Camouflage & Concealment
"Camouflage - The use of concealment and disguise to minimise the possibility of detection and/or identification of troops, material, equipment and installations. It includes taking advantage of the natural environment as well as the application of natural and artificial materials." This definition is one given by the US Department of Defence and sums up nicely a tactic that has been employed to great effect since the Napoleonic wars (1700’s).
Principles of Camouflage
There are seven basic principles of camouflage and concealment that we abide by in the Air Training Corps:
Shape:The body is an outstanding shape (some more so than others) in nature, and therefore the blocky figure does not fit in, it needs braking up, with natural foliage to disguise the squared body parts, and webbing etc.
Surface:The surface of you and your equipment needs certain measures to make it similar to that of your surroundings. Also make sure you have nothing shining, which will give your position away in an instant.
Shadow:Friend and foe, especially in Close Quarter Battle, with the sun behind you, your shadow may be projected past the corner of a wall alerting any enemy to your presence. Shadows should be used to their full potential, staying in them as much as possible is a great tactic.
Shine: Consider shiny or reflective surfaces, such as skin, watches, beret badges etc.
Silhouette:The Houses of Parliament, an outstanding monument against the backdrop of the sky. This is how much you would stand out pitched against the sky either at night or day. Avoid crests and hilltops.
Sound:An obvious one, keep the noise down to a minimum, not only abstaining from talking but also checking where you walk, watch out for those annoying twigs.
Movement:The eye is drawn by movement. When you give arm-and-hand signals or walk about your position, your movement can be seen by the naked eye at long ranges. In the defense, stay low and move only when necessary. In the offense, move only on covered and concealed routes.
These are the things that will draw an enemy's attention, and give away the presence of a cadet, vehicle, building or weapon, not a good idea. In cadets, in general to get ahead you try and get noticed, in field craft however the aim is to pass unnoticed.
Personal Cam & Con
Personal Cam is best conducted in pairs, using a buddy-buddy system. Start by using a base coat on the palms diluted with a bit of liquid to make it lighter than rub the hands all over the face, neck ears and hands, to leave a very thin light coat of cam cream only purpose to remove the shine from the face. A common mistake is to cover the face but leave ears, neck and hands unpainted. The entire face need not be covered with a thick coat of cam cream, there is a thing as too much, leave some white as there is white occurring naturally in nature and a thick block of green stands out almost as much as all white. Ideally the patterns should be painted obliquely across the face, starting at the forehead and temples, and running down to the opposite side of the face. This breaks up the vertical and horizontal lines formed by the eyes, nose and mouth, with a tiger striped effect. Painting lighter colours in areas of shadow like the underside of the chin, and darker on cheekbones, forehead and nose further enhances the effect.
The next area for attention is the helmet. Modern helmet covers are made from camouflaged cloth and include elastic loops to take vegetation. When camming up a helmet or jungle hat, remember that although a small bush may effectively break up its shape, it will also look pretty obvious in the wrong environment. An over-camouflaged helmet can look just as obvious as a bare one. Vegetation must be attached securely so it does not fall off when you run for cover or restrict your field of view, and should be in the local materials. For example, use dried grass in a field of hay, or evergreen in a coniferous wood and not vice-versa, this would attract an accurate shot from the enemy to your head.
Vegetation can also be attached to webbing to break up the straight lines of the pouches. Make sure however you have access to your webbing pouches. Your uniform although DPM usually needs some work too, mud helps as well as attaching vegetation, remembering to keep roots pointing down, via elastic bands around the legs and arms.
All these techniques will help you avoiding detection in the field but the art of field craft is much more than putting on some face paint and attaching some twigs to yourself, it is an art which should be given 110% effort and full concentration for the best results, when it’s for real it’s life or death, you…and your friends!