Universal Camouflage Pattern

The Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) is a digital military camouflage pattern formerly used by the United States Army in their Army Combat Uniform. Technicians at Natick Soldier Systems Center attempted to devise a uniform pattern that would mask the wearer in all seasonal environments. Laboratory and field tests from 2003 to 2004 showed a pattern named "All-Over-Brush" to provide the best concealment of the patterns tested. All-Over-Brush was selected as the winner over ten other patterns. The disadvantage of an all-in-one pattern is that it is a combination of what is effective in many different environments and is less effective in a particular environment when compared to a specialized coloration designed specifically for that environment. The winning All-Over-Brush pattern was not used as the final UCP. Instead, U.S. Army leadership utilized pixellated images taken from Canadian CADPAT and US Marine Corps MARPAT, then recolored them based on three universal colors developed in the Army's 2002-2004 tests, to be called the UCP. While the pixelated pattern of the UCP is similar to the MARPAT and CADPAT camouflage patterns used by the United States Marine Corps and the Canadian Armed Forces, its coloration differs significantly. The final UCP was then adopted without field testing against other patterns.

Soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan questioned the UCP's effectiveness as a concealment method. Some felt that it was endangering their missions and their lives. In response, the US Army conducted several studies to find a modification or replacement for the standard issue pattern. In July 2014, the Army announced that Operational Camouflage Pattern would replace all UCP-patterned ACU uniforms by the end of September 2019. However, UCP remains in service in limited capacities, such as on some cold weather overgear and older body armor.