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U.S. Woodland

1980s military camouflage pattern

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
6 min read
Source updated August 14, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

U.S. Woodland was the former standard issue camouflage pattern of the United States Armed Forces from 1981 to 2012 in the cut of the Battle Dress Uniform and a dozen other pieces of clothing that were issued, until its replacement in the early 2010s. It is a four color, high contrast disruptive pattern with irregular markings in green, brown, sand and black. It is also known unofficially by its colloquial moniker of "M81" after the year of its adoption, however this term was never officially used by the U.S. military.

Although BDUs have been long phased out of frontline use in the U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. Woodland is still used on some limited level since MOPP suits, vests, and other equipment were printed in it and never fully replaced. Some modernized uniforms such as modified BDUs and FROG gear were used by special forces such as the USMC Forces Special Operations Command and United States Navy SEALs.

01Development and history

The woodland pattern is similar to the brown-dominant version of the ERDL pattern used during the Vietnam War, only differing in that it is enlarged by 60 percent and the shades adjusted for contrast. The changes were made in order to extend the effectiveness of the camouflage pattern to as close to 350 meters as possible.

The enlargement of the pattern was made as part of a shift of tactical focus of the United States military from the close-range fighting of Vietnam to planning for potential longer-range fighting across European woodlands.

The US Woodland pattern was printed slightly darker than ERDL for two key reasons. First, the chosen colors complemented the pattern sizing, preventing the visual blending of colors at greater distances and enhancing the effectiveness of the pattern. Also, by starting with slightly darker colors, the eventual fading of the fabric through use and washing would result in colors moving closer to the desired target, thereby prolonging the garment's useful life.

It is not labeled as NIR compliant, but testing done on the material and dyes used in the creation process found it to be effective in camouflaging under infrared light.

U.S. Army National Guardsmen on an exercise in 2000 while wearing Woodland BDUs and PASGT helmets
U.S. Army National Guardsmen on an exercise in 2000 while wearing Woodland BDUs and PASGT helmets
A Marine Raider wearing a FAST Maritime combat helmet and M81 camouflage combat uniform
A Marine Raider wearing a FAST Maritime combat helmet and M81 camouflage combat uniform

02Usage

U.S. Army

In the U.S. Army, the woodland-patterned Battle Dress Uniform was replaced by the digital Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) found on the Army Combat Uniform, introduced in 2005. UCP itself was replaced by the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) in 2019. The pattern is still found on MOPP suits and some older models of body armor yet to be retired, such as PASGT vests and Interceptor Body Armor.

U.S. Navy

The U.S. Navy no longer uses the Woodland pattern. Most of the Navy has transitioned to the Navy Working Uniform, which uses digital patterns in either a woodland colorway (NWU Type III) or, for some deployed tactical units only, a desert version (Type II).

U.S. Marines

The Woodland Pattern BDU was phased out by the Marine Corps with the introduction of the digital MARPAT Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform in 2002, although it was reintroduced for the United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command in 2011 and was also worn by MARSOC forces in the War in Afghanistan.

U.S. Air Force

The Air Force phased out the woodland pattern battle dress uniform in 2011 when they went to the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) which used a pixelated version of the tiger stripe pattern. It was in turn replaced by the Army's OCP by 2021. The Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force's civilian auxiliary, also used woodland patterned BDUs until being discontinued 15 June 2021.

State defense forces

Several state defense forces use the Woodland Pattern on their BDUs. Members of the Virginia Defense Force wear a Woodland version of the Army Combat Uniform (ACU).

Law enforcement

The pattern also sees use among police departments, such as the Rhode Island State Police.

Captain Gay of the Virginia Defense Force wearing ACU pattern woodland camouflage.
Captain Gay of the Virginia Defense Force wearing ACU pattern woodland camouflage.
Russian Internal Troops wearing LES, a Russian camouflage pattern similar to the woodland camouflage
Russian Internal Troops wearing LES, a Russian camouflage pattern similar to the woodland camouflage

03Users

Former users

Ukrainian National Guard soldiers wearing woodland uniforms in 2015
Ukrainian National Guard soldiers wearing woodland uniforms in 2015
Syrian Army soldiers wearing woodland-pattern uniforms in 2017
Syrian Army soldiers wearing woodland-pattern uniforms in 2017
Watch videos about U.S. WoodlandExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “U.S. Woodland”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

ERDL pattern

The ERDL pattern, also known as the Leaf pattern, is a camouflage pattern developed by the United States Army at its Engineer Research & Development Laboratories in 1948. It was not used until the Vietnam War, when it was issued to elite reconnaissance and special operations units beginning early 1967.