The Desert Combat Uniform (DCU) was the second standard-issue desert camouflage uniform of the United States Military from the early 1990s to the early 2000s, and is essentially the same design with a different pattern as the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) uniform of the United States Armed Forces, albeit featuring a three-color desert camouflage pattern of dark brown, pale olive green, and tan. The DCU "coffee stain camouflage" was developed to replace the "chocolate chip" six-color desert camouflage of pale olive green, dark and light brown, tan, and black and white "rock spots" of the previous Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU), which was deemed unsuitable for most desert combat theaters. As opposed to the original DBDU, which was meant for a rockier and elevated desert battlefield that was often not encountered, the DCU was meant primarily for a lower, more open, and less rocky desert battlefield space which became a common sight throughout the Gulf War. The DCU and the BDU were phased out of use and replaced by the United States Marine Corps in 2003 with the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU), the United States Army in 2005 with the Army Combat Uniform (ACU), the United States Air Force in 2007 with the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU), and the United States Navy by Navy Working Uniform (NWU) in 2011.
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Desert Camouflage Uniform
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