Last month we looked at the 2nd pattern of trials Auscam shirt from the Australian military trials of their new camouflage uniform in the early 1980s. The shirt was of course not worn in isolation and there was a matching pair of trousers and it is these we are looking at today:

The trousers are made from the new DPCU pattern and have a pair of voluminous pockets on each thigh:

These have a large expansion pleat on the front and are secured with plastic buttons, hidden under a fly. The trousers also have slash pockets at the waist and a single patch pocket on the seat:

The trousers still have a button fly with the same dished green plastic buttons used on the older green uniform:

Drawstrings are fitted at the cuff of each trouser leg to pull them in to blouse them over the boots:

A pair of metal friction buckles are fitted to each hip to allow some adjustment to the waist sizing:

The trousers have the same large green label as the jacket and are again dated 1982. They have been a pair with the jacket for a long time as they share the same name and number on the inside, written on with black permanent marker:

We will be returning to the DPCU in the coming months when we look at its final iteration, but it is useful to see where it started out and it is telling that the soldiers issued the first production versions of the Auscam uniform still tried to get hold of examples of the trials pattern, preferring some of its features to the design which had been adopted.