Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!cbnews!military
From: J.Holley@massey.ac.nz
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: camouflage
Message-ID: <1990Jul10.024934.10391@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 10 Jul 90 02:49:34 GMT
References: <1990Jul5.020418.14002@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
Organization: Information Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand
Lines: 60
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: J.Holley@massey.ac.nz

In article <1990Jul9.023717.9451@cbnews.att.com> jpulliam@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Jacqueline Pulliam) writes:
>
>From: jpulliam@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Jacqueline Pulliam)
>>From: bxr307@csc.anu.oz
>>
>>comouflaging up either yourself, a vehicle or similar item.  In personal
>>camouflage we were always taught to be particularly sparing in applying `cam'
>>cream to skin, as too much was just as useless as too little.  There was
>>nothing worse than seeing a pair of eyes or mouth appearing in the middle of
>>a face which had had cam cream caked on it! (something which seems to not 
>>concern most American soldiers today who copy the "Ramboesque" style of 
>         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>covering every square inch of their faces with cam cream and then leave their
>>arms bare, not even bothering to roll down their shirt sleeves).  There are 
>
>Brian, I'm tired of seeing you bad-mouth the soldiers of the U.S. Army
>while holding the aussie army up as an object of worship.  From now
>
>John Pulliam
>(jpulliam@silver.ucs.indiana.edu)

I wasn't going to post anything about Brian's posting but when I saw
what John wrote I thought I would enter the discussion.

I'm an officer in the NZ army who had spent some time with an
Australian infantry company on exercise here in NZ (Feb 89). Now this company
was from one of Australia's top battalions (their ready reaction/rapid
deployment force - whatever they call it).

The soldiers were still using the old 7.62mm SLR while for over year
we had been using the new Steyr. They had inadequate cold weather kit,
in fact a load of woolen underwear had to be flown in to them, with
some suffering from mild hyperthermia (yes this was summer time).

The thing that stuck out the most was the facial cam of the
Australians. In the NZ army we are taught the same principles of
camoflague as the Australians i.e. shape,shine etc. When it comes to
cam we do cover our whole face as well as neck,ears and hands (and any
other surfaces that show). This might seem "Ramboesque" but any skin
that is not covered SHINES. The Australians though thinly dabbed cam
on their faces and hands which did nothing to break up the shape of
their faces or remove shine.

They were in fact quite envious of the NZers attached to the company
as the NZ army provides cam sticks free (an in quantity) where as the
Australians had to buy their cam themselves!

This may have changed over the last year but it seems to me the
current use of facial cam within the Australian army is not based on
sound principles but financial considerations.

John A. Holley                  | J.Holley@massey.ac.nz         : Internet 
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