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Turbaned Warriors
August 14, 2006: Photos of Israeli infantry have caused many to wonder what that floppy cloth thing many Israeli infantrymen were wearing on their helmets. No mystery, just a new camouflage development, meant to serve the dual purpose of breaking up the distinctive shape of the helmet, and providing something that vegetation could be attached to, to further hide the soldier. Shape, the Israelis have discovered, is something the eye quickly picks up on. The item is called a mitznefet (Hebrew for "turban" or "miter.") The military mitznefet is basically a reversible mesh fabric, with a green camo pattern on one side, and a brown one on the other. In the past, such camo covers fit closely to the helmet. Soldiers were advised to attach branches, leaves and grass to break up the shape of the helmet. Making these helmet covers loose was a simple change that broke up the shape of the helmet without depending on the soldier to go get some vegetation, or pieces of cloth, to hang off a form fitting helmet cover.
The mitznefet was developed in the 1990s, and first used by snipers and Israeli commandoes. Since it was cheap (about ten bucks), it's use spread to all Israeli infantry units.
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