Time to update our knowledge of U.S. Army combat uniforms as the Operational Camouflage Pattern Army Combat Uniforms will become available on the 1st of July 2015. At first, the Military Clothing Sales Stores (MCSS) will receive the uniforms according to the U.S. Army website, and that new soldiers will receive their OCP ACUs by the beginning of January 2016.

The Operational Camouflage Pattern or OCP was officially adopted by the U.S. Army in July 2014. Whilst  it can be compared to the Crye Precision Multicam Pattern which was called by the U.S. Army as the Operation Enduring Freedom Pattern during the interim period as they found the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP, also known as the ACUPAT) inadequate in the areas of operations, the OCP is based on Scorpion W2. Both the Scorpion W2 and Multicam trace their origins to the Crye Precision Scorpion Pattern that was introduced in 2001, but lost to the UCP in 2004 after camouflage pattern trials that took place in 2003-2004.

The Scorpion W2 is a modified version of the Scorpion pattern by the Army Natick Labs. The Multicam Pattern of Crye Precision has also been modified to meet requirements of certain Armed Forces such as the British Armed Forces with the Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP), the Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform (AMCU), Georgia, and the Chilean Armed Forces. The Russians use Multicam for certain units such as Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs (MVD).

According to the Army.mil press release, the cost of the OCP will remain the same as the UCP with active enlisted soldiers given clothing allowance to replace their existing uniforms. By Summer 2016, U.S. Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, and Senior Reserve Officer Training Corp will receive their uniforms and equipment in OCP.

Soldiers who have been wearing the Operating Enduring Freedom Pattern can mix and match their clothing and gear with the OCP during the transition period. Those who are using the flame-retardant Operational Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern ACUs  will be authorized to wear them during the transition which is expected to last up to the 1st of October 2019.