Marine cover controversy
I’m not saying this is something, I’m just addressing it because the media is addressing it. But the New York Post writes that it’s Obama’s fault that the Corps might change their head gear, which makes me think it’s just a line of shit. I don’t think that the president has anything to do with it;
Thanks to a plan by President Obama to create a “unisex” look for the Corps, officials are on the verge of swapping out the Marines’ iconic caps with a new hat that some have derided as so “girly” that they would make the French blush.
“We don’t even have enough funding to buy bullets, and the DoD is pushing to spend $8 million on covers that look like women’s hats!” one senior Marine source fumed to The Post. “The Marines deserve better. It makes them look ridiculous.”
The thin new hats have a feminine line that some officials think would make them look just as good on female marines as on males — in keeping with the Obama directive.
Whether the story is true or not, and I tend to think it’s not, I know I wouldn’t wear that silly-looking thing on my head. I’m pretty sure that the ladies have to pin it to their head to keep it there because it just looks like it fall off constantly. If it’s true, the Marines should ask “Black Beret” Shinseki how changing head gear works out for their career. Also, if it’s all true, Marines are going to get the hat;
Marine Corps head Gen. James Amos will make the final decision.
And, if it’s all true, you know which way Amos will go. But the whole thing sounds like New York Post horseshit to me.
Category: Politics
I just saw that and was getting ready to write a post on it! If anything, just to rile up our Marine friends this fine fall morning!
Please tell me this is a Duffle Blog article someone ran with by accident. Then again nothing surprises me any more.
Is Gen. Shinseki working as a consultant on this?
even tho i don’t know who to thank, i believe this is a great idea. dod has money to burn anyway, right ? i think the army should give everyone green berets when they get to meps too.
They look more like the hats worn by les gendarmes de la France than anything else. Or maybe the French Foreign Legion.
Goody. The Navy’s distinctive uniforms are being changed from service undress blues to something stupid, too.
I’m just waiting for camos to go pink and electric green. 😉
Yeah, that new thing looks kinda like the French kepi. Maybe the CMC’s just trying to make the USMC more like the Foreign Legion.
“All aboard! Tickets, tickets please!”
What the f-ing F !?!?
Semper Bi?
NO, NO, NO.
Chesty needs to make a visit to Amos for a course correction.
Is the Marine with the Fem Tuque wearing rouge or just embarrassed?
Ya the cover was a pain to pack in a sea bag but it broke down into individual components and would go in the center of the bag with UT’s for padding.
This has to be a parody.
Some folks pushing back on Doctrine Man’s post with historical examples.
Still not impressed.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=541167544941&set=p.541167544941&type=1
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20131021/NEWS07/310210028/Marine-Corps-seeks-feedback-universal-cover-men-women
Never, never, underestimate the capacity for rulers and princes to order the implementation of incredible idiocy!
Remember when the story came out that the Admin had ordered GWOT to be referred to as “overseas contingency operations?” Soon the outrage had the Admin denying the story and blaming it on a low level bureaucrat.
A year later, and even today, what term does the Admin use to request funding for the War in Afghanistan? Yep, “OCO.”
And there is also the case of Shinsucki and his stubborn decision to implement the stolen beret, even if he had to buy it from China.
I don’t have the words. Just rage.
Next up- elbow-length gloves and ‘equal heels’ for all shoes.
Making the man less masculine, and the woman less feminine. That seems to be the direction…
If this is true, then I call whoever approves it a fuggin’ cocksucker.
When I first read this on the Post’s website I thought for sure it was a Duffel Blog story. But I searched and found the source on the Marine Corps Times website.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20131021/NEWS07/310210028/Marine-Corps-seeks-feedback-universal-cover-men-women
Crucible,
Holy f&@k!!! You owe me a new keyboard after that! Semper Bi! Hahahahahahaha!
Was it Nixon who did this?
Some president went to Germany and was so impressed with the spiked helmets of the guards at government buildings that he wanted that headgear on the guards at the White House. I think it was Nixon. It was so badly received that it lasted about a week.
This idea? Eeeeewwww!
If you read the article, they’re proposing using the ‘Dan Daly’ cap. But if you look at the photo of Daly, the ‘cap’ has a broader crown.
This is just SO very French. Will they issue neck towels with it, for desert wear?
The green cover does look good on Dan Daly. Then again, a striped ball cap with a spinning propeller would probably look good on Dan Daly.
Co-ed showers – like on Starship Troopers.
Next.
That cover is a bag of dicks. Glad I’m done. Looks like a Frenchie for sure…
If they REALLY wanted to sell it, they should not have used some 15-yr-old lookin’ non-shaving young Marine. He looks barely old enough to brush his teeth himself, let alone shave.
They should have used some grizzled ol’ Gunny in that hat instead.
Yeah, that’d work…
Bad enough we’re suffering under a global economy. Now they’re trying for a global uniform. I like the headgear of the French Foreign Legion — on the French Foreign Legion! I don’t want to see it on the Marines.
@23 Top, that MIGHT not be such a bad idea. Hmmm. I’ll have to do some research on that.
Nothing worse than the small minded fools who make their legacy monkeying around with military uniforms. Such a waste.
On the one hand, a very good case can be made for utility uniforms being of a standard shape/design. It took some adjusting, but we got used to BDU’s without much difficulty. Almost no one looked very good in them. Heavy starch helped, but we really weren’t supposed to do that.
But dress/ceremonial uniforms? Those are supposed to look good. Those are specifically designed to reflect the distinctive history and traditions of the various branches of service.
This is just wrong.
There’s no way we are going to make our marines look like those surrender happy fairies in the French military….this must be some BS….
We all know the French can blow up some animal activist boats (ooh really tough guys, really tough…)but we also know they couldn’t fly that piece of sh1t fighter of theirs over a combat zone because it wasn’t worth a sh1t….and well, there’s really not much need to continue right? We don’t need to discuss their great automobiles like the Citroen right? If we going to emulate someone’s military let’s not use the French for heaven’s sake…
I am all for coed showers and giant barracks. Very hard to get raped with 40 other battle buddies around…
And just imagine the conversations!
That poor Corporal looks like he’s on estrogen therapy from that lid.
Which isn’t a bad thing. But only if you didn’t come from the factory with a cock and balls.
Navy is also talking about going “gender neutral” with our covers.
@32. A gender neutral Navy would be something of a step back, wouldn’t it?
I don’t know, as bad as these things are I still hate the new Army Service Uniform a lot more.
@20. Yeah, it was Nixon, but it was the Swiss Guard look that he admired. He wanted the WH tours to be conducted by people in some sort of costume that resembled the Swiss Guard uniform. It went over like a lead balloon. Hey, but at least the People were allowed into the People’s House back then.
Those covers look like something out of an old Legionnaire movie.
Jesus F-ing Christ….it’s got to be time to retire.
Hey, didn’t anybody see what I did there, in cmt 33? Come on, throw the old dog a bone will ya.
@34.
Yeah. Soldiers look like security guards.
I have been out a while, but every time I run into a AD Soldier I always ask them what they think.
I have not gotten many positive responses.
Never mind their covers- what about the plan for unisex dress blues?
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20130715/NEWS07/307150018/
I believe TAH posted about this a few months ago, but I’m sure they have something to do with one another. In other words, “Covergate” is probably just a part of, or a symptom of, this unisex dress blue testing. However, while one might assume that the President of the United States doesn’t sit around considering alternate head dress for our Armed Forces… it was JFK that essentially made the Green Beret for SF happen…
http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Green-Berets.aspx
For those of you who don’t know the exact story:
Before JFK made a trip to the Special Warfare Center in October of 1961, he asked then SWC commander BG Yarborough to ensure all the Operators there donned the Green Beret. In April 1962, he instructed the Department of the Army to make the Green Beret standard for Army SF.
My point is, it most certainly is NOT beyond the realm of very legitimate possibilities the the CiC would order something like this. Especially one who is as…progressive… as our current President.
Oh, also, as far as all the Shinseki jokes- the USMC did don berets at various points in time:
http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/generalinfo/a/berethistory.htm
Here’s a pretty good picture of some Devil Dogs wearing ’em:
http://www.grunt.com/corps/scuttlebutt/marine-corps-stories/usmc-marine-berets/
Sorry for the long post, ladies and gentlemen.
-M
@38 too easy brother, too easy…hehehe
Actually, it looks more like a traditional fire department officer’s cover:
http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/photo/2012/09/1347285196.JPG/extralarge.jpg
Still not appropriate for Marines. Tradition has value in and of itself.
Currahee John-that’s it! It looks a whole lot more like a fireman’s dress cap than the kepi blanc.
Marine uniforms are ugly anyway, so this doesn’t really change much. (Come on…Tan, blue, and red? Could you pick more contrasting colors?)
@44
Are you the producer on the new “What Not to Wear: Armed Forces”?
Agreed; this is a stupid idea. However, the NY Post story ‘Obama wants Marines to wear ‘girly’ hats’’, is extremely misleading. The official USMC press release lays it out pretty clearly: ‘The Marine Corps Uniform Board seeks active-duty and Reserve Marine’s feedback on three uniform related issues…. They sent out a survey, that’s it.
http://www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil/News/PressReleaseArticleDisplay/tabid/8007/Article/152335/board-asks-marines-opinions-about-uniform-issues.aspx
It is actually a pretty slick move- they want to stick with the current uniform, but they also have to show that they considered alternatives. So, they put up something that has a bit of credibility (‘look at this picture of a two-time Medal of Honor recipient wearing it!’), but is just so out there that no Marine in his right mind would vote for it.
@39, at least you can drive in them. Before raising your arms to the top of the steering wheel was nigh impossible in the greens. ASU is cut WAY more comfortable. I look forward to wearing them for the last damn time in March…
While we’re at it, they forgot to include umbrellas for all Marines, to be carried at all times, to provide cover for the perfumed GO’s, other fucked up officers and POTUS.
I guess I don’t understand why the females can’t simply wear the same cover as the males. It doesn’t look bad. In the Army’s Military Police, I believe female MP’s wore the same white service cap as the males, at least I don’t ever recall seeing a “female” MP service cap as distinct from a male service cap. I know the regular (green and blue) service cap is different for females, although I’ll be darned if I know why.
@23 & 30: We had co-ed showers at our barracks in Korea in 1991-92 but that’s another story. 😉
@5: Wife and I just came back from a week’s vacation in San Diego, our first visit there. I was surprised that I didn’t see one sailor in dungarees or other “service dress.” Saw a few officers and chiefs in khakis, everyone else seemed to be wearing that BDU-looking blue digital camo uniform. I guess that’s now the “duty uniform” for most of the Navy?