Ghillie suit

[Rockwolf66]

As Cynic stated it's an Aid not a magical invisibility cloak. They do help in letting you blend in but they can still be spotted if you know what to look for. On the other hand there are "Rumors" that one or more sniping instructors passed the infiltration course while wearing a full clown suit. I'm not so sure about that one but I have hidden from people while wearing a bright red windbreaker.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Originally Posted by Rockwolf66

On the other hand there are "Rumors" that one or more sniping instructors passed the infiltration course while wearing a full clown suit. I'm not so sure about that one but I have hidden from people while wearing a bright red windbreaker.

I would not be surprised if it were true in some way (perhaps not a full clown suit but not full camo either) - I recall an article I read many, many years ago in a military magazine about personal cam where the author said that if people are not actually paying attention, they're just as likely to not see you even if you're blatantly obvious.

To illustrate his point he stated that according to a friend who was an FBI instructor, there was another instructor who while training FBI recruits in fieldcraft, used to stand on a tree stump wearing brown trousers but with a blue or red shirt while holding a pistol with a nickel (or silver) finish.
It was claimed that it was common for FBI trainees who were actively searching for said instructor to completely miss him. The reason? They were expecting him to be at ground level (either standing, kneeling or prone) and apparently they sort of "shut out" any image that didn't conform to that notion.

So the moral of the story? Exactly what Rockwolf stated, if you know what to look for you still have a chance to spot them but also, if you focus too much on one aspect, you might actually lose sight of what's quite obvious and miss the threat that's standing there out in the open.
And a further snippet of information to go along with that - as illustrated by the above anecdotes, adults often ignore things they see that don't meet their expected notions, but children on the other hand...
Children are much more curious and will notice things that adults have unconsciously ignored. Something that was taught to us in E&E training, children are dangerous to the soldier trying to stay unobtrusive, they're like dogs that have found something interesting - they will not leave it alone. They'll drawn attention to you when all the adults seem blissfully unaware of your existence and then, the best ghillie suit and personal cam in the world will not save you from discovery.

[Sanjuro]

For a great example of missing the obvious, try watching this video and counting how many times the ball is passed back and forth.
http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html

[LT. Ox]

did you see the knife?

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Sanjuro

For a great example of missing the obvious, try watching this video and counting how many times the ball is passed back and forth.
http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html

How many times have you put something down and a minute later, can't find it?

[Targan]

Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic

So the moral of the story? Exactly what Rockwolf stated, if you know what to look for you still have a chance to spot them but also, if you focus too much on one aspect, you might actually lose sight of what's quite obvious and miss the threat that's standing there out in the open.

Situational awareness is sadly lacking in large parts of the adult population. I ride a motorcycle every day, so my situational awareness remains pretty good and it translates to other parts of my life too. I never get in anyone's way while moving on foot through crowded shopping malls for instance. The number of times every week that some idiot car driver nearly wipes me out proves that most adults are hopelessly unaware of their surroundings.

[Bullet Magnet]

Originally Posted by Rockwolf66

On the other hand there are "Rumors" that one or more sniping instructors passed the infiltration course while wearing a full clown suit.

Like that ep of Family Guy, Peter having a flashback scene of being in the Army:
Soldiers emerging from behind the trees, Peter comes out dressed as a clown. "You guys are all stupid! they're gonna be looking for army guys."