Makes sense to me.  

Sir..Yes Sir
Hooah!

Heck, no, if me and my Army buddies saw you we would know you were a former Marine and engage you in a lot of ridicule.

The decision to equip every darn soldier with the symbol of the Ranger, the black hat, will go down in Army history at least, as one of the great heresies.  

It's simply a feel good measure that attemps to give esprit de corps simply by donning the beret.  

I still can't believe Gen. Shineseki (sp?) wasn't rode out on rails by the Bush admin. for that stunt.  

I can only hope the change is made in the near future.  

BTW:

[url]http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=marpat[/url]

I don't think MOTIVE has anything to do with it, and your argument sounds a little like people saying that you shouldn't have a huge gas-guzzling SUV or a gun because you don't "need" it.  If it's for sale, and I want it, it's nobody's damn business WHY I am choosing to buy it.

That said - I agree with EVERYTHING else you are saying.  If people want to wear a camo pattern to look cool, but they didn't serve, then they just look like asses.  Luckily for them, this is the U.S. and they have to freedom to make as big an ass of themselves as they want.

Sweet jesus, I never knew people wanted this stuff so bad, or hell I might have tried to sell some of it myself. [url=http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2821799306&category=16119]camo wear[/url]

I think my Marine Grandfather would disagree if he were still alive. After he tells you about all the islands he jumped in WW2 he would ask you to get over it, we are/were ALL on the same WINNING team.

what a ego.

Edited because this argument is Bullshit.

It's a pair of fucking pants, Camo pants, and no amount of namecalling can hide the silly nature of the "Non-Marines are posers" bullshit attitude.

The EGA don't make you a Marine, anymore that my wearing MARPAT makes me one. Nor do I pretend to be. No more than putting on a Blue Flight suit would make me a Blue Angel. (Some really righteous, badasses...)

Really, If you're truly, as I believe, the Few and The Proud, you should stow the attitude. It's unbecoming.

Besides as a LOWLY taxpayer that funded the development of the pixellated supertrousers, they were really mine before they were yours.

Some folks here gots some REAL issues with their wardrobe...

How very friggin' sad, really.

Fink

Navy corpsman & Seabees might have a different opinion on this.  

I don't know if this has been on here before,but it was a interesting read.
http://www.hyperstealth.com/CADPAT-MARPAT.htm

This is bullshit.

Camo's are camo's whether its realtree,tigerstipes,marapat or whatever.They're just some comfy cloths with convenient pockets that are nice to beat around the woods in.Whats the big deal?

What does wearing some sorta outdoors camoed clothing have to do with wearing someones uniform?Whether we're talkin Marine dress,policeman ,fireman or whaterver?

Now if some asshole is putting all kinds of rank and other fantasy patches on some cammies....well thats pretty lame....and weird.

But if someone just wants to relax in some cammies or go out in the woods and get em dirty.....whats the big deal?Thats what they're designed for.

I say we settle this now--

Simple Rules of Engagement.  No weapons.  Any Marine that sees someone (non Marine) wearing MARPAT is free to (unarmed) remove the clothing and keep it for himself (or herself).  If the wearer is tough enough to fight off the Marine, they get to keep the MARPAT for another day.  

Simple Solution to the Problem--the Gov.org doesn't have to spend money on equiping Marines with MARPAT, they can get their own.

Something tells me there will be an awful lot of Civilians walking around in their underwear shortly.

AFARR

I don't wear BDU shirts/jackets - just pants when I work outside, go camping, or if it's too hot for jeans.

I would never piss off a Marine - 2 of my favorite uncles were Marines in WWII.

I would never wear insignia, rank, the EGA, SF tabs or anything like that. But this "no civilian should wear MY bdu's" is a bit extreme.

Some people just like cammo.

~ s0ulzer0


EDIT:  Lets not forget, those silly civilians helped PAY FOR YOUR UNIFORMS! Lets all get along.
[:D]

I agree with you who say those who wear the top and bottoms and or hat together while not in the field, in service or otherwise look silly. But guess what guys, everyday I see TONS of people with no fashion sense or clue about style to the point where those who do wear them almost fit in and look "normal". It is only us, who actually care about how we look that dont look like we were dressed buy a blind 6 year old in a hurricane, who look decent.

Style can be possessed by anyone, class cannot.

SorryOciffer

Hmmm.. I guess that means you will not wear MARPAT then .. because the EGA is embedded in it ....

Ted...

Yes ... I do believe that there is a difference ...  Semper Fi!!!

Ding-Ding!
Yes. That is correct.

My whole point is - clothes don't make a man what he is. So, I don't see a big deal over it.

A lot of people who may want to wear it, may be doing it because they just like Marines, or because their family my be Marines.
Maybe it's their way of showing that they support our military.
Insulting them over it is kind of stupid.

~ s0ulzer0

Seems like the Marine Corps was intent on staking out their turf by embedding the EGA in the design.  

Why'd they do that?

Do ya think they ever *imagined* this would come up?  [:D]

Well said TBS.

EricE

Was sitting the local pizza hut yesterday and saw two little kids with mom.

I guess they were brothers.
One had a Blue ball cap with NYPD written on it. His little brother had a NYFD T-shirt on.

I thought to myself, these little kids never were on that police & fire force. They never went through any training to earn the right(as some of you say) to wear those things.

BUT what they did do was wear those shirts proudly to show that they respect and look up to those that are in the NYPD and the NYFD.

Maybe to some people they wear a marpat hat with the little almost hard to see EGA out of respect. Not to try and play marine grunt. But to say that hey, I support our troops and I want to show it without saying so.

Just a though.

I've got a pair of 1967 OD Vietnam jungle fatigue pants that I wear quite a bit.  I was  never there.  Hell, I wasn't even born.  Guess I have an ass kicking coming.

TS

Oh shit, I just remembered that tigers were exclusive wear of specops on VN.

So it's okay if I go down to the local Wal-Mart and buy generic camo BDUs for "hunting," but I'm playing dress up if I buy camo that looks like the Marine pattern? That doesn't seem to make much sence.

After more thoroughly reading the thread, I haved edited this post to add the following:

The Army Ranger sybol and the MARPAT issue are not the same thing. The ranger symbol's job is to identify a ranger.

There are only two reasons that I can think of for someone displaying such a symbol: 1.You're a ranger and you want to identify yourself
 or
2. You're someone pretending to be a range by wearing ranger identification.

HERE is where MARPAT differs. It's job is to camouflage the wearer. It may have marine symbols embedded in it, but MARPAT is functionally designed to camouflage, and presumably, do it well. Obviously, it would be best if there were some way to remove or render useless the offending Marine symbol. However, telling someone that they can't use the pattern just doesn't make much common sence at all.

For instance: I have a bright blue GMC Suburban. I'm thinking about painting it camouflage for going out in the woods and not having to wash it, etc. I also think that it would look cool. Instead, should I try to hide a bright blue Suburban in the woods just do I don't offend a Marine by painting it olive drab? Mind you, I'm not talking about painting a serial number on the side of it and ripping of a government liscence plate, I'm talking about functional similarities between what I have and use and what the military has and uses.

I think that it is utterly STUPID to tell someone that they have to sacrifice their camouflage in order not to offend a Marine. That's like telling someone they have to sacrifice their firepower and buy a bolt action, wooden stocked rifle, becuase owning an AR would offend the people who have "earned" the right to use that weapon.

That is why I wear "Real Tree". Square dot's for camo? Who came up with it? Looks like it breaks the outline.
Samuel

The tab makes the Ranger, not the beret.  Now you have more Rangers wearing the black beret than the tan ones!  The only people in the service allowed to wear the Ranger beret (black or tan) are those in the Ranger battalion and Rangers at training schools.  All the other Rangers have to go with the unit's cover of choice.

jd1    

For those people who categorically say that any civie wearing MARPAT (or other cammies for that matter) is a pretending wannabee, you are using a rather pathetic argument.

I've seen numerous T-shirts on little kids that had a bulldog on the front and a big EGA symbol on the back. Are you going to piss and moan b/c these kids are walking around 'pretending' to be something they are not?

What about the "Young Marine" program? It consists of thousands of young people not old enough to join the Corps. They get dressed-up in cammies (and presumably, at some point they will have MARPAT) and parade around town doing good deeds for others. Care to kick their asses for daring to pretend? If so, you'll first have to pound the shit out of other former or current Marines who run the program who obviously don't have a problem with non-Marines wearing Marine clothing.

Virtually all of my buddies are military or ex-military. Some of them wear BDUs or OD pants around b/c they like the look and/or the fit/functionality. They have no problem with me wearing similar clothes b/c they know I am not pretending to be anything. I just like this type of clothing for many of the same reasons they do.

Well, technically a Marine, his uniform, and his equipement are all government property.  So as a taxpayer I not only have a right and purchase in the clothes, but also in the soldier itself...right??

Sgt[peep]ar15

I don't care who wears MARPAT.  But I reserve the right to speak with any posers who actually try to bulls**t themselves as more than they are, no matter what branch of service.

USCM 86-93 / 3rd Tank Battalion  
   Steel on Target

After 21 years in the USAF I get annoyed at these punk kids wearing BDUs and boots in the mall.  If they want to wear a uniform they should sign up.

With that said, I learned a long time ago that the Marines earn the right to wear their uniforms and wouldn't dare even think about pretending to be one.

What about the SEALs who are issued MARPAT.  They're not Marines, but I know for a fact some of them are issued sets from time to time.  Do they have the right to wear MARPAT?

btt

TS

My Bro showed me this thread and wanted me to give an opinion so here goes.
I saw an analogy to marpat being the same as dress blues. How ignorant......Camo is just that camo. It helps you not be seen, reference monty pythons "how not to be seen" sketch. No matter what the pattern is called it is just a random digital pattern of subdued colors.
Dress blues on the other hand are a symbol of the history and traditions of the United States Marine Corps. E.G. red white and blue colors, colors of the flag. Blood stripe on the trousers of the blues which memorializes the battle at Mexico City where over 90% of the NCOs and Officers were casualties. I could go on and on.
There is no comparison. I don't care if Big Gay Al wears MARPAT or not. However he better not be caught in dress blues.


Former Sgt.
2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion
2nd Marine Division
Fleet Marine Force

This whole thing sounds kind of silly to me. Isn't it like crying because someone wears a jersey of sports team that they don't play for?

Yes, Colonel_Kurtz, I can see the same thing.
Made the same analogy and gave a short description on page 2 of this thread.
IMHO

[ROFL2]

HAHA SOmeone finally said who it was!

Is that all you were waiting for? Juvenile.....[:D] LOL!

most were probbly afraid of violating the "Dont ask dont tell policy"

The original digital:
[img]http://www.rusmilitary.com/images/militaria.gif[/img]
No hammers and sickles embedded, so if you wear one you're safe from the Spetsnaz.

I think that the whole thing about Marines not wanting civilians to have MARPAT is just like the BATFE not wanting civilians to own automatic weapons. It's as if if it works good, they want it for themselves so you're easier to come after.

Of course, just like removing the flash-hider from a Colt AR-15, I think that you can just color little dots over the EGA and have some "post-ban" MARPATS. Just remove the offensive item...

Now, where do I get those non-MARPAT cammies?

your comparison makes no sense.  A valiant effort though, bonk

I'm just curious, are we all adults here? This sounds like a highschool debate.

People can wear what they want, what's the big deal?  Is someone with a buzcut a fake marine? Oh my god, you're driving a Ford, you're a fake farmer.

Just to put my two cents in.  I don't care for people wearing BDU's/Cammies around in public, hunting sure, public, you look like an ass.  As to the MARPAT BDUs.  As far as I'm concerned, get rid of the Eagle, Globe and Anchor and you're good to go as far as I'm concerned.  If you didn't earn the right to wear it, don't.  I put in my time to earn it.  Respect it, it takes alot to earn it.  That's all I say.  


[marines]

[50]

IMO Klinton took a step in the right direction by ordering certain military surplus to be destroyed and never to be resold. I ask that president bush finish the job and make it illegal for civilians to possess ANY military surplus or overruns no matter what the date of manufacture.

today I saw this fag at the gym wearing basketball style shorts and I was like, "hey dude you aren't in the NBA" and then I threatened to drop 45lbs on his head if he didn't take them off.  Michael Jordan would have been proud!

Words of wisdom right here.  $10 says half of the marpat uniforms on ebay are being sold by marines anyways.  That's some pride right there.

Oh yea this post is so great, lets turn the military against it's own people.  You are an idiot

Okay, I am about to piss off a lot of people, so let me preface my remarks by saying that, in my time in the military (USAF Security Police, 5 years) I have worked with a lot of Marines (Marine MPs were trained at the USAF Security Police Academy, Lackland AFB), and I am proud to have served with them.

That being said, I think that several of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children on this board are getting their underwear in a knot over nothing.  Do I have any intention of wearing MARPAT?  No, because it is overpriced and I have no need for it.  If I needed to be able to operate in the woods without being seen and MARPAT was the best tool for the job, would I wear it?  Yes, because it would be the best tool for the job.  That is what camouflage is, [b]a tool[/b].  That is what differentiates it from a dress uniform.  Saying that no one who is not a Marine can wear MARPAT is like saying that no one who is not a Marine can use a K-Bar.

Also, I agree 100% with [b]thesacrifice[/b] when he said that most of the MARPAT being sold on eBay is probably being sold by Marines.  A couple of years ago, my agency authorized a special badge to be worn as a memorial for officers who had been killed in the line of duty.  The only people who could buy this badge from Blackinton were sworn LEOs from my agency.  Within two days from the time that the badges were delivered, I saw one for sale on eBay.  It made me want to puke.  So I would say to the Marines who are upset by the sale of MARPAT to civilians, you might want to clean your own house first.

Finally, I have detected (in this thread and others) an attitude of superiority that goes [b]way[/b] beyond the normal inter-service rivalries.  Some people act as if they really believe that if you did not serve in the Marines/Rangers/SEALs/Green Berets, you weren't really a soldier.  Well, let me clue you in on something.  If every Marine were to magically drop off of the face of the earth tomorrow, the United States would still have the most formidable military in the world, and we would still be able to kick the shit out of anyone else on the playground.  Would it be harder without the Marines?  Absolutely, but we could do it.  And if all the other branches of the armed services were to disappear, leaving only the Marine Corps, you would have a hell of a time invading anyone tougher than France.  And the same is true for every other branch of the armed services.  That is why we are a [b]team[/b], and the contribution of an Airman First Class repairing the guidance system of an F-16 is just as significant as that of a Gunnery Sergeant at the sharp end of the spear, and I am frankly sick of those who belittle the opinions of their fellow servicemen simply because they don't wear "the globe and achor."

Of course, that's just my opinion.  I could be wrong.