Why Do Marines Wear Green in the Desert?

[thedrifter]

Why Do Marines Wear Green in the Desert?



By Roger Moore



I wonder what all those trees are doing in the Iraqi desert?



That was my first impression while watching the live TV broadcasts of U.S. Marines in a firefight outside of Umm Qasr earlier this week. What it was, of course, was the image of Marines wearing desert helmet covers and desert boots ? with woodland camouflage utilities in between.



Twelve years after the Gulf War, I found myself wondering why the elite Marines have yet to receive adequate supplies of desert-camouflage uniforms.



I went down to a local bookstore and grabbed the March 2003 issue of Leatherneck magazine, which contained pictures of the I Marine Expeditionary Force ? the same unit in the firefight at Umm Qasr ? preparing for deployment to Kuwait from Camp Pendleton in woodland pattern utility uniforms.



I knew from Operation Desert Storm that then-Commandant Gen. Al Gray had issued a ?heaven and earth? order to get his Marines properly equipped in desert camouflage uniforms. As a result, special logistics request went through for the then-new ?chocolate chip? desert uniforms and boots that would tolerate the desert better than our old ?spit and polish? black combat boots.



Reporter Erin Emery of The Denver Post revealed in an article on Jan. 22, 2003, that the U.S. Army did not make desert uniforms ?standard issue? from 1991 through the present time. The Marine Corps followed the same path, and instead of making the desert camouflage uniforms standard issue, instead made them part of the ?Contingency Training Allowance Pool? (CTAP).



An article by Phil Diehl and Gidget Fuentes in San Diego?s North County Times on Dec. 10, 2001, seemed to confirm the point. Their article noted that Marines sent to desert environments such as Egypt and Afghanistan are issued a standard set of desert gear that includes camouflage uniforms, desert boots and floppy ?boonie? hats and tan covers for their packs and helmets. When asked by the reporters, Captain Ron Rux, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit supply officer, stated, ?Everybody gets that in any organization that deploys to the region.?



ALMAR 028/02 shows that at least some prior planning was in the system laying out the new uniform requirements with the re-designed ?Combat Utility Uniform? and the new ?Infantry Combat Boots/Hot Weather.? According to information from the U.S. Army Soldier System Center in Natick, Mass., the new uniforms were in the Marine Corps pipeline early last year. However, front-line Marine combat units did not receive top priority for the uniforms.



One glaring question that stems from this ALMAR is: Why were Marine Corps recruiting depot staffs given priority over Fleet Marine Force units? The Corps was ankle-deep in Afghanistan already and ramping up for Persian Gulf War II.



The ALMAR states:



(1) The fielding priority for the Combat Utility Uniform will be as follows: Marine Corps Recruit Depots and Officer Candidate School.



(2) Initial stocks are being stored to prepare for issue to recruits, candidates and drill instructors.



I?m not the only one to ask this question. The issue has been a hot topic in Marine Corps circles.



In the March 2003 Leatherneck magazine reader response column, ?Sound Off,? Dave Dickson, Secretary of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the 2nd Marine Division Association, raised concerns over incidents where individual Marines were selling the new uniforms on eBay. He also voiced disdain for instances he had learned of such as a master sergeant, who may or may not retire in less than a year, wanting to purchase the new uniforms ahead of troops in combat units.



I know ? Marines have been selling things for extra money since before Robert Mullen sold Tun?s Tavern to enlist in the Continental Marines in 1775. A better question is: If then-Commandant Gen. James Jones approved the new uniforms on June 6, 2001, why is the I MEF running around the Iraqi desert disguised as a forest in March 2003? What happened to the Marine Corps? priorities in the years between Gulf War I and Operation Iraqi Freedom? What part of the system failed?



It is possible to document the confusion, if not come up with an answer.



In a December 2001 speech in San Diego, Jones said, ?The first production of 23,000 uniforms would begin this month and that they?re expected to replace all standard Marine uniforms over the next four years.?



In an article in the North County Times profiling Jones? speech, all the staff officers could be seen scrambling for cover. Capt. Ron Rux, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit?s S-4 said, ?The Marine Corps is working on a solution to purchase a new desert cover? for the equipment. A Capt. Wes Hays, then of the Camp Pendleton public affairs office said, ?Desert ?cammies? are usually issued to troops bound for desert duty.? Another snafu from the same article quoted an un-named Marine major at the Pentagon who said that equipment for overseas Marines is issued by the U.S. Central Command (rather than by Marine Corps supply channels).



Not surprisingly, when CENTCOM was asked about the equipment/uniform status, Matthew Klee, a Navy Officer on the CENTCOM staff, offered this brilliant insight: ?Maybe they ran out (of desert colored vests).? Klee also said, ?The color of a Marine?s vest is unlikely to make a life-or-death difference.?



My response is that while it is great that the troops have flak jackets to protect them, camouflage and concealment is every bit as important as protective gear.



And of course, all of the officers briefing the press in Qatar are wearing up-to-date desert cammies.



Roger Moore served as an enlisted communications specialist in the U.S. Marine Corps during 1982-90, and currently works in the logistics industry in Texas. He can be reached at rmoore_dw@yahoo.com.

Sempers,

Roger

[Keith_Hixson]

I thought they wore Green because they thought those "semetic dogs" would come out of hiding to relieve themselves when they saw a tree and they would be captured much easier.

Keith

Oh well that's what I get for thinking.

[usmcsgt65]

Remember, you cannot see the tree because of the forest. So how can you spot one Marine among all those Leathernecks?
If it made sense would it be GI?