed to RHLI soldiers at the armoury today.
Corporal Theresa Theriault likes the fatigues mainly because they camouflage well -- and that‘s what‘s most important to her.
She was in the regular forces for six years before recently leaving and joining the RHLI reserves.
She was in Macedonia last year when fresh Canadian troops arrived wearing the new uniforms and saw people getting a bit of a shock at the new look.
"We had to explain to the locals that these soldiers (coming in) are still Canadian. We‘re just changing uniforms. You had to explain."
The Armed Forces‘ new combat uniform colours and pattern look a little like the U.S. camouflage we‘ve seen on the news and in films. But they are quite different and, says the military, much more effective.
Fletcher calls the Canadian fatigues the best in the world.
"It is the one that most duplicates the randomness of nature."
The new clothes are also high-tech. They are infra-red suppressive, which means the material has been chemically-treated to help defeat enemy night vision devices.
Also, the pattern was created using advanced computer-aided design techniques.
The Canadian Forces describes it as "a pattern of greens, browns and blacks that can help a soldier literally disappear in the woods and fields."
A desert version is under development.
Fletcher loves the CADPAT.
"It‘s an effective uniform in the field. As a soldier, concealment is the No. 1 priority ... It does what it‘s supposed to do."
The combat fatigues also serve as the reservists‘ general duty, standard, and all-purpose uniform. Which is why Hamiltonians will soon see them on reservists coming and going from training.
Uniforms may save soldiers‘ lives
Camouflage gear helps an army disappear
Carmela Fragomeni
The Hamilton Spectator
Barry Gray, the Hamilton Spectator
Corporal Theresa Theriault of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry wears one of the new uniforms given to local members of the reserves.
We‘re not being invaded by the United States army.
Nor has Hamilton been overrun by a radical new group.
You will, however, soon start seeing men and women around town in camouflage army fatigues.
It will take a little getting used to, so Captain Tim Fletcher of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry wants people to know that the men and women in those fatigues are the same army reservists they have seen many times before.
The only difference is the uniform.
The RHLI is among Canada‘s first army reserve units to be issued the new fatigues.
The uniform, named the Canadian disruptive pattern (CADPAT) uniform replaces the plain olive-drab coloured uniform that soldiers and reservists have been wearing since 1968.
"It‘s radically different," Fletcher points out.
CADPAT has already been deployed in stages to the regular army for about a year, and Canadian troops in Afghanistan could be seen on television wearing it.
Fletcher said despite such broadcasts, the new fatigues could be somewhat startling to civilians long used to seeing the current one-colour uniform.
The new uniforms will be distributed to RHLI soldiers at the armoury today.
Corporal Theresa Theriault likes the fatigues mainly because they camouflage well -- and that‘s what‘s most important to her.
She was in the regular forces for six years before recently leaving and joining the RHLI reserves.
She was in Macedonia last year when fresh Canadian troops arrived wearing the new uniforms and saw people getting a bit of a shock at the new look.
"We had to explain to the locals that these soldiers (coming in) are still Canadian. We‘re just changing uniforms. You had to explain."
The Armed Forces‘ new combat uniform colours and pattern look a little like the U.S. camouflage we‘ve seen on the news and in films. But they are quite different and, says the military, much more effective.
Fletcher calls the Canadian fatigues the best in the world.
"It is the one that most duplicates the randomness of nature."
The new clothes are also high-tech. They are infra-red suppressive, which means the material has been chemically-treated to help defeat enemy night vision devices.
Also, the pattern was created using advanced computer-aided design techniques.
The Canadian Forces describes it as "a pattern of greens, browns and blacks that can help a soldier literally disappear in the woods and fields."
A desert version is under development.
Fletcher loves the CADPAT.
"It‘s an effective uniform in the field. As a soldier, concealment is the No. 1 priority ... It does what it‘s supposed to do."
The combat fatigues also serve as the reservists‘ general duty, standard, and all-purpose uniform. Which is why Hamiltonians will soon see them on reservists coming and going from training.
