Need help w/age of this Camouflage Navy Seal Team Shirt

[flashbak58]

I have this Camouflage Shirt that may have been a part of a Navy Seal Team Uniform, I am thinking 70's but really have no idea.

Regarding the name tapes, the fabric is the same and in the same condition as the rest of the fabric and lines up with the edges of the pockets but the thread used to sew it on is a tan color instead of the green used on the rest of the shirt, the tan colored thread is also used on the hem and around the sleeves so I am thinking this shirt was tailored to fit the soldier.

Thanks in advance!

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Where's the bottom pockets? The sleeves should be long with button cuff. Yes, it's been altered. I had one here that was USMC and the same pattern. I think these were used from the 60s to 70s and then the new BDU came in. It's OK, we have a few Mudrollers here that will speak up shortly.

[flashbak58]

Thank you for the reply Jim, I was wondering why it looked like patches or something was removed on the bottom of each side, it must have been the pockets, why oh why would someone alter this shirt?? I guess that will devalue it quite a bit. Thanks again, Tori~!

[browningautorifle]

I can explain. I was Canadian army for 35 years. We had quite a pile of different uniforms through the years, not all of them useful. We had a work shirt that was huge as issued. I had mine taylored and the sleeves shortened both like this shirt you have. I knew a man in another Regiment that altered his combat uniform and starched it to the point we called him Stitch-and-Starch. He couldn't tell you which way was up but boy he looked sharp! The uniforms we were issued were valuless to us at the time.

[flashbak58]

Well where are all those mudrollers Jim? LOL, I was hoping someone else would voice an opinion......

[browningautorifle]

Don't know...They're here somewhere.

[Victor Six Bravo]

SEALs are more or less a law to themselves, odds are the bottom pockets were removed to tuck the shirt in, or just not snag. Several of my BDU blouses had the bottom pockets sewn shut for that reason with body armor.

That said, I have NEVER (ever.....ever..ever) known a SEAL to advertise. They, "At most" have "US NAVY" and a name tape. Sometimes a Budweiser (Seal badge). That's it. There is no "SEAL TEAM" name tape, the Budweiser says it all. And I have known a fair number of them (over a dozen) covering the spectrum of service from the late 70s to currently serving.

Special Forces and SEALs among others have considerable freedom to modify uniforms as needed, so adding/removing pockets, adding velcro for removable unit patches and name tapes to make them instantly 'clean' when in transit or on an operation are all well known mods. The current Army ACU velcro-fest started out because of some of those features (as did the arm pockets, a common mod going back to WW2 paratroopers).

As to the uniform itself, it looks like the early-type summerweight ripstop BDU. It's not the ERDL pattern, but it's the late 70s/early 80s type.

[browningautorifle]

I thought it earlier because the set I still have are horizontal pockets. Still ripstop material but ...well, have a look.

[Victor Six Bravo]

Colonel I know that's still in says it could be one the late Vietnam camo fatigue uniforms that were around. ERDL was a similar one before woodland, so while the base uniform says to me "mid 60s" the camo pattern is probably later. Kind of odd.

[Sarge]

Guess you all missed it! The nomenclature tag says this was 1968 mfg and it IS Erdl!
Unless someone made that Seal Team name tape as a joke, that is NOT something that a Seal would have worn. It would be like an SF soldier having one that said "Green Beret".

The mid/late 70s (post VN) Erdl jackets had straight top pockets and then they went to the BDUs.
Sarge