Original US issue Trousers, Night Camouflage, Desert, in the two color grid pattern, on contract DLA100-84-C-2223 to G-B Mfrs., Inc. Small Long, 50 percent cotton and 50 percent nylon. Instruction label intact and fully legible.

The grid is the point of the whole garment. American research into it goes back to 1972, with field trials in 1976, and the object was concealment from Soviet built night vision devices. The pattern combines a light green ground with a dark green grid and rubble print, the theory being that the cross hatching and blotches would break up a man’s outline when viewed through image intensification rather than by eye. It went into limited issue from 1981. It was never meant to be worn alone. The parka and overpants went on over the six color chocolate chip Desert Battle Dress Uniform for night work, which is exactly what the label on this pair instructs: wear as outer garment in desert areas for night camouflage, adjust waist by drawcord, wear leg bottoms outside footgear and secure drawcords.

Then came the test of war. Issue expanded sharply for Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and the desert night pattern went to the Gulf in quantity. A Marine Corps scout sniper section put it against an AN/PVS-5 and found it performed worse than the standard day desert uniform and worse than winter overwhites. Soldiers found the sets hot and bulky, and a great many were pushed to the bottom of duffel bags and never worn at all. Within a decade the concept was dead. Foreign night vision capability outran the grid, and infrared reflective treatments built into the uniform cloth itself removed any reason for a separate night garment.

That failure is precisely why collectors want it. Desert night camouflage is one of the few American patterns designed for a specific technological problem, deployed at scale into a real war, measured against that problem, and found wanting. It belongs in a Gulf War display next to the chocolate chip DBDU it was meant to cover, and it belongs in any collection tracing the arms race between concealment and the sensors built to defeat it. The pattern has since become an oddity of its own, borrowed by streetwear and by reproduction makers, which has thinned the supply of honest 1980s contract originals like this one.

CONDITION AND DETAILS

Size Small Long per the label
Waist 27 to 31 inches, adjustable by internal drawcord
Inseam over 32 1/2 inches
NSN 8415-01-102-6290
Contract DLA100-84-C-2223, G-B Mfrs., Inc.
50 percent cotton, 50 percent nylon
Fabric sound throughout with good color, no fading of consequence
Light scattered staining, most visible inside the waistband and on one leg
Waist drawcord present and functional
Both leg bottom drawcords present with tips intact
Cargo pockets, hip pockets and all flaps present and sound
Fly and closures functional
Instruction and size label present and fully legible
No insignia, markings or name to the garment
No holes, tears or repairs noted

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