Vehicle Identification and Vehicle Markings in the Twilight War:

[B.T.]

Right at the moment I'm putting together a model kit of a U.S. Humvee in Poland. My interest in military modelling was allways more towards the miniatures of soldiers/characters. The vehicles were - more or less - the stage for the figurines. But building the vehicle raised a question: How are the vehicles of the armed forces marked?

In the Vehicle Guides (U.S., Soviet, and NATO) we see some illustrations, that provide ideas. Graffiti and the famous white star/black star marking of the U.S. Forces are common. Other nations show their national signs (the iron cross on German, the maple leaf on Canadian, the red star on Soviet or WarPac vehicles), respectively.
Some of the vehicles sport the usual camo-painting (MERDC or 3-color-NATO-schemes for the U.S. Forces), others are camourflaged with suitable colors.

The whole affair is ambivalent:
You have to try to camouflage your vehicle as good as possible, to avoid being spotted.
On the other hand you should clearly make sure, on which side you're on.

Because of security reasons, I don't think, bumper-codes would be in widespread use (Or bumper-codes being obscured by tape or smeared over with mud).
In the fluent situation of the Twilight War, each and every unit might use enemy vehicles. Therfore identification/marking would be even more important than before the war! And I don't think, that there would be enough time or enough paint, to repaint a vehicle, that was taken from an enemy unit. A BTR from a Soviet Motorized Rifles Division, now serving with the 5th U.S. Inf. Div. would most certainly still bear its original WarPac camo, but the red star would have been overpainted in white or black. In such cases there might be the necessarity, to put further emphasis on additional markings, which clearly show: This BTR is in U.S. service! Off course, the same is true for, say, a M113 now in Polish service!

I think, that most U.S. vehicles would be painted in plain forestgreen, MERDC-scheme, or NATO-3-color-scheme the last scheme being the most widespread. On occasions natural materials would be used, to blend in with terrain (comouflage netting with brush, plants and twigs, or plain dust or mud.). In the case of a monochrome paint (There might even be U.S. vehicles in desert yellow in Poland!), the vehicles may be overpainted with stripes or irregular shapes. Dots or stripes in brown, khaki or even black an a forrestgreen vehicle, blotches of olive or brown on a desert yellow vehicle. The star (black in most cases, white only in exceptions) would be a prominent feature on most AFVs. Smaller vehicles (I count the Humvee as being smaller here!) might do without.

But what's about CIP (= Combat Identification Panel). Wikipedia says, they were invented after the "First Gulf War" and saw widespread use for the first time during the Iraq War. Do you think, CIP would have been in use during the Twilight War?

And another feature - the "Coalition V" of the "First Gulf War" - could still or again be in use with NATO units. But I'm wondering, if it would be too bright and large, therefore interfering with camouflage?

So, fellow members, what's your opinion? Can you think of other vehicle identification means?