by Victor Wells
W
e all love the Jeeps, M37s, deuce-and-a-half ’s, and
tanks — all of which are universally painted some
shade of olive drab (OD). What a person might not
realize is that all of these OD trucks and tracks are considered to
be “tactical vehicles.” That means these vehicles were designed
for rugged use on- and off-road in combat or tactical use. That is
why they were painted in the drab green colors.
However, there was a whole other class of vehicles used to
support the military in their day-to-day operations at installa-
tions and depots during the post-WWII Cold War era. These
were referred to as “administrative vehicles.” Whereas tactical
vehicles underwent long periods of development and testing
before reaching production, administrative vehicles were com-
mercial and “off-the-self.” They were usually very basic with
no frills. The most commonly encountered were sedans, pick-up
trucks, vans, stake- bed trucks, dump trucks, tractors, and even
construction vehicles.
Usually, the only obvious indication of military use of one
of these administrative vehicles was its paint job: Usually gray
for Navy, blue for Air Force, forest green for Marines, or olive
drab (usually glossy) for Army. And, even though it would have
made sense to standardize the fl eet with one particular make or
model, Congress (under pressure from the automotive industry)
required that the services purchase from all of the major suppli-
ers in the interest of “fairness.”
So, on any given military installation, there would be large
numbers of vehicles ranging from Chrysler, General Motors,
Ford, American Motors, or International, as well as the large
trucks from Mack, FWD, etc. Most were basic commercial vehi-
cles. On some, there were some simple factory modifi cations or
NOT ALL
MILITARY VEHICLES ARE
OLIVE DRAB
Consider something colorful
42 http://www.militaryvehiclesmagazine.com