Should all military branches adopt the same uniform?

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI, UNITED STATES

03.27.2015

Story by Lance Cpl. Brittney Vella and Kristen Wong

Marine Corps Base Hawaii

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - "Versus" is a recurring column in the Hawaii Marine newspaper tackling debatable issues in the news, sports and entertainment world. In the March 27, 2015 issue, combat correspondent Lance Cpl. Brittney Vella and civilian photojournalist Kristen Wong debated on the possibility of all the armed forces wearing the same combat camouflage uniform, as noted in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014.

WONG: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2014 reported that “the house bill contained a provision (sec. 351) that would establish, as national policy, a requirement for all the U.S. military services to use a joint combat camouflage uniform by Oct. 1, 2018, with certain exceptions.” In other words, every branch of service will be wearing the same type of cammies.

Before you give me flack for being an ignorant civilian, at least hear me out. I’ve worked on the base alongside the Marines for nearly seven years. The Marines are very proud of their history, and their culture, and giving up their uniform would seem like sacrilege.

But in the past few years, the nation has had to pay hefty bills, and the armed forces is not immune to budget cuts. Department of Defense civilians lost wages due to sequestration. Tuition assistance was revamped. Marine Corps Base Hawaii itself knows the effects well as its Marines are being smushed into century-old barracks with no hope of the new one being completed in their lifetime and no promises from the commandant. Maybe a universal uniform will ease the burden on the wallet. In addition, Congress is not forcing Marines to wear their cammies off-base. They can still keep their dignity knowing that they won’t have to wear those uniforms once they leave the installation.

VELLA: Regardless of your past experiences working alongside service members, you’ll never truly understand why we take so much pride in having the title of United States Marine. Many civilians who know little to nothing about their military already group us with soldiers and having the same uniform will do exactly that — make us all just soldiers to them.

I understand there are budgets and the United States isn’t doing well financially, but the Corps spent roughly $319,000 on our uniforms versus the Air Force and Army spending more than $3 million. The other branches could use a more financially and tactically efficient uniform similar to, but not, ours. I’m not a soldier, I am a Marine and I never want to be mistaken for anything else.

WONG: I don’t know what it’s like to be a Marine, but I know what it’s like to have pride. I feel it being crushed every time my friends criticize the media for the world’s problems or when I hear how stupid other countries think America is. What I learned from the commandant and the sergeant major of the Marine Corps’ visit last week is there’s a point where you need to pick your battles. Sgt. Maj. Ronald L. Green said it best when he said what’s more important to you: Using the limited budget you have to bring everyone home alive or tuition assistance? It’s not just about looking at which service spent more money on uniforms. If that money can be better spent on replacing antiquated equipment or even getting Marines into newer barracks, isn’t that worth sacrificing the color of your uniform? You are still a Marine regardless of what color your uniform is.

In addition, it is my understanding that it is only the common combat uniform that will change. It does not appear that they are changing the dress uniforms. You will still have your iconic dress blues. They will keep the uniforms for Marines who work in specialized fields. According to the Navy Times, there is even word that they will still allow for unique insignias for each branch. Regardless of what uniform you wear, civilians will always be ignorant of the military in one form or another. Fox News wished the Marine Corps “Happy Birthday” on its 237th year, with a blatantly erroneous accompanying photo of a soldier on national television. A broadcast news reporter ended his interview with our former colleague Sgt. (Cpl.) Matthew Callahan with an Army “Hooah!”

VELLA: Yes, unfortunately Americans are ignorant when it comes to knowing anything about their military. Yes, Green’s quote is understandable, but there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Therefore, we can work with the budget and all have distinctive yet comparable uniforms. According to an online article by “The Economist,” the Army chose their pattern essentially on looks. It’s not the Marines’ fault that the other service made poor decisions more than a decade ago.

My main argument with this subject is completely selfish and I have too much pride to wear the same uniform as the other branches. There’s a reason Marines have the reputation they do — we earn it. We are the best, and regardless if a civilian is oblivious to the fact we have different uniforms it will be even worse if we have the same uniform. They won’t have any chance of telling us apart. I can see having the same uniforms while in a combat environment but in a non-combatant environment we should keep our individuality.

Ultimately, the Marine Corps alone made an all-around efficient uniform at an efficient cost. Now we will spend more money for a uniform that’s just as expensive or even more instead of putting that money toward equipment and bettering the quality of life for our Marines.

• Date Taken: 03.27.2015
• Date Posted: 03.27.2015 21:34
• Story ID: 158441
• Location: MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI, US