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The Canadian Army was one of the last major armed force to field a non-camouflage clad soldier. Somewhere along the line the Army thought it would be good to introduce camouflage to their soldiers. But for some reason the design took the form of a short jacket intended only for base use, hence the name Barracks. While in the field they use a standard, monocolor green uniform.

It is an interesting pattern, though not very effective. The colors are too dark and therefore the shapes all blend into each other.

The jacket was apparently quite unpopular with the troops, probably because it was made from 100% Polyester and therefore did not breath well. I'm not entirely sure how quickly it went into service, or how long it was in official use, but the total timeframe does not appear to be very long. At first these jackets were impossible to get a hold of due to tight government controls, but after CADPAT was introduced they flooded the market.

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The only field camouflage uniform until CADPAT was for Canadian Para in the form of a British DPM style jump smock worn with standard OG trousers. There were several experimental versions in this pattern, including trousers, but officially there was just this one pattern of jacket. When the Paras were disbanded after various discipline problems, the uniform was dropped.

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At the close of the 20th century the Canadian Army *finally* decided to adopt a complete camoflage uniform (including equipment covers) for its field troops. The new CADPAT pattern is computer derived and offers a very distinct look next to more "organic" types of camo. The adoption of this new uniform is taking time (as is normal) and as of late 2002 is still being introduced. Many items in this pattern are planned, but due to budget cutbacks it is going slowly with the basic shirt, pants, and boonie being the most common items already issued. Frag vests, LBVs (Load Bearing Vests), winter garments, and field packs are all slated for production. The Arid (Desert) version is only just now in early 2003 starting to show up in Afghanistan with Canadian forces.

Only recently have complete sets come up for sale, but always with astronomical prices. However, commercial copies of the pants are getting to be very easy to come by, although they bear little similarity to the real thing.

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