thedrifter
09-17-07, 02:58 PM
Running suits OK on liberty; cammies aren’t OK in town
By Trista Talton - ttalton@militarytimes.com
Posted : September 24, 2007
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. — Not if your car’s out of gas.
Not if you need to fill a prescription.
Not if you’re late to pick up the kids from day care.
The Corps’ new uniform policy prohibiting Marines from wearing their cammies in town unless there’s a genuine emergency gives no leeway, said the project manager for the Marine Corps Uniform Board.
“The commandant does not think it’s an issue,” said Mary Boyt, during a regional meeting of first sergeants and master sergeants at New River the week of Sept. 10.
Much to the audience’s delight, Marines will, however, be allowed to wear the new running suits while on liberty.
Boyt covered the latest uniform and grooming regulations for the roughly 250 Marines who turned out for the week-long event. Topics, presented by PowerPoint, ranged from finances to retirement programs and wounded warriors to promotions. But the uniform policy and the Corps’ newest grooming standards prompted an array of questions from the Marines.
What about recruiters on the road who need to stop and gas up? What if I’ve only got 30 minutes from the time I get off work to pick up my children from day care? If a female Marine wears her hair bun to the side, is that regulation? What if a female Marine has a centered bun, but zigzagged lines in the part of her hair that’s pulled back? Why not make all grooming standards black and white across the board rather than leave some up to the commander’s discretion?
“Every time we close up something tight we open up something else,” Boyt said.
She said she plans to start posting pictures of hair no-nos on the uniform board’s Web site at www.marcorsyscom.usmc.mil/sites/mcub. If Marines want a waiver on the uniform policy, they’re going to have to get it from the top commander himself. Commandant Gen. James Conway wants to see all waiver requests, Boyt said.
For example, under the new rules, woodland cammies are to be worn in the winter with sleeves down, while desert cammies will be worn in the summer with sleeves up. But Training & Education Command has asked for a waiver for drill instructors to wear desert cammies year round to distinguish them from recruits.
Special circumstances
And special circumstances may get Marines permission to wear cammies in town. For example, some leathernecks at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., were given waivers to wear their cammies in town for an Iwo Jima re-enactment, Boyt said.
“The uniform and grooming discussion was very interesting at this one because of the changes,” said Master Sgt. Jody Law, a MV-22 Osprey maintenance chief with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204. “That’s why there were a lot of questions and it was a big topic.”
Boyt’s audience at the seminar seemed pleased when she announced that the Corps’ new running suits may be worn on liberty, including places like a shopping mall.
“I’m not sure what the final color variation’s going to be,” she said, adding, “This is the commandant’s Cadillac.”
Conway has said the all-weather suits will be a recruiting tool. The Marine Corps’ emblem will be placed on the front of the suit, with the word “Marines” on the back.
Earlier this year, two groups of 15 Marines tested two different styles of running suits designed by two different companies. Input from those Marines, as well as from leathernecks who took an online survey expressing their opinions on the running suits, will factor into which company is awarded the contract. That decision is expected to be announced this month.
Ellie
By Trista Talton - ttalton@militarytimes.com
Posted : September 24, 2007
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. — Not if your car’s out of gas.
Not if you need to fill a prescription.
Not if you’re late to pick up the kids from day care.
The Corps’ new uniform policy prohibiting Marines from wearing their cammies in town unless there’s a genuine emergency gives no leeway, said the project manager for the Marine Corps Uniform Board.
“The commandant does not think it’s an issue,” said Mary Boyt, during a regional meeting of first sergeants and master sergeants at New River the week of Sept. 10.
Much to the audience’s delight, Marines will, however, be allowed to wear the new running suits while on liberty.
Boyt covered the latest uniform and grooming regulations for the roughly 250 Marines who turned out for the week-long event. Topics, presented by PowerPoint, ranged from finances to retirement programs and wounded warriors to promotions. But the uniform policy and the Corps’ newest grooming standards prompted an array of questions from the Marines.
What about recruiters on the road who need to stop and gas up? What if I’ve only got 30 minutes from the time I get off work to pick up my children from day care? If a female Marine wears her hair bun to the side, is that regulation? What if a female Marine has a centered bun, but zigzagged lines in the part of her hair that’s pulled back? Why not make all grooming standards black and white across the board rather than leave some up to the commander’s discretion?
“Every time we close up something tight we open up something else,” Boyt said.
She said she plans to start posting pictures of hair no-nos on the uniform board’s Web site at www.marcorsyscom.usmc.mil/sites/mcub. If Marines want a waiver on the uniform policy, they’re going to have to get it from the top commander himself. Commandant Gen. James Conway wants to see all waiver requests, Boyt said.
For example, under the new rules, woodland cammies are to be worn in the winter with sleeves down, while desert cammies will be worn in the summer with sleeves up. But Training & Education Command has asked for a waiver for drill instructors to wear desert cammies year round to distinguish them from recruits.
Special circumstances
And special circumstances may get Marines permission to wear cammies in town. For example, some leathernecks at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., were given waivers to wear their cammies in town for an Iwo Jima re-enactment, Boyt said.
“The uniform and grooming discussion was very interesting at this one because of the changes,” said Master Sgt. Jody Law, a MV-22 Osprey maintenance chief with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204. “That’s why there were a lot of questions and it was a big topic.”
Boyt’s audience at the seminar seemed pleased when she announced that the Corps’ new running suits may be worn on liberty, including places like a shopping mall.
“I’m not sure what the final color variation’s going to be,” she said, adding, “This is the commandant’s Cadillac.”
Conway has said the all-weather suits will be a recruiting tool. The Marine Corps’ emblem will be placed on the front of the suit, with the word “Marines” on the back.
Earlier this year, two groups of 15 Marines tested two different styles of running suits designed by two different companies. Input from those Marines, as well as from leathernecks who took an online survey expressing their opinions on the running suits, will factor into which company is awarded the contract. That decision is expected to be announced this month.
Ellie