US Army Desert Camo Jacket

This last Sunday, Sweet Pea and I headed over to the local Goodwill Store in Port Townsend for their once a week, .99 cent sale. The items that are on the racks are color coded with tags depending on how long they have been in the store. Just before items are pulled, they go on sale for .99 cents each!

I picked up a "vintage" US Army Desert Camo Jacket in 3 color camo for .99 cents! Oh yes, and it is actually my size............What a deal!

The jacket is from an unknown service member (name patch removed) with the following insignia and patches:

Captain and Transportation collar tabs
Army Element, United States Central Command shoulder patch
Parachute Wings
Air Assault Badge
US Shoulder Flag

The 3 color desert camo pattern replaced the original 6 color ,"chocolate chip" ,desert camo that was used from 1985 - 1999. The new desert digital style camo came out in 2002, so this jacket dates from that time in between, around the 1999 to 2002 range.

Here are a few closer shots of the jacket:




The mission of the US Central Command is:

"to promote and protect U.S. interests, ensure uninterrupted access to regional resources and markets, assist regional friends in providing for their own security and regional stability, promote the attainment of a just and lasting Middle East Peace, counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other transnational threats, and rapidly deploy joint and combined forces to support the full range of military operations."


Their area of responsibility includes 25 nations, ranging from Egypt in the west to Pakistan in the east, and from Kazakhstan in the north to Kenya in the south.