the trouble with privatizing army fatigues
Some things are by their nature, best kept in the public realm, like health care and plumbing. And also everything or nothing, depending on your political stripes. Army fatigues may be one of those things. For example, the Indian army is finding their privatized system to have some problems.
From Rediff.com (?) Army looks to hide its jawans better
Numerous private players, including some of the leading mills of the country, now produce the camouflage uniforms, which were originally sourced from ordnance depots.
All the officers buy their camouflage from the open market because they are not provided any uniforms or boots from the military. They are paid Rs 7,000 every seven years for this purpose.
The non-officers get two pairs of uniforms each for a lifecycle, which, for some, is some 36 months.
But for an infantry soldier operating in the valley a camouflage wears out in a few months, after which he scouts the open market.
Several soldiers buy from open market even otherwise because the officially issued camouflage is “not smart”, says the officer.
“It is a massive industry where numerous private players are involved. Each one has its own designs and patterns,” he says.
“Today no producer knows what is the percentage of dust colour or green in a camouflage. None of them stick to the standards specified by the army after scientific studies. So a soldier in the desert might end up buying a camouflage that is meant for the forests of Kashmir,” the officer adds.