Soldier 2000 is a

military camouflage Military camouflage is the use of camouflage by an Military, armed force to protect personnel and equipment from observation by enemy forces. In practice, this means applying colour and materials to military equipment of all kinds, including ...

pattern developed by the

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

and is in use with the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The Chief of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister of ...

(SANDF). It is designed to be effective in all terrains and seasons encountered across

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Feasibility studies included the

and the

South African Bureau of Standards The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is a South African statutory body established in terms of the Standards Act (Act No. 24 of 1945). It continues to operate in terms of the latest edition of the Standards Act (Act No. 29 of 2008) as ...

(SABS).

History

The

SADF The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...

had distinctive

nutria The nutria () or coypu () (''Myocastor coypus'') is a herbivore, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent from South America. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' has since been included within Echimy ...

brown combat fatigues that were developed for operations in

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

and

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

around 1964 and first used in 1971. By 1988, it was already realised that a replacement for the nutria uniform had to be developed and the review must include cost, operational effectiveness and suitability to the Southern Africa terrain. The SA Army officially displayed its new camouflage uniform for the first time at the SA Defence Force Day Parade held in Kimberly on 3 July 1993, which replaced the Nutria brown uniforms.Paratus August 1993 issue, page 20. In the Government Gazette in 1993, it mentions that it will be a serious offense for anyone to wear the camo without authorization from the government. The Defence Act of 2002 explicitly prohibits the use of the camo. On January 23, 2019, an EFF Students Command member named Aseza Mayaphi was reported to be arrested for appearing on TV while wearing the camo. On January 25, Aseza was released with a warning and the case was postponed in order to get a lawyer for him. On October 23, 2019, the South African government publicly warned against the unauthorized use of the camo after Channel 157 Moja Love showed an actor wearing the uniform without permission.

Development

The Logistics department at Army Headquarters started a comprehensive project, known as Soldier 2000, to develop new combat fatigues that is suited for all climatic conditions found in Southern Africa. The new field dress had to be cost effective, an improvement on the nutria uniform “Browns” and technologically advanced. It had to be practical and easy to maintain and in line with international trends. The new camouflage uniform had to protect the soldier from the harsh elements encountered in the local environment and from observation (including infra-red observation). The camouflage pattern, developed by CSIR-Textile Technology group, is unique to South Africa's terrain and printed on a wide variety of uniform items as well as field equipment. The camouflage pattern is made up of five colours most commonly found in Southern Africa with Kalahari brown as base colour and blotches of dark green, grass green & pale green with dark green & pale green spots forming the camouflage. The combat fatigues materials are 50% polyester and 50% cotton with colouring injected into the fibres trying to achieve a 95% adhesive for longer than 36 months if treated correctly. The pattern gets repeated every 101 cm in length and 150 cm width. The new field dress includes items like jackets, hats, boots, helmet covers, underclothing and cold weather garments.

Gallery

File:A_South_African_soldier_with_the_9th_South_African_Infantry_Battalion,_2013.jpg File:Shared_Accord_2013.jpg Roodewal Weapons Range - 8725777240.jpg File:Cornelissen W01.jpg

References

{{Camouflage Military uniforms Camouflage patterns Military equipment introduced in the 1990s