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thedrifter
02-10-07, 08:56 AM
New battle dress recalls an old idea
By George McEvoy

Palm Beach Post Columnist
Saturday, February 10, 2007

In case you were seeking a clue as to whether our army's leaders expect to leave the Middle East anytime soon or remain there for quite a while yet, consider this: The military brass has ordered a new type of battle dress for the troops, one that features a desert camouflage motif.

And such a conversion could take at least a couple of years.

According to The New York Times, the new uniform features a mandarin-type collar that can be worn up or down.

But the main attraction for many soldiers, the Army says, is the fact that the uniform, made of cotton and nylon, can just be washed and thrown in the dryer. The old battle dress had to be professionally cleaned and pressed.

One supposed improvement that caught my eye is the use of Velcro to close pockets, rather than buttons, and the use of Velcro to attach name tags, ranks, outfit insignias, all the stuff that used to demand the help of someone skillful with a needle and thread.

When I saw the word Velcro, I immediately thought back to something told to me by a U.S. Navy surgeon some years ago. He began his medical career as a U.S. Marines corpsman in World War II. As an ex-Army medic, I had mentioned that the handiest piece of equipment we had in the European Theater of operations was the old musette bag.

It was a canvas shoulder bag that seemed able to hold just about everything. For a medic or a corpsman, that meant bandages, morphine syrettes, sulfa drug powder, and so forth. After I left the medics and became an Army journalist, I found the old musette bag perfect for toting some extra socks and underwear, notebooks and pencils, a pocket-sized book to read and a jug of Bols gin.

Well, the former Navy surgeon told me how he and a buddy came up with an idea after the war that they were sure would make them both rich and endeared to the brass.

The musette bag, he reminded me, was kept closed by a couple of straps and buckles. "Our idea," he said, was to replace the straps and buckles with this new stuff, Velcro. They submitted their brainchild to the Navy brass.

"They replied with a very nice letter," he said. "They asked if we ever had heard a strip of Velcro that size being opened."

The Navy brass said, suppose some poor corpsman is trying to help save the life of a Marine in a foxhole, and the enemy is only yards away. Silence is a must. Then the corpsman opens his musette bag - rrriiipppp! Straps and buckles were quieter.

I noticed in the photos accompanying the Times story that the new battle dress pants are bloused at the bottom, over rough-out boots that never have to be polished.

I think the Army's pants are made with elastic at the bottom now. We had to improvise.

This is what we did. If you remember, our combat boots had a flap extending their height. The flaps were secured with two leather straps and buckles.

We were supposed to tuck our pants into the tops of the boots. That worked OK most of the time, but not during inspections or on review for some visiting field marshal, or whatever. One leg always came loose.

So, we would take two of the latex condoms they always were urging us to carry, stretch them and tie one around each boot flap, between the two buckles. The pants then could be tucked under the latex, keeping our trousers neat and probably safe from horrible diseases.

When I finally came home, after serving an extra year overseas in the Regular Army, a pal, Sgt. Ed Stutzman of the 29th Division, and I headed out to my parents' apartment in Astoria. I noticed that people were giving me awfully dirty looks as we changed trains at Times Square. Stutz said: "The war is over. You will now resume your usual status as a dog."

But that wasn't it. As we disembarked in Queens, I noticed that one of the latex things blousing my pants had snapped and was trailing behind me.

Ellie

MOUNTAINWILLIAM
02-11-07, 09:46 PM
PANTS!!!!.........PANTS!!!.....My old DI just turned in his grave. P----'s wear pants, Marines wear trousers.

yellowwing
02-11-07, 09:49 PM
PANTS!!!!.........PANTS!!!.....My old DI just turned in his grave. P----'s wear pants, Marines wear trousers.
Yeah! Pants are stretchy things in bright gay colors!

SkilletsUSMC
02-11-07, 11:11 PM
PANTS!!!!.........PANTS!!!.....My old DI just turned in his grave. P----'s wear pants, Marines wear trousers.

I could have sworn this was about the army.

MOUNTAINWILLIAM
02-12-07, 03:23 PM
I could have sworn this was about the army.
Yep. the article does mention the Army. however all things being equal, is the Corps next to be issued PANTS????:sick:

hmckinley
02-12-07, 03:36 PM
Yep. the article does mention the Army. however all things being equal, is the Corps next to be issued PANTS????:sick:

Bet the ole boy kept his bra strap's made of his little belts and buckles. to match his little ditty bag.

Dave Coup
03-13-07, 09:03 AM
Next thing we hear will be skivvies changed to panties lol

SF
Dave