Skip to content 
Continued from page 1 Soldiers can mix camo patterns for cold-weather gear
Army News Service
The Army also has two different colored T-shirts available for wear under their ACU. There is the
“sand-colored” T-shirt and the “Tan 499” T-shirt. Belts are also available in both of those colors. Boots are
available in sand or coyote colors, as well.
The rule here, Commons said, is that when a Soldier is wearing the UCP ACU, he or
she must wear the undershirt, belt and boots designed for wear with the UCP ACU. However, when
Soldiers wear the OCP ACU, they can wear “any combination” of boots, belt and T-shirt, in any of the
available colors; the boots, belt, and t-shirt do not have to match each other.
Commons caveated that, however, by saying “both your left and right boot must be the same color.”
The Army, Commons said, has an inventory of items including belts, boots, T-shirts, uniforms, and
cold- and wet-weather gear. Each of those items has a certain wear life on them. Items such as
cold-weather jackets last a very, very long time, she said. Other items, such as T-shirts, can be worn for
less than a year before they ought to be replaced.
The liberal policy for how uniform items can be mixed with the OCP ACU allows the Soldiers more
flexibility in the wear of their uniform, and additionally allows more time for the Army to eventually get
OCIE in the new OCP pattern.
“With all these different uniforms, we have to give the widest range of allowance to Soldiers to properly
wear, and not have that come out of pocket,” she said. “It also allows the Army to make sure they have
proper stock in issuing facilities to support demand.”
Commons said that Soldiers can continue to wear the UCP ACU until Sept. 30, 2019. After that, they must
show up to work wearing the OCP ACU.
Soldiers who are deploying or have an operational need are provided with OCIE items in the Operational
Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern, also known as OEF-CP.
“Deployers will never go without,” Commons said. “The Army will ensure Soldiers get the appropriate
equipment for their mission.”
The Army has been issuing the pattern to those deploying for some years and will continue to do so until
the transition to OCP.
It will be some years before UCP OCIE is exhausted and is replaced with OCP OCIE because the items
are “quite durable,” Commons said.
Commons also said some Soldiers had expressed confusion about what camouflage pattern the name
and service tapes should be in on their UCP-colored fleece jacket.
She said the name and service tape pattern should match the color of the fleece jacket, not the pattern
of the ACU the Soldier is wearing underneath.