Defence Clothing Team to be present at the DVD 2010 event for defence equipment suppliers with a new range of camouflage for military uniforms
British military uniforms bearing the first new camouflage design in over 40 years will be on display at DVD 2010. DVD, the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) stakeholder event for the land and supply chain communities in the defence sector, will take place on June 23 and 24 at Millbrook, Bedfordshire. A pivotal date in the defence diary, the event is centred on DE&S project teams that deliver vital equipment to the frontline. Members of the defence acquisition and military personnel communities, as well as industry organisations, gather at the event for two-days of informal discussion and briefings. The Defence Clothing Team is responsible for the procurement, stock management and distribution of the UK’s armed forces’ clothing inventory. Following the success of its 2009 attendance, the team will be returning to DVD to use the event as a platform to display its latest military clothing solutions to the defence community. Visitors to DVD will be able to see, firsthand, the new Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) camouflage which British military personnel began wearing in Afghanistan in April 2010. It is the first time since 1968 that the British Armed Forces have changed the camouflage pattern and is intended to help British troops blend into Afghanistan's varied terrain. Trialled in laboratory tests and field evaluations to assess overall performance, the new MTP camouflage will work across different terrains in Helmand province, such as compounds, grassland, crops and woodland - all the areas that troops encounter on patrol. Colonel Stephen James, Project Team Leader for the Defence Equipment and Support Clothing Team, who was responsible for delivering the new pattern, said: 'We have presented the new designs to the US Department of Defence and, following our recommendations, the US Army is about to adopt the same technology for their uniform in Afghanistan.' Members of the Royal Dragoon Guards are among the first to be issued with the new pattern. Sergeant Luke Cunningham said: 'The new camo is definitely better for the conditions we face in the Green Zone of Helmand. It's more comfortable and it is superior in terms of the operations we're undertaking.' The new uniform is part of the MOD's ongoing programme of work to provide the best possible equipment and support to the front line and will be issued to all military personnel by 2012.
|
