June 13, 2013 03:22 PM UTC

Coffman votes against saving money; for ineffective camo

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• by: Phoenix Rising

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

As reported by military.com, the House Armed Services Committee today voted to approve an amendment to the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act (the bill that funds the military for the year); the amendment would end the practice of allowing each branch of the Armed Services to contract for branch-specific camoflage uniforms, forcing the branches to share camoflage patterns and uniform cuts.

The amendment comes after a debacle in the Army with the proven-ineffective "Universal Camoflage Pattern" and a proliferation of patterns – there are currently three universal patterns, three woodland patterns and two desert patterns. For each pattern, the military has to buy corresponding battle armor, backpacks, and other gear camo covers, costing millons and perhaps billions of extra dollars.

Mike Coffman (CO-06) has the unfortunate distinction of being against the amendment, saying that savings would be miniscule and the "morale-boosting" effects outweighed the savings.

Really, Rep. Coffman? How significant is the morale boosting effect of wearing Army camo vs. Marine camo? I'm guessing most of our military would rather not get shot because they have the most effective camo rather than having that extra stylish flair from their service-specific version.