The M65 field jacket was first introduced to the U.S. military in 1965 (M-1965 field jacket), go figure. It replaced the M51 field jacket which was an improvment on the M-1943 field jacket. The first big test for the M-65 was the the Vietnam War. The M 65 served the U.S. military well especially in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam and keeping our soldiers warm during the cool weather conditions that came after monsoonal rains. After the war, When our soldiers came home. Many many of them continued wearing them as their every day jackets. Since this the M65 has become the most widely used military jacket. It has been widely copied and now can be bought at many sources including, military surplus and commercial companies.

When the jacket was first interdouced it was only available in olive drab. Now it is available in many colors and patterns including; Australian Disruptive Pattern Camouflage, "chocolate-chip" desert camouflage, Universal Camouflage Pattern, Tigerstripe, black, navy blue, and Woodland camouflage.

The M65 field jacket's popularity was helped by there many appearances in U.S., movies and tv shows. In many movies, homeless veterans are often shown wearing one of these classic jackets. Some notable appearances include; Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator in the movie The Terminator, Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in the movie Taxi Driver, Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo in the movie First Blood and as Rocky Balboa in Rock Balboa, and Adam Baldwin as Ricky Linderman in the movie My Bodyguard. The M65 Jacket also appears is some current tv show which include; Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester in the series Supernatural, Scott Patterson as Luke Danes in the series Gilmore Girls, and # Jason Lee as Earl Hickey in the series My Name is Earl.