INTERVIEW: "ConCamo confuses the senses"

Until more than a hundred years ago, soldiers of the field armies were rather colorful and pompously dressed. They were supposed to be recognizable from afar, impress the enemy units, and ideally intimidate them. The colonial wars at the end of the 19th century forced the discussion on camouflage. The British Army introduced Khaki, and the German Imperial Army introduced Field Grey in 1907. In the following decades, there were numerous attempts worldwide to create a universal and therefore perfect camouflage pattern. The results were sometimes innovative and often bizarre, bringing forth some strange uniforms.

An effective camouflage pattern must allow a soldier to blend in with his immediate surroundings at three distances (up to 50, 100, and 300 meters). Above 300 meters, the uniform camouflage pattern then plays a subordinate role. When developing camouflage patterns, the four seasons (autumn, winter, spring, summer) and the main vegetation zones (forest, arid steppe/grassland, rock/sand desert, mountain/high mountain terrain) must be taken into account. Camouflages that are intended to work specifically in urban environments are additionally divided into village, small town, and modern metropolis for color design. This must also include the distinction between intact urban structure and rubble landscape. The clear consequence: a universal, globally usable standard camouflage cannot exist.

Matthias Bürgin, CEO and developer at CONCAMO, has also taken on this difficult topic and designed an unusual camouflage structure line through years of development and testing. Udo Lücken interviewed him for SPARTANAT:

SPARTANAT: What motivated you in the area of camouflage?

Matthias Bürgin: At a young age, I was fascinated by the camouflage patterns of reptiles, insects, and mammals in my environment. In my model building phase at the age of 10, I was not satisfied with the given camouflage patterns of my model tanks and started designing better ones. At around 12 years old, I designed my first ghillie suit and was always the king of hide and seek with it. During my service in the paratrooper unit of the Bundeswehr, I was able to apply and deepen my experience directly. After my service, I continued to focus on the topic.

SPARTANAT: What should a military camouflage scheme be able to do?

Matthias Bürgin: It must deceive the subconscious and create an illusion.

SPARTANAT: What should be considered when developing a camouflage pattern?

Matthias Bürgin: Most prevalent patterns are designed on the PC, and many use pixels because they are easy to design on a computer. Others draw abstract spots and gradients in different colors. These patterns have in common that they do not occur in nature as such. For this reason, there are no camouflage patterns that work well at a distance of 0 - 10m and effectively break the contour at 200m.

"CONCAMO comes from practice for practice. It was designed in nature and later transferred to the PC."

CONCAMO was designed in nature and later transferred to the PC (practical for practice). The basic shapes of CONCAMO are exclusively natural, which work very well at a distance of 0 - 10m. The beauty of it is that the contour is also broken at 200m.

SPARTANAT: How do camouflage patterns differ during day and night/dusk?

Matthias Bürgin: A good camouflage pattern is always a compromise. It must work during day/night and with different backgrounds. It is easy to design a night pattern, but tactically not sensible, because what do I do if the operation lasts longer and it becomes light?

SPARTANAT: How did you approach the creation of your CONCAMO camouflage patterns, and how did you ultimately come up with your new product line?

Matthias Bürgin: Today's developments start on the PC, and you can see that in the patterns. My development starts in nature. Through years of observation and evaluation, I brought nature into the PC. Nature dictates the pattern, not the human.

SPARTANAT: Which color tones and structures are particularly suitable?

Matthias Bürgin: The color tones depend on the area of application. However, one of the most important colors is red-brown or beige-red. These colors are not used in the new developments. At CONCAMO, we use colors with a high red content.

"The goal is to be discovered a second later. This time is enough to act and survive in a confrontation."

SPARTANAT: How does the human eye perceive camouflage structures?

Matthias Bürgin: The human eye does not perceive camouflage structures, but it registers everything and transmits this information to the subconscious. The subconscious must now filter the information and, simplistically speaking, only pass on abnormalities to the consciousness. If one manages to prevent the subconscious from sending a signal or delaying it, the goal is achieved. It's not just about the point of not being seen, but also strongly about the opponent maybe discovering you a second later. This time is enough to act and survive in a confrontation.

SPARTANAT: Is there already a universal camouflage pattern, or can there be one at all?

Matthias Bürgin: The all-in-one solution does not exist here either. It is already difficult to design a pattern that works in all four seasons in Central Europe. As I said: Camouflage is always a compromise.

SPARTANAT: How do Ghillie suits compare to printed camouflage patterns in terms of efficiency?

Matthias Bürgin: I love my Ghillie suits. The Ghillie is like a race car and the camouflage print a practical station wagon. The fringed Ghillie suit is more for specialists (snipers and scouts), while the general camouflage uniform is for everyone. Both complement each other and are therefore not in competition. If I compare in nature and don't adapt my Ghillie to the specific situation, then CONCAMO is better.

SPARTANAT: How do you assess the military camouflage uniforms of the past decades?

Matthias Bürgin: The heyday of camouflage pattern development was in the 1940s. Many of today's patterns are still based on those. In the last 30 years, the following patterns have been pioneering for me:

- Flecktarn (2D pattern) was unique when it came out and the best pattern of the NATO. Looking at the area geometry of many new successor patterns, you can see that Flecktarn was the model (also in many pixel patterns).

- Multicam (2.5D pattern) brought color gradients. With light beige and dark brown spots, it created a slight 3D effect (2.5D).

- Realtree introduced 3D patterns that fit perfectly with matching backgrounds. Hunting OK, tactically rather poor.

- PenCott brought many micro and macro elements but has weaknesses in color, contour, and area of use.

SPARTANAT: Can the CONCAMO camouflage schemes also be transferred to vehicles?

Matthias Bürgin: That was actually my original passion for camouflage patterns. Yes, we also have camouflage patterns for vehicles in our program. These are based on the same CONCAMO scheme.

SPARTANAT: How will camouflage patterns continue to evolve in the coming years (need to evolve)?

Matthias Bürgin: As most reconnaissance is done optically, and many patterns have only inadequate IR protection, this topic will shape the focus in the next few years.

SPARTANAT: Who are your target groups, have there been conversations, and what do future projects at CONCAMO look like?

Matthias Bürgin: Since I view my developments through the eyes of a soldier, my developments are primarily for soldiers and special forces. The reactions, especially at the trade fair IWA, to CONCAMO, surprised me a lot, as many doors opened. Nevertheless, one must keep expectations in check. It's not about how meticulously or scientifically my pattern was developed, or how the images on my website look, the true test in the field will ultimately determine how good CONCAMO really is.

At the IWA 2018 trade fair, the CONCAMO green camouflage pattern was already presented at the Leo Köhler booth (you can see a video interview with ASMC at the Köhler booth at IWA 2018 in the feature image above). Only through this did CONCAMO quickly become known, and for that, I am grateful to the Leo Köhler company.

Other manufacturers are also on board like ZENTAURON with Gear and Sierra313 with Boonies and field caps.

Overall, I have developed seven patterns for the following areas: desert, semi-arid/brown, green, two winter patterns, high mountain, urban. I only introduce a pattern if I am convinced that it adds something. Because no one needs a new second or third-best camouflage pattern.

The conversation was