There is an old military axiom that the side with the best-looking uniform will lose the war. A classic example of this axiom is the Arab and Israeli armies of the 1950s and 1960s. The Arab armies were always well dressed in smart-looking military uniforms. Most of these uniforms were standardized desert sand- or khaki-colored, and they did look good. During parades and ceremonies the Arab armies always looked impressive.

The Israelis, on the other hand, looked like ragamuffins. A formation of Israell troops had as many combinations of uniforms as there were individuals. Green trousers were mixed with different colored shirts, civilian attire was mixed with military some men wore berets and others helmets, and some were bareheaded. If there was a uniform regulation in the Army few had read it and even fewer chose to follow it.

Howeve; on the battlefield, pretty uniforms don't matter. It was the fight in the hearts of the men that mattered, and the Israelis demonstrated that they possessed fighting spirit in abundance. They bested their Arab opponents in both 1956 and 1967.

If the axiom holds true, the American military may be in for a fall. In 1990 the American military was at its height. A total of over 450,000 men and women from all of the services conducted one of the most impressive military campaigns on record against Iraqi forces in the Gulf Years of hard work and training after the fiasco of Vietnam had taken the Americans to undreamed of heights in military prowess. In a matter of hours, the combined forces of the US and her Coalition allies reduced a powerful Iraqi military machine to a burning hulk.

Despite their effectiveness in combat, the military services did not return from the desert and try to change weapons or tactics. They changed uniforms. In short order the Air Force completely changed its uniform to a smarter more modern design, and the Marine Corps added name tags and made a few other minor changes. There is also a growing movement in the Navy to change their uniforms to a new and more modern design. We can only hope that the US military is not in search of the prettiest uniform for the next war.

Battle Briefs

USN SEALs
The Prettiest Uniform
The M-198
The Armed Transport
The Great Scud Hunt