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APPENDIX F
Marine Corps Uniforms in the Gulf War by LtCol Charles H. Cureton
T
he authority governing Marine uniforms and personal equipment is contained in the Marine Corps uniform regulations and Central Command– generated directives regarding wear. Neither Major General James M. Myatt nor Lieutenant General Walter E. Boomer officially authorized changes to the prescribed uniform. Differences existed among the Services, however. Unit insignia, name tags, and branch or specialty insignia characteristic of Army and Air Force dress were much in evidence. By mid-September 1990, Marines began applying the distinctive eagle, globe, and anchor USMC pocket insignia to the desert battle dress uniform. In addition, the green, and later tan, flight clothing; medium green “nomex” flame-retardant tracked vehicle and helicopter crew clothing; and green coveralls continued in use by those Marines authorized to wear such clothing. The use of those items added variety to the basic desert uniform and contributed to the gradual emergence of sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle, differences among the Marines, their units, and their commands. Departures from the prescribed desert uniform and regulation equipment partly resulted from supply shortages which took place during the massive increase in American forces beginning in December 1990. For several weeks the desert battle dress uniform remained in short supply. The onset of cold weather and the lengthy period of field deployment contributed to the emergence of nonregulation sweat suits worn as undergarments, as well as various colored watch caps. Some of the differences proved to be idiosyncratic (“selective disobedience” as one officer noted) in nature, which Generals Boomer and Myatt tacitly permitted by their silence on the subject of dress—so long as everyone retained a semblance of uniformity. During Operation Desert Shield the manner of wearing the pistol emerged as one obvious example of individualism and, to a lesser extent, of status and unit affiliation. Many of the officers and staff noncommissioned officers deploying with the 7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade wore the black leather shoulder belt designed for tank crews. On
the I Marine Expeditionary Force staff the tanker shoulder belt distinguished former 7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade members from later arrivals. This distinction disappeared in time. The shoulder belt’s convenience and comfort made it universally popular. Its use in the 1st Marine Division by persons authorized to carry the pistol centered on tracked vehicle personnel, division staff, and regimental staffs. Some battalion officers wore the shoulder belt, but it was uncommon in infantry units. The tanker shoulder belt proved difficult to obtain as supplies of the belt disappeared. By December 1990, privately purchased belts made an appearance, but most aviation personnel held to their issue aviator shoulder belt. A variation to the shoulder belt was to affix the Beretta pistol holster to the upper nylon straps on the desert camouflage flak jacket cover and slide the holster’s base into the jacket’s breast pocket. Some members of the I Marine Expeditionary Force staff performing essentially office work, combined with the perceived remoteness from serious attack, dispensed with shoulder and waist belts and attached the holster and magazine pouches to the wide strap of the gas mask. They either wore this arrangement from around the waist in the prescribed manner for wearing the gas mask, or created a sort of quasishoulder holster rig with the gas mask case. Some members of the Marine expeditionary force staff merely slung the gas mask and pistol combination over their shoulder like a carry bag. Two members of the 4th Civil Action Group wore the holster attached to their trouser waist belts, thus making it inconspicuous and more suitable for their work with Saudi nationals. This configuration was not seen in the 1st Marine Division. Regardless of the manner Marines carried the pistol, they normally had it attached to the green regulation nylon pistol lanyard. The prescribed method of wearing the lanyard was over the opposite shoulder from the pistol (if worn on the waist belt) and across the body. In time it proved more convenient to simply loop the lanyard through the metal bar at the base of the holster and attach the snap to the pistol, thereby dispensing with having to remove the lanyard every time the pistol belt came off. With shoulder belts, the lanyard looped around a con-
Originally published as appendix D in U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf, 1990–1991: With the 1st Marine Division in Desert Shield and Desert Storm by LtCol Charles H. Cureton.
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