Indonesia

Indonesia has a long and varied history of military camouflage use that can be traced as far back as the Second World War, at which time the country was still a colonial possession of the Netherlands. Immediately following the war, the Dutch Army received surplus stocks of USA reversible M1942 spot pattern camouflage fabric and uniforms. Many of these surplus stocks ended up in the hands of the new Indonesian Armed Forces when they established their independence in 1949. Since the 1960s, however, Indonesia has built a thriving textile and garment industry, and produced some of the worlds most interesting camouflage patterns. Many of these patterns have seen service with elite units of the Indonesian Armed Forces, but a number of them are also associated with paramilitary political groups that arose in the mid-1990s to support the Suharto regime.

Indonesian Military Camouflage Patterns

Much of the surplus US M1942 reversible HBT camouflage fabric originally given to the Dutch after WW2 ended up being turned over to the newly independent Indonesian government in 1950. This original fabric was manufactured into jumpsuits worn by the Air Force Pasukan Gerak Tjepat (PGT), as well as the Army's Resimen Parakomando Angkatan Darat (RPKAD) or Special Forces, and airborne elements. These uniforms saw service between 1954 and 1960 and were worn almost exclusively with the green side out.^[1]

Beginning in 1960, locally-made copies of the original M1942 camouflage fabric had begun to emerge. The fabrics were generally lighter weight than the American-made version, and printed using slightly different dyes. In service with special units such as the PGT and RPKAD through the mid-1960s, the uniforms also were worn by some Infantry units into the 1970s. Shown below are two different fabric types, a lightweight HBT and a thinner cotton poplin.

Introduced in 1964, the Loreng Darah Mangalir ("flowing blood") pattern was originally intended to be a copy of the WW2 era British Denison brushstroke camouflage for issue to the RPKAD (Army Special Forces). However, an error at the original manufacturing plant resulted in the vertical, vine-like stripes that characterize this unique pattern.^[2] The original version illustrated below, with some variation in color and type of fabric, saw service between 1964 and 1986 (at which time the entire Armed Forces were outfitted in a copy of British DPM). The second pattern shown was revived for issue to KOPASSUS (Army Special Forces) in 1995 but in a slightly varied design. This is currently worn for ceremonial & training purposes only.

A brushstroke camouflage pattern, reminiscent of the British Denison pattern of WW2, was introduced for use by the KKO (Korps Komando Angkatan Laut) or Marine Commando Corps in 1965 and continued in service variously through the 1970s. It was later revived for use ceremonially and in training in the 1990s and continues to be worn today. The photographs below illustrate an early (1970s) and current (2004-present) version of the pattern:

Illustrated below is an example of the Army KODAM Jaya Raider Battalion "lime brushstroke" pattern from the 1970s.

A geometrical camouflage pattern was introduced for the Air Force KOPASGAT (Komando Pasukan Gerak Cepat) special operations unit beginning in 1967. The unique pattern consists of jagged spots of reddish-brown, pinkish-brown, ochre and green on a sea-green background and was worn by this unit until around 1976.^[3] As with many of the Indonesian camouflage designs from this period, the pattern was retired and never revived

A version of the USMC Standard or "wine leaf" pattern was introduced for use by the Airborne elements of the Army's KOSTRAD (Komando Cadangan Strategis Angkatan Darat) in 1975 and worn for several years. It appears the pattern was reintroduced during 1990s for ceremonial purposes only, albeit in a darker color scheme.

A "vertical stripe" pattern was designed by Colonel M. Sanif (former commander of 17 Airborne Brigade) and submitted in 1976 for consideration as a camouflage pattern for KOSTRAD. Initially rejected, a few years later uniforms in this pattern were issued to all qualified graduates of the Raider Course from 1980-1983.^[4] Illustrated below are a couple different color variations of this pattern, which was quickly discontinued and has never been revived.

A spot camouflage pattern, influenced by the WW2 era USA M1942 jungle camouflage, was introduced for service with the Korps Marinir (Marine Corps) and worn between 1983 and 1984. The pattern is actually similar to that developed by the Dutch Army in the 1950s, although the spots are somewhat larger in size.

Also introduced for wear by KOPASGAT in 1969 (initially only as airborne parachutist smock) is the vertical stripe pattern seen here. This pattern saw service with the unit through the 1970s, was dropped in 1980 but again revived for service with KOPASGAT between 1983 and 1984. ^[5] Although the unit has been obligated to adopt the standard DPM pattern for operational purposes (as the rest of the Armed Forces) since 1984, a revised version of the old vertical stripe pattern has been worn ceremonially since the 1990s (and officially since 2000).