Indonesia

Indonesia has a long and varied history of military camouflage usage that can be traced as far back as the Second World War. At that time, Indonesia was still a colonial possession of the Netherlands. Immediately following the war, the Dutch Army received surplus stocks of US reversible "duck hunter 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 by elite units of the Indonesian Armed Forces as well as paramilitary political parties, but a number of them are also associated with paramilitary political groups that arose in the mid-1990s to suppor 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 in the hands of the newly independent Indonesian government in 1950. This original fabric was manufactured into jumpsuits worn by the Pasukan Gerak Tjepat (PGT) of the Indonesian Air Force, and the Resimen Parakomando Angkatan Darat (RPKAD) of the Indonesian Army. These uniforms saw service between 1954 and 1960. Author Kenneth Conboy suggests that the uniforms were worn almost exclusively with the green side out.

Beginning in 1960, locally-made copies of the original USA-manufactured 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 , these uniforms also were worn by Infantry units into the 1970s. Shown below are two different fabric types, a lightweight HBT and a thinner cotton poplin.

Macan Tutul (leopard) spot pattern, circa 1952-1968. Originally worn by Pasukan Gerak Tjepat (PGT) of the Indonesian Air Force.

Introduced in 1964, the RPKAD (Army Special Forces) Loreng Darah Mangalir ("flowing blood") pattern was originally intended to be a copy of the WW2 era British Denison brushstroke camouflage. However, an error at the original manufacturing plant resulted in the vertical, vine-like stripes which continue to be associated with the Army's Special Forces today. The first version illustrated below, with some variation in color and type of fabric, saw service between 1964 and 1986. The second pattern 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:

KOSTRAD (Komando Cadangan Strategis Angkatan Darat) "wine leaf" pattern. Worn initially circa 1975-79, and reintroduced during 1990s for ceremonial purposes only.