Cherubtabs t1_j143wg1 wrote on December 21, 2022 at 3:07 PM

Reply to comment by Rare-Notice7417 in Marine Corps Plans To Get Rid Of "Yes Sir" Over Gender Neutrality Concerns - by Informal-Suit9126

Also phasing out desert MARPAT

the_Q_spice t1_j14nx1z wrote on December 21, 2022 at 5:19 PM

They still use it, it is just that it is not rotated as the required summer uniform.

This is to better align with the reality that most of the world isn't a desert, it was only really a thing because of Iraq and Afghanistan. Once we got out, we realized how ridiculous wearing desert camo around in summer in most places actually is.

The background on this is that the vast majority of landmass in the world is temperate forests to grasslands where woodland MARPAT works best. This is especially true in littoral zones where the USMC is refocusing its operational envelope to right now.

That aside, the USMC's approach to having desert on in the summer and woodland on in the winter was more than a bit backwards. Lets put it this way: they had green on when everything was white or brown, and tan/brown on when everything was green. No matter the season, they never blended in with anything.

The new directive matches better with the US environment, and explicitly allows for commanders of overseas bases to make their own determination based on the local environment.

It makes a ton more sense than just arbitrarily wearing desert in the summer and woodland in the winter. The biggest controversy I have heard of is why didn't we do this sooner.

Cherubtabs t1_j14pqzg wrote on December 21, 2022 at 5:30 PM

I appreciate the practical side of this but I was just speaking to the dismay of Marines who really liked rolled up sleeves with desert MARPAT.

And I do have to admit, it is very aesthetic

the_Q_spice t1_j14t9j4 wrote on December 21, 2022 at 5:52 PM

Honestly, the USMC should switch to the Army method of camo out rolling.

It makes the roll look better (eliminating your concern) and has been proven to be superior in case of CRBN attack (you can roll down the sleeves much faster).

The Army's timing of reintroducing camo out rolling is also quite interesting as it coincides with several ISIL chemical attacks, specifically with blister agents like sulfur-mustard in what at the time was not considered a chemical warfare environment .

Gen. Mark Milley approved "camo out roll" Sep. 27, 2016

Mustard Gas attack on USMC near Mosul Sep. 23, 2016

The timing is either one hell of a coincidence or directly related. My guess is the latter, especially given that Milley's memo had significant portions redacted, which is odd for something so seemingly benign as saying "you can roll your sleeves differently".

Electrical_Tip352 t1_j152mbq wrote on December 21, 2022 at 6:52 PM

The Marines should base literally nothing off of how the Army does stuff.