Cold War Era/Gulf War- U.S. Army/USMC Night Camoflage, Desert Parka, NSN 8415-01-102-6278

This somewhat rare parka, and the unusual camoflage design, was developed in the late '70s, and finalized in 1980 to combat Soviet night vision technology of the late 70s. The idea was that troops could swiftly throw this on over a standard uniform, and pretty much become invisible to NVDs. It didn't see much use by mainline troops, as most of the ground wars America was involved in in the '80s were in more tropical climates, though it did prove useful in the Central American conflicts in the jungle and was sometimes issued to regular troops in those conflicts.

It did, however, see a lot of use with military advisors and special forces operations.

That all changed in 1990 with Desert Shield, suddenly the U.S. found itself in the middle of desert combat, and both the Army and Marines were utilizing these, as well as other items in this camo pattern.

As perhaps the last great proxy war of the Cold War, the Iraqis were mostly equipped with old Soviet technology. By 1991, and the Operation Desert Storm era, however, the Iraqis were able to get ahold of Soviet technology that wasn't left over from the 1970s.

In 1991 the United States Marine Corps tested the night desert parkas against the current infrared-resistant Desert Combat Uniform (DCU), as well as the Winter Overwhites. They found that both of the newer options were much more effective than the Night Camouflage, Desert parkas. Since the parkas only worked against 20 year old technology, they were phased out
 

This parka is in excellent condition, and was produced in 1981. This is a very early, and somewhat rare example as most were produced in the lead-up to the Gulf War. It is made from 50% cotton, 50% nylon material. The parka has button front, drawstring hood, button-closed pocket openings. Green night desert pattern effectively camouflages the wearer to the naked eye in fields, forests, and nighttime deserts, and is useful against 70's era and low budget, paintball quality, night vision.

These items arrive as surplus and may feature minor wear, dust and minor imperfections.  As-Is. No returns or refunds. Call 205-533-8595 with questions.