During WWII, our grandpa served on the Army. They trained and were equipped to go fight in Africa. They deployed from the Presidio of San Francisco and were underway to Africa when new orders came through. So they ended up landing on Attu (Alaska), equipped with largely desert gear. Grandpa survived but never liked…

When Canadian soldiers were first deployed to Afghanistan, they went in with their “temperate woodland” CADPAT. It was nearly a year before they started equipping soldiers arid region-version (because it had to be designed first).

Because Amercan military gear is designed for maximum profit margin for the arms merchant. They probably cost less than the German one to build, but we of course pay much more for them.

If we ever have to fight in the arctic, $50 says the soldiers are sent in with desert gear and urban warfare kit.