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This is a reversible pattern issued to Egyptian troops in the 1970s and 1980s, commonly called Rocks/Sand. Indications are that this pattern is seeing a limited reissue of some sort within the last couple of years. The "rocks" side is a 4 color pattern very similar to WWII German Waffen SS Oakleaf, while the "sand" side is a rather unique 2 color orange-yellow sand base with redbrown blobs. As you can see from the pictures the quality of the printing is not very good, with the material being too thin to accept the dyes from both sides without bleeding through (harder to see on the "rocks" side than "sand"). The construction of the uniform is shoddy at best. To the best of my knowledge only shirt and pants were made in this pattern, of which I have a set.

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This variation on French Lizard pattern was supposedly used by the Syrians. They did in fact use a pattern similar to this, but photos show that it had much bolder colors. Recent evidence suggests that this uniform was instead made in Egypt for their own para and/or commando units. It was also possibly exported for use with PLO forces. The construction and buttons are similar to my Egyptian desert uniform and both were bought from the same source who says he got both from an Egyptian Army contact. I have shirt and pants in this pattern.

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This is the second desert camouflage pattern Egypt adopted for its military forces. It was also the first widely worn camouflage uniform put into service. Collectors have nicknamed this Fried Eggs due to the egg like splotches. It comes in two major color variants. The one pictured above is the earlier, more common version.

The construction of these uniforms is horrible by Western standards. The cloth is thin, the manufacturing sloppy, and the stitching completely inadequate for a military uniform. It is a wonder that these uniforms lasted so much as one day in service!

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Most European nations recently found that they needed to have a desert pattern in their inventory. In just the same way Egypt found itself in need of a temperate uniform after a small force was sent to former Yugoslavia on peace keeping duty. Evidence shows that they were originally deployed with their standard desert uniform (see previous description), but quickly found that it was not suited to the local terrain or weather. From what I have been told they quickly traded with other peace keepers to get uniforms that did the job until an official uniform could be provided. This was done fairly quickly by basically making a US type Woodland uniform on heavier fabric than previous Egyptian uniforms. The construction is also a small notch better than the desert uniforms, but not by much. The colors are VERY dark and quite hard to distinguish from one another. This is probably due, in part, to the rushed nature of its development. Mine is issued and came from an Egyptian officer training in the US.

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