Combat uniform

A combat uniform, also called a field uniform, battledress, or military fatigues, is a casual uniform used by military, police, fire, and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and duty, as opposed to dress uniforms for formal functions and parades. It generally consists of a jacket, trousers, and shirt or T-shirt, all cut to be looser and more comfortable than more formal uniforms. Combat uniform designs vary by regiment or service branch (e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc.). Uniform fabrics often come in camouflage, disruptive patterns, or otherwise olive drab, brown, or khaki monochrome, to approximate the background and make the soldier less conspicuous in the field. In Western dress codes, field uniforms are considered equivalent to civilian casual wear, less formal than service dress uniforms, which are generally for office or staff use, as well as mess dress uniforms and full dress uniforms.

Combat uniforms have existed to some degree in most organized militaries throughout history, with the intent of providing both protection and easy identification. The British Indian Army's Corps of Guides were the first to use drab combat uniforms starting in 1848, when they wore light-brown clothing called "khaki" by Indian troops. The Second Boer War and World War I ended the pre-modern practice of issuing brightly-colored combat uniforms in favor of green, brown, khaki, and grey uniforms that better suited the varied environments of modern warfare. The first proper military camouflage pattern was Italy's telo mimetico, originally designed for half-shelters in 1929. Germany's Wehrmacht began issuing camouflage uniforms to paratroopers during World War II, and by the end of the war, both the Allies and Axis made use of camouflage uniforms for select units, usually special forces. The Cold War and post–Cold War era saw the gradual shift from monochromatic olive and khaki combat uniforms to those using camouflage patterns.

In British English, battledress is often the preferred name. In American English, the term fatigues has often been used by the Army, or utilities by the Marines, originally being a term for work uniforms. In the late- and post-Cold War era, the term battle dress uniform (BDU; from the American uniform of the same name) is used most often to describe combat uniforms in general.

Australia generally followed British-style uniforms, but did not join other Commonwealth countries in adopting the British Battledress during World War II; instead, Australia continued to use a slightly updated version of the uniform worn during World War I, which continued into the Korean War. Following service with the 28th Commonwealth Division in Malaya and Borneo, Australia adopted "Jungle Greens" (JGs) for all field wear, eventually modifying the uniform during the Vietnam War with slanted pockets and with the blouse to be worn outside of the trousers, similar to U.S. "jungle fatigues" (the forerunner of the U.S. Battle Dress Uniform) which also first appeared in Vietnam. The modified JGs were colloquially called the "Pixie suit." JGs were worn through the 1970s and until the adoption of Australia's own camouflage pattern called Disruptive Pattern Combat Uniform (more commonly called DPCU or Auscam) introduced from 1982. There were also multiple patterns based on DPCU, including the Disruptive Pattern Desert Uniform, and a red/white version for OPFOR teams during combat exercises

The Australian Defence Force has, as of 2014, introduced the Australian Multicam Camouflage Uniform (AMCU) for Army and Air Force personnel engaged in warlike activities, and for Air Force field exercises. There is two main variants of AMCU available to AA and RAAF troops, the Field Uniform, the standard uniform cut seen since LAND125 Phase 4. It features 2 breast pockets, an epaulette on the chest, a pocket on either upper sleeve (where a unit patch and flag are attached with hook and loop fasteners), two front trouser pockets, 2 side zip pockets and a pocket to slip in kneepads. The AMCU Field variant is worn by the army as barracks dress. The second variation is the AMCU Combat Uniform. It features a knitted section around the torso for breathability under body armour, and 2 slanted sleeve pockets along with reduced amounts of pockets on the trousers to increase dexterity and breathability.

The first true battledress adopted by Canada for standard issue across the board was the khaki field uniform known as Service Dress, adopted in 1907. This was of a separate pattern from the British Service Dress adopted after the Boer War, and marked a departure in Canadian uniforms in that it was distinct from the scarlet/blue/rifle green uniforms traditionally worn to that point, the latter of which became "ceremonial" dress for parades and other functions apart from field training.

Until well into the Cold War era, the Canadian Army had worn battle dress uniforms similar to their British and Commonwealth counterparts, though with different national identifiers and regimental accoutrements (with Khaki Drill uniforms being worn in the summer or in tropical regions). In the early 1950s, battle dress began to be replaced with lightweight uniforms, at first Bush Dress for summer wear, and in the 1960s with a new combat dress, a set of olive drab garments more similar to the American style of combat wear (i.e. made up of layers and solely for wear in the field as opposed to all-purpose wool Battle Dress).

Canadian pattern Service Dress worn by other ranks did not stand up to the rigors of campaigning, however, and was widely replaced by British uniforms in France; some samples of Canadian pattern SD were retained in Canada, and after the war, surviving to be issued briefly in 1939.