Ghillie suit
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A ghillie suit, or yowie suit, is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble heavy foliage. Typically, it is a net or cloth garment covered in loose strips of cloth or twine, sometimes even made to look like leaves and twigs. Snipers and hunters may wear a ghillie suit to blend into their surroundings when they feel it is important for them to camouflage and hide themselves from enemies or their targets. Ghillie suits have also been used in military simulation games such as paintball and airsoft.
Etymology
The name was derived from ghillie, the Scots Gaelic for "boy", in English especially used to refer to servants assisting in hunting or fishing expeditions. A Ghillie Dhu is a type of tree spirit that is supposed to disguise itself in leaves and vegetation.[1]
History
The ghillie suit was developed by Scottish gamekeepers as a portable hunting blind. Lovat Scouts, a Scottish Highland regiment formed by the British Army during the Second Boer War, is the first known military unit to use ghillie suits.[2] In 1916, Lovat Scouts went on to become the British Army's first sniper unit.[3]
Manufacture
High-quality ghillie suits are commercially manufactured, but military snipers generally construct their own unique suits. Manufactured Ghillie suits can be anywhere from 1 to 4 pieces.[citation needed] Proper camouflage requires the use of materials used in the area a sniper will operate in. Making a ghillie suit from scratch is time-consuming, and a detailed, high-quality suit can take hundreds of hours to manufacture and season for use; however, Marine snipers are often required to customize their own suits to the environment in a matter of minutes.
Ghillie suits can be constructed in several different ways. Some military services make them of rough burlap flaps or jute twine attached to a poncho. US Army ghillie suits are often built using either a battle dress uniform (BDU), or a pilot's flight suit or some other one-piece coverall as the base.
On the base, rough webbing made of durable, stainable fabric like burlap is attached. A nearly invisible material like fishing line is used to sew each knot of net to the fabric (often with a drop of glue for strength). The jute is applied to the netting by tying groups of 5 to 10 strands of a color to the netting with simple knots, skipping sections to be filled in with other colors. The webbing is then seasoned by dragging it behind a vehicle, leaving it to soak in mud, or even applying manure to make it smell "earthy." Once on location, the ghillie suit is customized with twigs, leaves, and other elements of the local foliage as much as possible, although these local additions must be changed every few hours, due to wilting of green grasses or branches.
Ghillie suits are essentially impossible to clean. Although the underlying garment(s) is tough and washable, the attachments tend to be too fragile to survive washing. In practice, this is a moot point, as dirt is an essential part of the suit's camouflage. Generally, snipers are unconcerned with being fastidious because they are rarely inspected for correctness of uniform, and they stay far away from the target.
A new generation of ghillie suits are being made with synthetic threads. The synthetic thread is much lighter than the natural jute or burlap. It is also somewhat washable.
The US Army has replaced jute with a new inherently fire resistant material. This material was successfully field tested in late 2007 at the Sniper School at Fort Benning, and will be standard issue as of June 2008. The FR Ghillie Suit fabric was developed by the US Army Soldier Center (Natick).
Safety considerations
Although highly effective, ghillie suits are impractical for many situations where camouflage is useful. They tend to be very heavy and hot. Even in moderate climates, the temperature inside of the ghillie suit can soar to over 50 °C (120 °F).[citation needed] The burlap is also flammable, unless treated with fire retardant, and the wearer may be exposed to ignition sources such as smoke grenades and white phosphorus.
To enhance safety, the US Army Soldier Center (Natick, MA) has developed an inherently FR (fire resistant) ghillie suit fabric to replace the jute or burlap. This new material does not need to be treated with any additional flame retardant, and the fire resistance is inherent in the product. The US Army's FR ghillie suit fabric will self extinguish.
References
- ^ "Scottish Faeries" (html). Retrieved 2007-09-15.
- ^ Martin Pegler (2004). Out of Nowhere: A History of the Military Sniper. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-87364-704-1.
- ^ John Plaster (2006). The Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training Manual For Military And Police Snipers. Paladin Press. p. 5. ISBN 0-87364-704-1.
External links
- Information and videos about ghillie suits
- Instructional film about German snipers in WW2
- Ghillie Suits Blog - A blog about Ghillie Suits. Contains many photographs of currently available ghillie suits.
- Your Clothing My Canvas - Ghillie suit sold as fashion object