I was living on Hanscom AFB (just up the road from Natick) when both the MARPAT and ACUs were being developed (yes, the US Army Soldier Support Center in Natick, Massachusetts invented both uniforms, even the Marine Corps one).
The Marines at least decided on both a desert and woodland pattern. The Army, which has to clothe hundreds of thousands of troops, wanted one uniform to do all but instead got one that did none. Word on the street (literally, many of the Natick soldiers lived on Hanscom with me) was that some of the higher ups like the digital pattern and wanted it chosen regardless of results. I guess they liked the look the Marines' uniform had, but wanted ours to look different.
To them, digital meant modern, high tech, so it had to be better.
On the plus side, at least we weren't the Air Force. Their blue BDU replacement uniform was on display at Hanscom AFB. A hideous blue tiger stripe design with the new Air Force logo intertwined into the pattern. Then the Army popped out the ACU and the Air Force blue BDU (called the ABU or airman battle uniform) disappeared and a new digital tiger stripe uniform appeared with the Army's ACU colors.
Around the same time some high up Air Force general wanted all airmen to holler "Air Power!" instead of the Army's "Hooah!"
It was a rather sad time (sad as in lame) with all of the services trying deparately to separate themselves visually from one another. As if a trained serviceman couldn't tell a Marine from a soldier from an airman in BDUs, give me a break.
It was a pretty big deal in Massachusetts with Natick developing the Army and Marines' uniforms and a local textile company developing the Air Force pattern. Of course, the local textile company developing the ABU for the Air Force was also manufacturing the Natick-developed MARPAT for the Marines. Throw in a few heavy weight local political figures (Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen John Kerry, Sen Ted Kennedy) to make sure development and production remain in state. I believe the folks that invented multicam were in Brooklyn. No way they are going to let a lucritive uniform contract leave Massachusetts and go to New York.