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thedrifter
01-03-04, 11:33 AM
Safety's in fashion




Marines may go back to Iraq in high-visibilty uniforms as psychological move toward reducing attacks

Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

January 3, 2004

San Diego-based Marines soon will learn whether it really does pay to advertise wearing highly visible uniforms rather that the traditional deseert-brown camouflage garb. Much more than a fashion statement, it's a psychological ploy aimed at ensuring that the Iraqis know who they are – tough troops who will treat them fairly.

"It sounds like we are going to be going over in . . . woodland uniforms, at least initially," said Maj. T.V. Johnson, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton.

An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station will head to Iraq early this year for seven months to occupy a chunk of that country now managed by the Army's 82nd Airborne Division.

Just a few weeks ago, Marine officials both locally and at Marine Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., discounted the idea of wearing such visible uniforms in the dangerous desert environment.

The Marines began issuing their patented new digital uniforms – both woodland green and desert brown – about a year ago. The camouflage of each is composed of computer-generated squares that are designed to better conceal the wearer.

So, why would Marines want to stand out in a combat zone? Because there might be safety in fashion.

Johnson said Marines who wore a distinctive uniform in Somalia – black boots and white, turned-up sleeves as opposed to the Army's uniform of desert boots and green sleeves – were, for whatever reason, treated with more respect by the Somalis.

That is exactly what the members of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force are after in Iraq – not that changing clothes alone will prevent attacks.

"I think psychologically it indicates that we are a different force," Johnson said. "We want the Iraqis to know who we are. Hopefully, our actions and the way we do business there will also help us."

According to a Marine Web site, "Distinctive to the Marines, the uniform is designed to inspire fear in the hearts and minds of all enemies."

Retired Marine Gen. Joe Hoar, former commanding general of the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in the Persian Gulf region, said the symbolic power of the uniform could be significant.

"They want the local people to know that there has been a change and the new uniform will clearly represent a break between the old and the new," Hoar said. "I think that the symbolism is very important. This is all about the perception of the Iraqi people.

"The Marines are going to be doing most of their work in towns and cities where camouflage is not that important."

The Marines are no strangers to using psychological operations – referred to in military jargon as "psy ops" – for effect in Iraq.

Army Reserve Maj. Calvin DeWitt, who commanded the 312th Psychological Operations Company during the war, worked for Maj. Gen. James Mattis and his 1st Marine Division during the Marines' occupation of southern Iraq that began in April and ended in early September.

He said Mattis and the Marines broke ground by extensively surveying public opinion to shape their message to the Iraqi people.

An example came in August after a bombing in the Marine-held city of Najaf killed 126 people, including a leading Shiite cleric, outside a mosque.

Within hours, DeWitt's troops were asking Iraqis if they blamed the United States for not providing enough security.

When the answer came back "yes," a Marine battalion commander got on Iraqi TV to explain that out of deference to Shiite wishes, the Marines were not in fact guarding the mosque.

"In the Marine-held section of Iraq, as soon as something happened, we would survey people immediately to see what they thought," DeWitt said. "That allowed Gen. Mattis and Marines to focus their message to the problem instead of going off in a lot of directions.

"The Marines were very successful using this," said DeWitt, a political consultant who works just outside West Chester, Pa. "I think a lot of credit goes to Gen. Mattis, who insisted that the Marines remain friendly. If they were threatened, they would react with the judicious use of force, and the Iraqis respected that."

The Marines hope to parlay that past respect into a winning strategy as they try their hand at nation-building instead of nation-conquering.

Pat Towell, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment, said: "If the Marines think they have established a good track record with the Iraqis by using a different approach than the Army, they'd want to brand their operation to let the population know who they are. It's a fascinating use of advertising."

As for the uniforms, Lt. Gen. James Conway, who commands the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, has asked his troop commanders to weigh in on the issue, although it is likely that the desert-brown uniforms would not be far away if they want them.

Psychological-operations units will probably again be available to the 1st Marine Division, Johnson said. He declined to speculate whether or how they might be used.

The Marines have yet to announce which expeditionary force units are going to Iraq or exactly when their tour would start.

Some Camp Pendleton Marines apparently are already in Iraq, preparing what might be the largest troop swap in history.

In the coming months, about 130,000 U.S. troops will be replaced by about 105,000 Marines and soldiers. Thousands more multinational troops also are involved in the transition. Add rotations in and out of Kuwait and Afghanistan, and roughly 250,000 troops will be moving in the next five months.



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Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com


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Union-Tribune
San Diego-based Marines soon will learn whether it really does pay to advertise wearing highly visible uniforms rather that the traditional deseert-brown camouflage garb.



Sempers,

Roger
:marine: