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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''The uniforms of the Imperial Guard are camouflaged in order to protect their wearers by hiding them from sight. The principle is that what the enemy cannot see he cannot kill. This is not the way of the Adeptus Astartes. A [[Space Marine]]’s armour is bright with heraldry that proclaims his devotion to his Chapter and the beloved Emperor of Mankind. Our principle is that what the enemy can see, he will soon learn to fear…''|''[[Warhammer
▲{{quote|''The uniforms of the Imperial Guard are camouflaged in order to protect their wearers by hiding them from sight. The principle is that what the enemy cannot see he cannot kill. This is not the way of the Adeptus Astartes. A [[Space Marine]]’s armour is bright with heraldry that proclaims his devotion to his Chapter and the beloved Emperor of Mankind. Our principle is that what the enemy can see, he will soon learn to fear…''|''[[Warhammer 40000]]''}}
In [[Real Life]], soldiers on duty will usually wear fatigues. These combat uniforms are designed for many practical needs, including a lack of highly-visible markings or bright colors to help the soldier blend into the environment better. This results in fatigues crafted in either a neutral monochrome or a camouflage pattern, with the flashy dress uniforms reserved for ceremonial purposes. Officers wear the same outfits as enlisted men (except for the rank insignia) so that they can't be singled out by the enemy.
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This trope typically manifests in the following ways:
* '''Bullseye Badge:''' The uniform has a highly-visible, [[Smash the Symbol|easily-targeted symbol of their organization]] in a vulnerable location, such as the upper torso or on their helmets. [[
* '''Highlighted Hue:''' The uniform is a single bright color that's entirely inappropriate for their environment, such as neon orange in a night mission. Contrast with real-world armies, which issue fatigues of different shades and/or patterns to troops based on the combat terrain. [[Merchandise
Of course, it's entirely possible to combine both instances into one huge Uniform of Impracticality, as seen in the trope illustration.
This makes sense for for historical works taking place before about 1880, as
Compare [[Highly
'''Note:''' Examples of individuals with
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[The Five Star Stories]]'' is similar to 40k, in that [[Super Soldiers]] get [[Bling of War|ludicrously flamboyant costumes]], while ordinary grunts have realistic uniforms based on actual combat fatigues. The translated sourcebook insert sections in the English editions even describe some of the [[Real Life]] inspirations for various pieces of FSS military equipment. [[The Kingdom|Colus]], for example, seems to be a big importer of pre-reunification West German surplus.
* France from ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' has a bright blue and red military uniform as opposed to the dull colored uniforms his fellow Allied Forces wear. It's [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in one strip where France wears a boring grey inform instead of his usual one, when England questions why France explains that French army's colorful garb made it ridiculously easy for the Italians to aim at them.
* In ''[[Winter Cicada]]'', Kusaka wears one while fighting in the Boshin war. One wonders how in the heck they could even fight with those helmet-hair thingies.
* The bright blue uniforms worn by the Amestrian soldiers in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' are definitely this.
* Everyone in the ''[[Gundam]]'' franchise is dressed this way. Justified in the case of the mobile suit pilots and naval officers (who aren't trying to hide) but played unfortunately straight by the rest of the military personell.
* In several adaptations of ''[[Area 88]]'', pilots wear brightly-colored flightsuits. In a desert environment, they'd stick out like sore thumbs.
== Comic Books ==
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* Examples from the [[DC Universe]]:
** Kobra is often depicted as a DC analogue of HYDRA, wearing similar brightly-colored outfits in green, yellow, and orange.
** [
** The members of the various [[Green Lantern|Lantern Corps]] usually have their Corps sigil across their chest.
** Interestingly averted by the original version of the [[Secret Six]]. Yes, they usually have very bright and distinctive outfits, but when they go on night or stealth missions, the colouration changes accordingly.
** In ''[[The Dark Knight Returns]]'', Batman states that the reason for his very visible chest symbol (black on yellow at this point) is specifically to draw weapon fire to that point, where he is wearing a heavy armor plate.
== Film ==
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** Partially averted in the prequels, when the Clone Army sometimes got colored camouflage depending on the situation (jungle, scouting, etc.) -- but with the base glossy white armor clearly visible underneath...
** The [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] has Stormtroopers after Endor use camoflaged armor when on missions that need it. In the [[X Wing Series]], Stormtroopers on commando/assassination missions wear slate gray armor. Lampshaded at one point, where Imperial troops raiding a jungle village in their shiny whites is taken as proof that they're local militia not Stormtroopers, since "getting whipped by one Wookie and a bunch of Ewoks persuaded the Empire to institute some reforms".
* Many [[Mooks]] in earlier ''[[James Bond (
** Most of the SPECTRE mooks wear orange.
** In ''[[
** In ''[[
** In ''[[
** Sort of averted in ''[[
* The various troops of Ming the Merciless in the film adaptation of ''[[Flash Gordon (
* In ''Radioactive Dreams'', one character wears a pseudo-military uniform where the epaulets are a row of flashing L.E.D.s. She wears this outfit to the climactic multiway fight IN A DARKENED WAREHOUSE. 'Shoot between the dotted lines' (it is decades since I saw this, so details are unreliable).
* Anton Arcane's mercenary mooks in ''The Return of [[Swamp Thing (
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* The [[Heralds of Valdemar]] serve as everything from diplomats to special forces. Normally, their all-white uniform is a respected symbol of authority, but the lack of any other option on the battlefield is subject to much [[Lampshade Hanging]]. However, it is implied that the Heralds intentionally draw attention to themselves because they're so [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|noble]] that they would rather they be hit than some random soldier, [[Honor Before Reason|no matter how irreplaceable and tactically valuable they are.]] The two most militaristic Heralds (a [[Defector From Decadence|former enemy captain]] and a former mercenary) wear dark gray instead whenever possible. The regular Valdemar army wears dark blue and silver, which are the nation's colors.▼
▲== Literature ==
▲* The [[Heralds of Valdemar]] serve as everything from diplomats to special forces. Normally, their all-white uniform is a respected symbol of authority, but the lack of any other option on the battlefield is subject to much [[Lampshade Hanging]]. However, it is implied that the Heralds intentionally draw attention to themselves because they're so [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|noble]] that they would rather be hit than some random soldier, [[Honor Before Reason|no matter how irreplaceable and tactically valuable they are.]] The two most militaristic Heralds (a [[Defector From Decadence|former enemy captain]] and a former mercenary) wear dark gray instead whenever possible. The regular Valdemar army wears dark blue and silver which are the nation's colors.
** The standard-issue steeds of said Heralds are no less conspicuous between the indelible white coats, silver hooves, and blue eyes. However a sentient warhorse with more speed and stamina than anything remotely natural is usually useful enough to make up for it even without factoring in the various psionic and arcane abilities.
* In ''[[
* The Blue Hordes in the ''[[Redwall]]'' book ''Lord Brocktree'' have their fur dyed blue from head to tail. Then again, they rely far more on numbers and fear factor than camouflage.
* Commented on by Diana Wynne Jones' protagonist in Homeward Bounders. Here the characters get transported from world to world at a moments notice, each world being at different technology levels. On finding themselves trapped in a war zone, Jamie immediately starts to look out to see if uniforms are brightly coloured or mud brown. In terms of civilians trying to go their own way, the former is good, the latter, pretty bad.
== Live-Action TV ==
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** Lampshaded in the hundredth episode where a TV show based on the Stargate program is being made. One of the actors asks why the aliens never wear camouflage, and the writer claims that [[Executive Meddling]] wanted the aliens "to be seen". The actor argues that an alien wouldn't ''want'' to be seen, and Jack points out that this may be why all the aliens are dead. The actor finds this very helpful.
** The same is true for the Ori armies, whose goal is to show off the glory of the Ori and who use staff weapons similar to the Jaffa.
* Every incarnation of the [[Power Rangers]] and [[Super Sentai]] ever. Some series even made the [[Mooks]]' sigils be their only [[Achilles' Heel|vulnerable spot]].
** This troper always thought that Zedd's Putties being destroyed by a single punch was some sort of [[Lampshade Hanging]].
* The typical ''[[Star Trek]]'' uniform is a single-color shirt with matching pants. In many situations, representing the Federation is partly shown via uniform-wearing (especially in ''Insurrection'' when Picard {{spoiler|resigns his commission temporarily}}). Therefore, if they are acting as diplomats or ambassadors then they need to be easily identified. Many times in the various series, characters disguised themselves to blend in when on a hostile planet. In the original it was usually via costume, and in the later series surgical alteration was used to transform the characters. However, somewhat justified in that Starfleet personnel, as their name suggests, on board a spaceship most of the time and are thus in theory unlikely to be personally shot at (though this doesn't explain why away teams didn't wear subdued colors as a matter of course).
** The later series gradually phased out the bright colors in the uniforms in favor of black and gray. Limiting the colored part to the shoulders and eventually just an undershirt. ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise|Enterprise]]'' also has quite reasonable dark blue uniforms.
** Starfleet personnel in ground-combat situations sometimes wore [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Starfleet_uniform_%28late_2360s-early_2370s%29#Combat_jacket a variant uniform] where the colour was limited to a shoulder-flash. In the [[Star Trek Expanded Universe]], these uniforms are called Surface Operation Blacks, and the most recent version has even removed the shoulder flash.
* Parodied in ''[[Dinosaurs]]'' when the dinosaurs go to war. Their uniforms have the national flag on the back... which just happens to resemble a bullseye.
** [[Fridge Brilliance]] - how better to discourage your troops from turning around and running away?
* The 80's miniseries 'V' has this trope relating to the 'visitors' themselves. As the 'visitors' only dressed up as [[Human Aliens]] in the first place to appear friendly to humans, it is reasonable for them to not be wearing camo or body armor would've rather spoiled that image.
* The Alliance soldiers in ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'' got the nickname "purple bellies" from the purple-painted armor they wore on their abdomens. And while the coats that gave the Independent "Browncoats" their nickname would probably help blend into the arid environments of most outer worlds, the red vests they wore underneath would definitely not.
** Note that there is a clear difference between the uniforms worn by the Alliance in wartime and in peacetime; the uniforms shown in flashbacks are far less conspicuous gray-black suits of armor, while the armor worn during the series itself is the "purple-belly" armor. This makes sense, as the Alliance troops in peacetime are intended to be highly visible.
* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy Summers]] goes patrolling in brightly colored outfits. Justified in-universe in that vampires are attracted to bright colors and genre savvy citizens wear muted colors.
* Though not as obvious [[A Song of Ice and Fire
== Newspaper Comics ==
* [[The Far Side]] gives
== Tabletop Games ==
* VIPER from the ''[[Champions]]'' Universe has their symbol prominently displayed on their uniforms. Earlier editions had their heroic counterparts UNTIL doing the same, but the most recent incarnation goes for the more subtle (and more realistic) approach of just putting the badge on their headgear and uniform sleeves.
* As in the quotation of [[Warhammer 40
** The Imperial Guard, on the other hand, prefer to use camouflage... mostly. At least one Guard unit, the Mordians, prefer to wear bright-blue dress uniforms into battle. The impact of such a move is diminished with the existence of working stealth generators.
*** Truth be told, most of the Space Marines follow this trope to a T, but they also have their own infiltrators and camo troops, the scouts, which are also the Space Marine newbies, making every Space Marine also a god in infiltration, as stated, they just don't care...
** The Orks play in to this by painting themselves with bright colors due to their superstitious beliefs that work for them. Some paint themselves blue because they consider it lucky, while they paint their vehicles red which make them "go fasta"!
*** And there are Orks who paint themselves ''purple'' and think it makes them invisible, "'cause nobody's ever seen a purple Ork, rite?" Worst part: Orks run on [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe]], so it might actually ''work.''
* The Campus Security in ''[[GURPS]] IOU'' wear red uniforms with a ''literal'' Bullseye Badge, underlining their status as the setting's [[Red Shirts]]. Their most common nickname isn't "Targets" for nothing.
== Toys ==
* Most of the minifigs in Lego sets have bright colors, even the more outright militant sets (licensed properties notwithstanding).
== Video Games ==
* All the Empires in ''[[
* In ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]] I'' & ''II'', soldiers of the Old Republic got to battle wearing bright red combatsuits, and the Mandalorians seem to like wearing armor in nearly every color of the rainbow. But both are easily topped by the Sith Troopers and their shining silver uniforms.
* The expanded universe goes into more detail about Mandalorian armour colours, which all have complex meanings associated with each shade whch are extremely personal to the person wearing them, and also serve as a way [[Colour Coded for Your Convenience|to tell each other apart]] because a Mandalorian who has earned their armour [[24-Hour Armor|is seldom seen in public without it]] and only removes their helmet in the presence of those they trust implicitly.
* In the video game ''[[Haze]]'', the Mantel soldiers all wear helmets and shoulderpads that glow luminous yellow, with the rest of their armor being dark grey or black. The helmets and shoulderpads also flash red when the user takes damage. In reality, those helmets would only serve as massive targets for their enemies, especially since they'd flash whenever they hit their marks.
* The dull grey armour in ''[[Gears of War]]'' would be [[Real Is Brown|good for blending in with one's surroundings]] if not for the colour-coded lights on it.
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** Other Spartans seem to enjoy bright blues and oranges, among many other colors. And that's not just in multiplayer deathmatches either.
** Strangely, the marines wear camouflaged BDUs, but also have strait-color armor over the top. You'd think it would be the other way around.
*** Actually real-life combatants do this all the time. Standard US Marine battle dress is woodland camo under OD Green armor or desert camo under Coyote Brown armor.
** Many of the Covenant forces can, of course, [[Invisibility Cloak|cloak]]. They are then hampered by carrying around giant glowing swords, or having guns covered in illuminated displays firing brightly coloured shots (which would probably be difficult to disguise anyway), but it does make them a little harder to see.
* Combine Elite in ''[[Half Life]] 2'' wear bright white armor, probably to emulate Imperial Stormtroopers. They also have [[Cyber Cyclops|a glowing red lens on their helmets]].
* Almost everyone in ''[[Evil Genius (
** The game itself is a parody on [[Spy Fiction]] movies and series, particularly [[James Bond]].
** Averted with the social minions, whose goal is distracting enemy agents, making them think the island is just a tourist hotspot. The valets are dressed as bellhops (despite performing all hotel functions), while spindoctors, diplomats, and playboys wear suits (albeit with bright-colored jackets).
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** All three of the major [[Private Military Contractors|mercenary groups]] in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' wear obvious uniforms, with the Blue Suns wearing, well, bright blue and white armor, the Eclipse wearing yellow and black armor, and the Blood Pack wearing bright red. The latter being justified as the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|krogan]] don't hide from their enemies.
** Thanks to the armor customization in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', it's possible to send [[Player Character|Commander Shepard]] into action wearing bright pink. [[Zero Punctuation|Yahtzee]] commented on this in his review of the game.
** Within the setting, there's no real point to actually wearing camouflage anyway. If you're wearing anything even remotely modern, the only way to hide yourself from enemy sensors is to use a full-on [[Invisibility Cloak]] system, because ''everyone's'' armor is outfitted with sensors able to pick you out. Your enemies ''will'' see you regardless of whether you're wearing dull camouflage or bright blue and yellow-painted gear. For this reason, suits with [[Tron Lines]] are commonplace, especially among mercenaries; if you can't hide you might as well be visible and intimidating.
** Cerberus dresses its soldiers in highly conspicuous white and gold uniforms with clearly visible logos of the organization, in spite of their status as a covert black-ops terrorist group, and the fact that just being a member warrants a prison sentence in the Citadel space.
* In ''[[Command
* The Marines of ''[[Doom]]'' wear quite sensible fatigues, but their body armour comes in Day-Glo Lime Green and Peacock Blue.
* In ''[[Quake]] 3'', you can select from a wide variety of dull brown, gray, and orange skins, though this still does not make them invisible in front of [[Real Is Brown|brown, gray, and orange backgrounds]]. However, there are always some players who pick the bright red or blue team-deathmatch skins all the time. If you are presented with multiple targets, they are the ones you aim at first.
* The villainous teams in the [[Pokémon]] games, while not militant per say, do tend to wear very noticeable uniforms for criminal organizations. Team Rocket tend to wear black uniforms with a big red R on the chest, probably the most inconspicuous, then again, they're probably the most well-known organization in the country they're in, so they'd still be noticed. Team Aqua wear blue and white pirate-like uniforms, Team Magma wear gray and red hooded uniforms, but these two tend to show themselves in public the least out of the villainous teams. Team Galactic are rather well-known and wear typical "space-traveler" uniforms, gray and blue and really make no effort to hide themselves (they've got extremely villainous buildings just standing there in the middle of goddamn cities) and are mostly ignored due to [[Apathetic Citizens]]. Team Plasma also make no effort to hide themselves and dress almost like knights, but they are ''trying'' to be known in order to convert people to their goals.
* When you [[Dressing
* In [[
** Though ''[[Call of Duty: Black Ops
* In ''[[Blacklight
* In ''[[
== Web Comics ==
* ''[[
* [[Last
** [[Justified Trope|Ironically, since the point is for most of them to die ANYWAY...]]
** The Executioner's outfits aren't much better, since they're still brightly colored (with the possible exception of Team Equuleus)!
** The other main fighting force we've seen (the Star Org) has slightly drabber blue/teal outfits, although those berets of theirs make rather nice targets....
* ''[[Girl Genius]]'' has different standards - while soldiers who act as guards or ride vehicles don't worry about how much bling they carry, in the field, patterns vary and tend toward dark tones. And then there are [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20111007 those snappy dressers from Mactovia].
== Western Animation ==
* The ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' cartoons and comic books almost always give the various Cobra army uniforms large iconic cobras, ordinarily in bright blood red.
** The toys got it even worse, for [[Merchandise
** Averted in the [[G.I. Joe:
** The Crimson Guard (see page image) are actually a bit of a subversion, as they're not frontline troops, but Cobra Commander's most elite forces. One has to have a degree in law or accounting to even be eligible to join, although scientists and others with highly specialized, and valuable, skills have been included in the ranks. [[In
*** Of course, this applies mainly to the comic books; in the cartoon, the Guard aren't featured much outside of the twins, Tomax and Xamot, and in the [[DiC Entertainment|DIC]] miniseries "Operation: Dragonfire", one nameless Siegie even sees [[Merchandise
* The [[Transformers|Autobots and Decepticons]] always have their corresponding faction sigil visible from the front, usually either on their chest or their forehead/helmet. Kinda makes you wonder about the whole "Robots in Disguise" thing.
** They note this in-universe: one of the gimmicks they have been known to use are rubsigns, which hide the insignia until you press on it. It stays hidden until you need to show your allegiance.
* The Mooks of The Monarch in ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' wear bright yellow uniforms with ridiculous oversized butterfly wings on the back.
** The wings' ''size'' at least is justified. They do work, and probably need to be that size to fly.
* Agents of M.A.D. often wear jumpsuits with the M.A.D. logo emblazoned on the chest in public. Despite this, [[Inspector Gadget]] ''never'' realizes that they are his enemies. Then again said agents include three specific mooks that are ALWAYS there and Gadget doesn't recognize them either, so odds are Doctor claw knows there's nothing to worry about.
* In a Family Guy cutaway, Peter is shown in combat in the jungle in full clown mode, including face paint. He tells the other soldiers "You guys are stupid. See, they're gonna be looking for army-guys."
== Real Life ==
* [[Truth in Television]]: In [[Real Life]] western warfare, uniforms with adaptive coloring did not become widespread until the twentieth century. Prior to that, armies tended to use bright colors and bold designs to intimidate enemies and aid identification of allies during combat.
** The most notable example are the [
** Worth noting, musicians (fifers and drummers especially) were generally uniformed in the reversed colors to the regular soldiers (British musicians would have coats of their unit's facing color faced in red for example). The reason was simple, so the officers could locate them (the musician was the equivalent of a radioman, drumbeats carried better than voices).
** In [[The American Civil War]], initially individual units designed their own uniforms and the result was often something like [https://web.archive.org/web/20131214164254/http://www.coppenszouaves.com/ this]. Not surprisingly, chaos often ensued as units with poor intelligence found it difficult to determine what side another unit was on.
** Notably averted by the [[Semper Fi|US Marine Corps]] with their Service Dress uniforms (the military equivalent of a business suit). The uniforms in question are dark green with tan shirts and mostly subdued insignia & buttons. Pop off the ribbons, badges, and officer's rank pins, and you could almost go to combat in it with the addition of some ammo pouches.
*** The US Army's Class A uniform similarly is in shades of green, though it is being phased out and most soldiers would rather not try to fight in the thing.
** The French continued their use of the Highly Conspicuous Uniform into the early days of [[World War I]], when the British and Germans had switched to more practical khaki and grey, respectively. French had considered alternative colors, but problems was that dyes would had be bought from ''[[Honor Before Reason|Germany]]''. However, story of bright uniforms is exaggerated, whit most frontline troops having more reasonable uniforms. The Conspicuous Uniforms were mainly Reserve or Dress uniforms that were pressed into service because of an extreme dearth of proper ones.
** Note that due to cheap materials, primitive dyes, and infrequent laundering, pre-20th-century Highly Conspicuous Uniforms would rarely retain their bright colors in the field. The British, for example, began phasing out the Redcoats in the mid-19th-century in favor of khaki battle uniforms, because that was the color the uniforms wound up ''anyway'' when serving in Africa and India. The word "khaki" itself [[Exactly What It Says
* Some French soldiers in [[World War II]] had the "Bullseye Badge" variant. A special patch, worn on the chest, over the heart, represented the ''bleu, blanc et rouge'' of the French flag as a circle with a blue rim, a white inner circle, and a red dot in the
* In a more modern situation, the US Air Marshals, whose entire purpose was to sit anonymously on planes so that potential hijackers or terrorists wouldn't know if there was one on board, were for some time required to dress in business attire, even if everyone else on the plane was dressed looking like they were ready to hit the beach. Even more insanely, they were required to show their ID at the gate and get on the plane before the other passengers. After this was publicized in the media by air marshals who'd been complaining that undercover agents should actually try to be undercover, they changed the rules. At least one marshal, before the rules were changed, decided to use these rules to his own advantage. Since it was practically impossible to be incognito, he would make a ''deliberate effort'' to stand out, making it clear that ''he'' was the marshal of the plane, so that if anything did go wrong, his partner at least had a ''chance'' of being ignored.
* Real life Bullseye Badges: Allied tanks after the invasion of Normandy carried the US white star on their sides. When a lot of destroyed allied tanks were found to have a neat hole punched in the middle of said star, they were drabbed-down with mud or paint.
** Modern air forces mostly have two-tone grayscale versions of their "official" roundels and insignia. Compare the two on the page for the [
*** Two other examples would be R.A.F. Roundel (where peacetime it was Red, White, and Blue but during W.W.II they made the white either very narrow or left it out) and the BIG Red Rising Sun on the flightdecks of Japanese Aircraft Carriers. In fact, in Midway, one of the bomber pilots aimed directly at the big red spot on the Hiryu and hit it.
** Played straight with the "invasion stripes" used by the Allied air forces during the Normandy invasion. Of course whatever remained of the Luftwaffe in the area was a far smaller threat then friendly fire, so pretty much Justified.
*** Not to mention the [[Nose Art|various color schemes]] used by aviators on both sides throughout the war. Some units, such as the [[Eagle Squadron|American Volunteer Group]] or the [[Red Tails|Tuskegee Airmen]], are as famous for their paint jobs as they are for their achievements in the war.
** "Stripping the paint" for aircraft in [[WW 2]]. The British and Luftwaffe scorned it because it made the aircraft shiney and blatantly obvious. The US 8th Air Force simply didn't care; more than once it was actually suggested that they ''wanted'' enemy aircraft to find them, so they would engage and be shot down.
*** The actual reason for using the minimal bare-metal finishes on the American planes, of course, was that it was [[Boring but Practical|cheaper and faster to build and deploy the aircraft if they didn't waste time painting them first.]] It was also pointed out that the olive-drab favored by the Army didn't exactly blend in with the skies of Western Europe to begin with, which was where the Germans tended to run into them anyways.
*** There was also the point that the coat of paint actually reduced performance - an unpainted B-17 was
*** While various styles of camouflage have gone in and out of vogue for the US military, the bare-metal finish has been favored over the past few decades because the Americans deploy their aircraft to so many widely varying environments, and because the widespread modern use of radar has made painting planes to try and hide them a futile gesture anyways.
* The cockade used by the enlisted men of the Finnish Defence Forces has been a [https://web.archive.org/web/20081115234354/http://tietokannat.mil.fi/np03/data/images/149_press.jpg literal blue-and-white bullseye] for the longest time. It's the butt of quite a few local military jokes.
** Given the frankly terrifying capabilities of the Finns when fighting the Russians back in [[WW 2]], one wonders at the sanity of those ridiculing them. Admittedly, the years since have been a little quieter for them, but even so...
* If the enemy is [[Shoot the Medic First|unscrupulous]], medics and civilian emergency vehicles still have this problem. While the main reason for putting big red-on-white crosses/crescents on medical assets is to proclaim they're not a threat and to encourage the enemy to direct their attacks elsewhere, the conspicuous markings can indeed backfire if the opposition suspects a [[Trojan Horse]]. And yes it's still illegal to give weapons to medics featuring the red cross, which is the second reason the Red Cross is barely seen anymore.
** This [[Bill Cosby]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i31UzeaVJA
** Similarly, [[World War II]] officers had a particular white marking on their helmets, which officers at the time would go out of their ways to smudge with mud to hide. It was noted once that Tom Hanks's character in ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'', for instance, would have in real life known better than to leave a bright white "I'm an officer, snipe me!" mark on his forehead.
* Inverted Trope at times during War On Terror operations in Afghanistan. Special Operations Forces troops sometimes have as their assigned mission to blend in with, gain the confidence of, train, and fight beside native irregulars. To that end they wear native dress, let their hair grow (to an extent) and grow beards (to the Afghan tribesmen a beard denotes manhood). Occasionally a Pentagon commando general officer will take it upon himself to try and make them "...present a more military appearance..." by ordering said troops to shave, get haircuts, and wear "proper uniforms". Such an order is invariably ignored by the field troops if their chain of command passes it on and doesn't just bury the order somewhere in the piles of paperwork any modern army generates.
** Meanwhile, some Canadian troops in the early months of the war in Afghanistan were issued green/brown "temperate woodland" camouflage, due to a lack of beige/brown "arid region" uniforms.
** Similarly, a number of British and US troops had to make do with jungle-pattern camouflage BDUs during Desert Storm, as there weren't enough desert-pattern fatigues in storage and the jungle-pattern was at least designed for hot weather.
* Another modern example, the U.S. Army's combat uniforms (the Army Combat Uniform, and before it, the Battle Dress Uniform and Desert Combat Uniform) all feature a patch with a reflected United States flag on their right shoulder <ref>
** A more prominent example is the ACU uniform itself, which many soldiers complain is noticeably more visible than the older BDU/DCU color schemes. The Army is already fielding a replacement for a uniform that has only been in issue for a few years. The Air Force, having problems with their own ABU fatigues (thick permanent-press uniforms using an unrealistic "tiger stripe" camouflage pattern in urban colors), is also issuing the new Army uniform. Both services are only issuing it for use in Afghanistan, however.
* [
** Not to mention that looking like a Renaissance Faire reject is a great way to sucker a would-be papal assassin into dismissing you as harmless window-dressing. At least, until you pull a modern sidearm out of those poofy sleeves...
* Admiral Horatio Nelson wearing one of these led to his being shot by a French marksman at the cusp of his greatest victory at Trafalgar.
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** The new Navy Working Uniform or NWU. Similar to the new style of camouflage worn by the Marines, with a digital pattern of the standard fatigue design, the NWU is meant to evoke the style of tactical gear worn by other services. All well and good except for the color, a blend of blue and grey. For extra mileage officiers and senior enlisted have spots of gold coloring on them. Arguably subverted however, NWUs are meant to be worn in a shipboard or industrial environment and are designed not to hide the sailor, but to hide any paint or oil stains the uniform accumulates. Thus, while they might "look" more military than the utilities they replaced, they would be almost useless in an actual tactical environment.
*** They ended up looking almost ''exactly'' like Russian Police in their white-blue-gray "city" camo.
** US Navy flight-deck crews work in an environment which is loud, dangerous, often poorly lit, and very busy. Since being spotted by the enemy is not an issue, the various work groups wear [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|brightly-colored]] jerseys in a [http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Coloured_flight_deck_jerseys.jpg rainbow palette], so they can easily spot and identify each other.
** Averted with the parts of the Navy (like the Seabees and SEALS) who work where they might actually get shot at personally(the rest of the navy is intended to go where it just gets it's ship shot at with no concern for the crew), generally with a copy of the more traditional fatigues from another service.
* Subverted with Britain painting some recon planes pink during World War II. While they stood out garishly on the ground, when flying dawn or dusk flights the pink was actually the most effective camouflage color. In a similar manner the Long Range Desert Group 'Pink Panthers' look a bit stupid if seen outside of a desert.
** Similarly-garish was the "dazzle" camouflage of WWI and WWII. Naval vessels were painted with big, blocky intersecting stripes. The point wasn't concealment but rather confusion as the odd lines and shapes made it difficult to determine the range and heading of the ships so painted.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Index of Exact Trope Titles]]
[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]
[[Category:Combat Tropes]]
[[Category:Costume Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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