thedrifter
07-16-07, 07:23 AM
Getting ‘squared away’
New running suit, due out this year, takes its design from leathernecks’ input
By John Hoellwarth - jhoellwarth@militarytimes.com
Posted : July 23, 2007
The commandant wants Marines to look more “squared away” when they work out, and that’s one step closer to happening.
Before the end of this year, recruits at the Corps’ two boot camps will be the first to wear the new “running suit” — a jacket and pants combo that will be added to the existing green shirt and shorts, said Dan Fitzgerald, program manager for infantry combat equipment at Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va. Two years after that, every Marine will be required to own one.
The initiative comes from Commandant Gen. James Conway, who, shortly after taking over the Corps in November, told Marines during a town hall meeting that the current PT gear is outdated.
“We have one, but it’s probably dated 1950s, and if you go on an Army base or you see soldiers or airmen or whatever, they’re very squared away in their black and gray,” he told East Coast Marines. “You go on a Marine base, we don’t look nearly as squared away.”
As of July 11, the running suit’s exact look and feel was up in the air. Companies are still pitching their designs for the uniform to SysCom, but a survey of Marines’ preferences was the driving force in setting the specs for the suit, Fitzgerald said. And another survey is coming out later this month to help choose the final design.
The January survey of roughly 35,000 active and reserve Marines showed that they want their running suit to be black and green with the word “Marines” on the back and an eagle, globe and anchor on the front.
“The commandant directed us to go by the numbers the Marines provided you, the percentages in favor or against,” Fitzgerald said. “The commandant said, ‘you will listen to the Marines.’”
Conway, in an interview with Marine Corps Times, said the Corps is “trying to reach evaluation each step of the way, trying to fold in what Marines think and do the field testing, so we don’t build a lemon.”
Now it’s up to industry to decide what font to pitch for the text, where to position the Corps’ emblem on the front, and whether to go with black on green or green on black, Fitzgerald said.
“Now we’re waiting for [industry] to exceed my expectations,” he said.
Marine officials in the Pentagon acknowledge that Conway is keeping a close eye on the project. For his part, Conway owned up to a little bit of impatience over the fielding timeline.
“I’ve seen some pictures. They’re still going through what’s a fairly laborious process. It’s taken a lot longer than I would like, but my people tell me that if we speed it up then we become subject to suit” because of the various vendors involved, Conway said.
Though the commandant wants the Marines’ preferences for a new running suit to be realized as soon as possible, “the law says we have to follow federal acquisition regulations, and that trumps anything,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said the next step is to collect industry proposals and create a second online survey that will be available to active and Reserve Marines on SysCom’s Web site, www.marcorsyscom .usmc.mil, for about two weeks starting the week of July 23.
Marines will be able to weigh in on conceptual drawings offered by the industry and help determine which company gets the contract, Fitzgerald said.
The Corps’ request for industry proposals published on the federal government’s business opportunity Web site stated that the fabric used for the running suit must be sweat-wicking, have reflective properties and be anti-microbial.
Reflectivity in the design is meant to limit the need for the reflective belt Marines currently wear with their physical training uniform. But the belt, shorts and sweats Marines are issued for physical training aren’t going anywhere.
“We’re not replacing anything. We’re putting a running suit in the sea bag,” said Fitzgerald, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel. “If I was a unit commander still and I was on a mud run, I’m not going to trash my running suits. I’m going to trash my green sweats.”
Fitzgerald added that issuing a running suit in addition to the standard PT gear also allows Marines to layer their clothing when exercising in the cold.
While the annual clothing allowance is expected to go up, there’s no telling how much that will be, since the contract for the new running suit won’t be awarded until sometime in September, Fitzgerald said.
Though officials intend to issue the running suit in boot camp as soon as both recruit depots have enough on hand, the ensemble’s fleet-wide arrival in uniform shops throughout the Corps can’t happen until “the production line is ramped up long enough to supply the demand in the exchanges,” Fitzgerald said.
When the Corps introduces a uniform, there is usually a time frame for it to be phased in and for the old one to be phased out. But since the running suit is an addition to the sea bag and not replacing anything, “in this case there is no phase out,” Fitzgerald said.
He said the phase in process is expected to last two years beginning after recruits start receiving the ensemble.
Staff writer Kimberly Johnson contributed to this report.
Ellie
New running suit, due out this year, takes its design from leathernecks’ input
By John Hoellwarth - jhoellwarth@militarytimes.com
Posted : July 23, 2007
The commandant wants Marines to look more “squared away” when they work out, and that’s one step closer to happening.
Before the end of this year, recruits at the Corps’ two boot camps will be the first to wear the new “running suit” — a jacket and pants combo that will be added to the existing green shirt and shorts, said Dan Fitzgerald, program manager for infantry combat equipment at Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va. Two years after that, every Marine will be required to own one.
The initiative comes from Commandant Gen. James Conway, who, shortly after taking over the Corps in November, told Marines during a town hall meeting that the current PT gear is outdated.
“We have one, but it’s probably dated 1950s, and if you go on an Army base or you see soldiers or airmen or whatever, they’re very squared away in their black and gray,” he told East Coast Marines. “You go on a Marine base, we don’t look nearly as squared away.”
As of July 11, the running suit’s exact look and feel was up in the air. Companies are still pitching their designs for the uniform to SysCom, but a survey of Marines’ preferences was the driving force in setting the specs for the suit, Fitzgerald said. And another survey is coming out later this month to help choose the final design.
The January survey of roughly 35,000 active and reserve Marines showed that they want their running suit to be black and green with the word “Marines” on the back and an eagle, globe and anchor on the front.
“The commandant directed us to go by the numbers the Marines provided you, the percentages in favor or against,” Fitzgerald said. “The commandant said, ‘you will listen to the Marines.’”
Conway, in an interview with Marine Corps Times, said the Corps is “trying to reach evaluation each step of the way, trying to fold in what Marines think and do the field testing, so we don’t build a lemon.”
Now it’s up to industry to decide what font to pitch for the text, where to position the Corps’ emblem on the front, and whether to go with black on green or green on black, Fitzgerald said.
“Now we’re waiting for [industry] to exceed my expectations,” he said.
Marine officials in the Pentagon acknowledge that Conway is keeping a close eye on the project. For his part, Conway owned up to a little bit of impatience over the fielding timeline.
“I’ve seen some pictures. They’re still going through what’s a fairly laborious process. It’s taken a lot longer than I would like, but my people tell me that if we speed it up then we become subject to suit” because of the various vendors involved, Conway said.
Though the commandant wants the Marines’ preferences for a new running suit to be realized as soon as possible, “the law says we have to follow federal acquisition regulations, and that trumps anything,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said the next step is to collect industry proposals and create a second online survey that will be available to active and Reserve Marines on SysCom’s Web site, www.marcorsyscom .usmc.mil, for about two weeks starting the week of July 23.
Marines will be able to weigh in on conceptual drawings offered by the industry and help determine which company gets the contract, Fitzgerald said.
The Corps’ request for industry proposals published on the federal government’s business opportunity Web site stated that the fabric used for the running suit must be sweat-wicking, have reflective properties and be anti-microbial.
Reflectivity in the design is meant to limit the need for the reflective belt Marines currently wear with their physical training uniform. But the belt, shorts and sweats Marines are issued for physical training aren’t going anywhere.
“We’re not replacing anything. We’re putting a running suit in the sea bag,” said Fitzgerald, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel. “If I was a unit commander still and I was on a mud run, I’m not going to trash my running suits. I’m going to trash my green sweats.”
Fitzgerald added that issuing a running suit in addition to the standard PT gear also allows Marines to layer their clothing when exercising in the cold.
While the annual clothing allowance is expected to go up, there’s no telling how much that will be, since the contract for the new running suit won’t be awarded until sometime in September, Fitzgerald said.
Though officials intend to issue the running suit in boot camp as soon as both recruit depots have enough on hand, the ensemble’s fleet-wide arrival in uniform shops throughout the Corps can’t happen until “the production line is ramped up long enough to supply the demand in the exchanges,” Fitzgerald said.
When the Corps introduces a uniform, there is usually a time frame for it to be phased in and for the old one to be phased out. But since the running suit is an addition to the sea bag and not replacing anything, “in this case there is no phase out,” Fitzgerald said.
He said the phase in process is expected to last two years beginning after recruits start receiving the ensemble.
Staff writer Kimberly Johnson contributed to this report.
Ellie