Ten types of camouflage military uniforms reflects Washington's wasteful ways

 While millions of civilian military personnel prepare to endure unpaid furlough days under the sequester cuts allowed by Congress, The Washington Post recently reported that the Pentagon has spent millions of dollars to develop new types of camouflage uniforms that represent a classic Washington example of duplication and waste.
David Fahrenthold of the Post reported that in 2002, the military had just two kinds of camouflage uniforms. One was green, for the woods. The other was brown, for the desert. Today, there are 10.

One is a camouflage pattern just for Marines in the desert. There is another just for Navy personnel in the desert. The Army has its own “universal” camouflage pattern, which is designed to work anywhere. It also has another one just for Afghanistan, where the first one doesn’t work, according to Fahrenthold.

Unbelievably, even the Air Force has its own unique camouflage. But it apparently has flaws. So in Afghanistan, airmen are told not to wear it in battle.
Here is Fahrenthold’s assessment:

“Duplication is one of Washington’s most expensive traditions: Multiple agencies do the same job at the same time, and taxpayers pay billions for the government to repeat itself.

"The habit remains stubbornly hard to break, even in an era of austerity. There are, for instance, at least 209 federal programs to improve science and math skills. There are 16 programs that teach personal finance.

"At the Pentagon, the story of the multiplying uniforms has provided a step-by-step illustration of how duplication blooms in government — and why it’s usually not good.”