The U.S. Woodland is a camouflage pattern that was used as the default camouflage pattern issued to the United States Armed Forces from 1981, with the issue of the Battle Dress Uniform, until its replacement in the mid to late 2000s.^[1] It is a four color, high contrast disruptive pattern with irregular markings in green, brown, sand and black. It is also known unofficially by its colloquial moniker of "M81" after the Battle Dress Uniform it was first used on,^[2] though this term was not officially used by the U.S. military.

Although completely phased out of frontline use in the U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. Woodland is still used on some limited level by some branches such as MOPP suits, equipment and vests left over while some modernized uniforms (either BDU or commercial) were worn specifically by special forces such as USMC Forces Special Operations Command and United States Navy SEALs.

The woodland pattern is nearly identical to the brown-dominant version of the ERDL pattern, only differing in that it is enlarged by 60 percent. The enlargement was made in order to extend the effectiveness of the camouflage pattern to as close to 250 meters as possible ^[3]

These changes reflected a shift in the tactical focus of the United States military from fighting an extremely close-range war such as the one in South Vietnam to a longer-range one such as on the fields of Europe.^[4][5]

• United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory