This pattern is named after the United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERLD). It was developed in 1948 and came into prominence during the last years of the Vietnam War. It is composed of four colors and was designed for use mostly in jungle environments. It was later adapted to other forested areas. It was designed as dark green and brown swaths with smaller black branches on a lighter "lime" green background. This evolved into part of the battle duty uniform U.S. (BDU) in 1981.
During the First Gulf War, the six-color pattern came to prominence and was used by all types of troops on the U.S. side. Originally, the six-color pattern was only used for desert camouflage, but has since been adapted to a wide variety of environments. This pattern became used as part of the U.S. BDU for all branches, largely replacing the ERDL pattern. This pattern has also been called the "chocolate-chip cookie pattern" for the appearance of the desert camouflage when viewed up close.
Several styles of urban camouflage have been tested for use by the U.S. armed forces. The designs tested drew largely from the six-color pattern, using white, light blue and shades of gray. Despite several practice tests of urban camouflage, no pattern has been adopted by the U.S. military for official use. It is occasionally used by law enforcement SWAT teams and other groups.
The modern battle-duty uniform of the US makes use of three colors, eliminating black from the palette. Studies showed that elimination of black from the palette made for better camouflage, as black is not a color frequently found in nature. MARPAT (MARine PATtern) was developed by the U S. Marine Corp. The U.S. Army followed by creating ACUPAT (Army Combat Uniform PATtern). Both make use of small digital cubes of alternating colors.
In World War II, an effort was made to create camouflage for naval vessels. Critics of this type of camouflage argued that it was ineffective at making the vessel blend into its surroundings. Proponents argued that while it did not render the vessel "invisible," it did make it more difficult to identify the bow and stern by sight. It was thought that this would make it more difficult for other naval vessels to "lead" the camouflaged ship over great distances. Use of naval camouflage has been largely abandoned, as technology has replaced identification by sight.