An Army Combat Shirt (ACS) is a flame-retardant tactical gear developed and used by the United States Army as supplemental clothing for its Combat Uniform. The ACS are shirts intended to be worn instead of a blouse when the weather is hot. The lightweight, sweat-wicking, and breathable fabrics are intended to greatly enhance the comfort of the user. ACS was formulated to go with Fire Resistant Organizational Gear (FROG) used by the US Marine Corps.
By combining the ACS with the Fire-Resistant ACU (FRACU) trousers, head-to-toe protection is offered. This makes perfect and complete tactical gear.
The shirt originally had a foliage green torso with the Army Strong logo centered on the arms. The arms were similar to the Army Combat Uniform with integrated anti-abrasion elbow pads. There are no seams on the shoulders, which minimizes rubbing and chafing against armor.
As of 2015, the US Army adopted the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP). The third variant of this tactical gear was created with a tan/green body (Tan 499) and sleeves in the OCP pattern, which complies with the US Army uniform regulations. Additionally, the ACS features a double pen pocket on the lower arm, zippered storage pockets on the upper arm, concealable infrared identification tags, and a place on the upper arm to attach your name, rank, and flag [4]. A mock turtleneck style is found on Type I and the Mandarin style collar is found on Type II. All three shirts share the same features except for the differences in collars between the two types.
Flame-resistant fabric and advanced moisture management technology are used to create the shirt’s torso. Both materials wick moisture away from this tactical gear and dry it quickly, so they won’t stick to a user’s skin and are extremely comfortable under body armor. In addition to body armor, the shirt is constructed with lightweight but durable abrasion-resistant fabrics on the sides and sleeves.
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