Highly-Conspicuous Uniform: Difference between revisions

* '''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. [[The Laws and Customs of War]] require soldiers to wear a symbol that visibly separates them from civilians, but not to such ridiculous extremes. Some works will attempt to justify this trope by saying the badge is intended to draw fire to an armored portion of the ensemble. Often occurs due to [[Sigil Spam]].

Of course, it's entirely possible to combine both instances into one huge Uniform of Impracticality, as seen in the trope illustration.

Compare [[Highly-Visible Ninja]], [[Chest Insignia]] (the superhero version of the Bullseye Badge), [[Bling of War]] (uniforms that are [[Impractically Fancy Outfit|flashy]]), [[Dress-Coded for Your Convenience]], and [[Fashion Victim Villain]].

{{examples}}

* In ''[[Discworld/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]'', when the squad makes makeshift ghillie-like camouflage uniforms, Sergeant Jackrum refuses, saying it is beneath his dignity.

* 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.

** 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.

** 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.

* 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?

== 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.

*** 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"!

== Video Games ==

* 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.

* 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.

** 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.

** 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]].

** 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.

* 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.

** [[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)!

** Averted in the [[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra|live-action movie]], surprisingly enough.

** 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-Series Nickname|Siegies]], when not serving directly at a Cobra base, are deployed out into the world to infiltrate society, spying on enemies and legally earning money to be funneled back to Cobra. Usually, when you see this uniform, it's within Cobra-controlled territory, and if it's on the frontline, it's likely during a Cobra civil war.

* 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.

* 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.

** 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.

** 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.

** 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> [[Fridge Brilliance|It is depicted the way the flag would actually appear if a soldier were carrying it.]] [[And Knowing Is Half the Battle|The flag goes on the right side because that is the position of seniority when more than one soldier are marching side by side. If the soldier is moving forward, as if he were advancing, the flag would trail behind him, and would thus appear reversed from the right side, because the blue field is always closest to the flagpole.]] [[But I Digress|Of course, if you had a strong wind at your back, the flag would be the other way.]]</ref> When deploying into a location where red, white and blue blend in poorly, it's switched out for a less visible monochromatic version.

** 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.

** Averted with the parts of the Navy (like the Seabees and SEALS) who work where they might actually get shot at, 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.