I Would Vomit But I'm Too Pissed Off!!!
OK, you're uniforms suck, I will give you that but now you are trying to steal what is the most identifiable symbol of the Marine Corps: the Dress Blues!!!
You are not Marines. As Killjoy nailed the comparison, Marines are the smart jocks you remember hanging out in the popular crowd. You are the nerds who got beat up every day.
And don't give me any of your special forces crap. Yeah, you have some quality warriors just like we have some lovable geeks but across the board, come on. You know the score.
So now you are copying our most sacred example of the Cloth of Our Nation? Don't you think that MOST of your airmen will hate wearing what everyone in the known Universe will deem as an Air Force costume of Marine Corps Dress Blues? And those that don't, have deluded themselves into thinking they are Marines or at least as militarily superior as we are (go ahead, argue the point, I dare you!)
You want to tap into that? You want to STEAL that association?
Well guess what, Bluebird, it takes more than the uniform. Take a close look at these pictures and you tell me if you really think putting on the costume makes you the warrior. Look me in the eye and tell me these senior Officers look right in Marine-esque Dress Blues.
Now how do you think your Airmen will feel?
Answer: Trick-or-treat.
posted by Viper @ 5/19/2006
28 Comments:
At 7:26 PM,
CoastingThroughTheSouth said…
Sir,
If these pictures are any representation, they even wear it poorly. If you notice it doesn't fit, is wrinkled, and in general does not look as sharp. They copy it then make it look bad. The Marine Corps Offcer Dress Blues (because these are clearly a copy of the officer blues. BTW, they evidently have enlisted airmen in mind for wearing them also if you note the rank insignia on the sleeve of the female)... back to what I was saying: The Marine Corps Offcer Dress Blues represent something that i would kill to have. To obtain them will not be an easy route. I plan on taking this route. To achieve Marine Corps Offcer Dress Blues one must complete OCS and a Bachelors degree. to know that someone who completes airforce boot camp will have the same uniform makes me a little unhappy. I'm rambling now. I'll shut up
At 8:14 AM,
Killjoy said…
Wait, I was only sharing a comparison that someone else shared with me. I can't take credit for that. Although, that was pretty good.
At 2:37 PM,
Anonymous said…
Rob,
When I heard that joke it was signed:
GOD
MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER (SPECIAL WARFARE) US NAVY (Ret.)
*******
Captain,
The way I understand it, the uniform doesn't make the MARINE, the MARINE makes the uniform. Admitedly these blue bird summer camp wannabe's have a good idea about upgrading their look. However the uniform will not make the Airman. And if it does, I don't ever want my safety and security in their hands again. You jarheads have to earn your name, Navy men don't have the same challenge, yet we tend to work well together when its on the line. Personally, I hope the Air Force decides to not take the easy road of copying someone else. Rather I hope they decide to create a new territory that is their own.
It is my understanding that each aspect of the Marine dress uniform has a specific meaning or tradition. Personally I only know a couple of them, but I think if the Chair Frarce is going to copy they should copy the intent, not the cloth. i.e. build their uniform based on history and tradition, not on looks.
At 7:46 PM,
Anonymous said…
Sir,
This reminds me of another uniform change going on right now that makes my own blood boil: the Navy's change of enlisted dress. They're using they SAME exact shirts we use on our dress and service uniforms. Heck, even their new cammies look like ours, on the left breast pocket they have an "Eagle, Constitution, and Anchor". I don't know whether to be flattered that everyone wants to be like us, or pissed off that they want to take the easy way out.
Respectfully,
LCpl Dristy
(Cpl is coming up at the end of this year, to answer one of your earlier questions, Sir)
At 6:31 AM,
Viper said…
Becasue I'm lazy, I'm reposting my rebuttal to TWM's post
(http://talesofawanderingmind.blogspot.com/2006/05/air-force-warriors.html)
here simply because it's germane to the blog entry.
TWM, to borrow a saying I just heard, you know I love you more than my shoes but you are so off base here.
You make some good points but you overlook the most important aspect of this whole argument.
For decades, even predating WWII, the Marine Corps Dress Blues have been inseparably identified with Marines. It is emblazoned into the American psyche that THAT cut of uniform IS MARINE.
To resurrect a similar cut in modern day on the basis that 60 years ago the Army had dabbled with the same look is, I'm sorry, preposterous. It's too late. That card is punched so anything else at best is imitation, at worst stealing.
We've not only claimed but earned the right to hold the patent on that style. I guess you can say we TOOK it (Semper Fi).
I think it comes down to a litmus test. Show that uniform to any cross section of humans: active duty, retired, civilian, young, old, foreign, domestic, aborigine; and ask them what that uniform says.
You will get your answer but I think you already know.
At 6:34 AM,
Anonymous said…
OK, I have to admit that I don't like this either...but hey, this is just a prototype in its early testing phases (if you read the entire article you linked to) so we don't need to fix bayonets yet.
Anyway, all that said, I wouldn't use the term "Air Farce" anymore. Make no mistake, we have the worlds finest air force. While at times they may seem a little less "military" than we are, hey, they aren't Marines, their airmen, and when push comes to shove, they do their job better than anyone else hands down.
It really looks like they (Air Force) is trying to establish some links to their history. They have named the two uniform styles the "Billy Mitchell" (the one that looks like our blues) and "Hap Arnold" (the one that has an open collar and fat lapels) style uniforms. If you know your history, you know that Billy Mitchell was an early Air Corps pioneer who wore the Army uniform with the high collar, just like the Marines, of that era.
I was going to say that I thought the belted waist would be good because it would encourage airmen to get their fat asses in shape...but the frank fact of the matter is the last time I ran with two Air Force officers, they put my dick in the dirt (they both ran sub-18 min 3 milers) and my wife's brother's wife's brother (hows that for a link) is an Air Force Combat Controller (drops in with SF teams and calls in CAS for them) and he is harder than woodpecker lips so I won't even go there.
I will say that they may want to lower the breast pockets to accomodate the 9 rows of ribbons and 2-3 badges that every E-3 and above in the Air Force has...but that's a separate issue.
Semper Fi
Quist
At 6:35 AM,
Viper said…
Ryan, in all fairness (and I can't believe I'm actually announcing this considering how pissed off I am), the sloppiness of the pics is likely in part due to what I assume is a prototype fitting. In the full pics, you can see a slew of uniforms laid out so it looks like the manufacturers just brought a bunch of them to show the Officers and they took the pics before any, what I would dearly pray would occur, tailoring to be done. (If they are going to wear OUR uniform, at least wear the fucking things with pride!)
But that said, I still don't think they could pull it off.
At 6:37 AM,
Viper said…
Folks, don't let Killjoy fool you. She's the one who pointed all this out, knowing I would go high and to the right.
At 6:43 AM,
Viper said…
TWM, just to make it clear, I too have a high respect for the other services and don't want to belittle their roles. I just take exception to them trying to syphon off some of our hard won reputation.
Oh, and yes, we appreciate the stragegic bombing to prep the battlefield. The more you kill from 10,000 feet, the less we have to kill from 10 feet. But when we need Bad Guy across the block taken out, we'll count on the guys with cammie helmet covers, thanks. Close air support is surgery, you guys work with bigger grid squares.
At 6:45 AM,
Viper said…
Ray, I think TWM makes the same point about making new uniforms based on tradition. Unfortunately, he advocates the ARMY history that just HAPPENS to look exactly like Marine Corps Officer Dress Blues.
Coincidence?
At 6:52 AM,
Viper said…
LCpl Dristy, allow me to abandon all pretenses of an even-string, level-headed Officer and revert back to Sergeant Grose....
"Eagle, Constitution, and Anchor"??!!!?
Tell me you are fucking kidding!!! If this is fucking true then I'm going to go take a big steaming dump on the CNO's desk!
Uniforms are bad enough but if you think I'm going to stand by and allow our most sacred, even above uniforms and rank insignias, symbol to be attacked, then you don't have a drop of Marine blood coursing through your veins.
Holy screaming eagle shit, this can't be. The son of a bitches have gone too far! This makes the Air Force lunacy look almost tame.
OK, back to your regularly scheduled Officer....
At 11:02 AM,
Anonymous said…
Sir,
It's true. I saw it in a Marine Corps Times a little bit ago. I really wish I could find the article on the internet but I can't, and I threw the paper away. I'll keep my eyes open for it. Your response was pretty much how I reacted as well.
Respectfully,
LCpl Dristy
At 4:15 PM,
Anonymous said…
OK, I have to admit that I don't like this either...but hey, this is just a prototype in its early testing phases (if you read the entire article you linked to) so we don't need to fix bayonets yet.
Anyway, all that said, I wouldn't use the term "Air Farce" anymore. Make no mistake, we have the worlds finest air force. While at times they may seem a little less "military" than we are, hey, they aren't Marines, their airmen, and when push comes to shove, they do their job better than anyone else hands down.
It really looks like they (Air Force) is trying to establish some links to their history. They have named the two uniform styles the "Billy Mitchell" (the one that looks like our blues) and "Hap Arnold" (the one that has an open collar and fat lapels) style uniforms. If you know your history, you know that Billy Mitchell was an early Air Corps pioneer who wore the Army uniform with the high collar, just like the Marines, of that era.
I was going to say that I thought the belted waist would be good because it would encourage airmen to get their fat asses in shape...but the frank fact of the matter is the last time I ran with two Air Force officers, they put my dick in the dirt (they both ran sub-18 min 3 milers) and my wife's brother's wife's brother (hows that for a link) is an Air Force Combat Controller (drops in with SF teams and calls in CAS for them) and he is harder than woodpecker lips so I won't even go there.
I will say that they may want to lower the breast pockets to accomodate the 9 rows of ribbons and 2-3 badges that every E-3 and above in the Air Force has...but that's a separate issue.
Semper Fi
Quist
At 9:52 PM,
Anonymous said…
"Marines have been called "leathernecks" for more than two centuries. The name is rooted in the American Revolutionary War when Marine uniforms included a leather stock, or neckpiece. The neckpiece was designed to protect Marines' necks from sword blows during ship boardings. While Marines no longer wear leather collars, today's Marine dress blue uniform sports a high-neck collar."
Source:
http://www.marines.com/page/usmc.jsp?pageId=/page/Detail-XML-Conversion.jsp?pageName=Dress-Blues&flashRedirect=true
At 12:15 PM,
Anonymous said…
Yea, I knew about that one, and the cordage on the top of an officers cover. I also know about the swords. I don't know the reason for the blood strip, red piping, and black blouse or sky blue trousers. The "Don't-even-think-about-considering-it" attitude is issued to them in Boot Camp, by those who most people won't even think about considering messing with.
At 4:07 PM,
Viper said…
Ray, the legeng is that the red stripes are supposed to symbolize the blood-soaked, tattered trousers that the Marines had after the fighting at Chapultepec, Mexico.
The red piping just enhances the uniform for enlisted and maintains the color theme of the flag.
The blouse is not black. It's a really dark blue that only looks black.
At 4:38 AM,
Anonymous said…
My Service Dress Blues were black in color, but they called them blues. I remember reading about the "Dark Midnight Blue", I was more curious as to the significance of that choice of colors.
At 8:35 AM,
Anonymous said…
Killjoy, Hey, I was a 'cool nerd' that hung with the Army jocks LOL.
Seriously, though, there were two reasons why I chose the 'zoomie' way back in the day. One, there were two services in my recent family history - USAF and USMC and Two (the most important) - at the time there were only a handful of MOS designations closed to me as a woman in the AF, but only a few OPEN in the Corps. Today's world is much different.
On the uniform front - I like the one with the tie better than the faux Blues; but I DO like the belted jacket. We were born from the WWII Army and that version shows it. Just so long as the stupid pillbox hats for the females are not on the option list! My hate for those hats (never covers) is unabated.
At 6:00 AM,
Viper said…
Anon,
Killjoy has been put in a timeout. She's been a bad redhead.
At 3:40 PM,
CoastingThroughTheSouth said…
Sir,
I figured commenting on this bog would be dead by now, but it looks like it may still have a little life left. I heard a dirty rumor tha tthe air force is no longer requiring airmen to wear covers (or whatever the heck they call them) unless in a ceremony. I just figured I'd share that.
At 10:09 AM,
Anonymous said…
First they try to put their memorial in front of ours in DC, then they try to steal our 8-point, then they joined the Army in trying to steal our digital pattern, and now they steal the blues. They need to go back to lightning bolts & bus driver uniforms and come up with their own thing.
S/F
At 6:07 PM,
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At 11:05 PM,
leather bomber jackets said…
nice post love reading it
Leather Coats
Leather Jackets
At 11:47 AM,
Unknown said…
How about the marines stay in may-reen territory/lanes. The marines always think they are so much better than all the other services just because they have four week longer in bootcamp. I'm shaking can you tell. If y'all are so bad WHY do y'all fall under department of the navy? Shouldn't uuuuuuuuuuuu have your your own dept? You idiots have California,south Carolina and Japan as stations. You have to use everyone else's equipment and bases/training schools. Where is ummmmmm marine military police school? On an armyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy post. Where is marine NBC school.....damn an army post!!! Where is marine motor transport school? Same damn army base as the other two? Get my drift? Stay in your own lane, air force provides your retarded asses with air cover since marine pilots are always crashing their aircraft.....marine. My ass rides in navy equipment. Muscles are required intelligence not essential.
At 9:03 PM,
Anonymous said…
Who helped the window licking Marine put all those words together
At 4:56 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hay, vomit that style is from the early 1900 (WWI) when the AF was the Army Air Corp. Has nothing to do with the marines.
At 7:05 AM,
Anonymous said…
Are you The Fashion Police?
Though out history uniforms change. I am sure there was some individual like yourself when the army was complaining about a bunch of randos taking their uniform 'wHaT dId ThE MaRiNe CoRpS eVeR dO? FaIl MiSsIoN ObJeCtIvE At TrIpOlI aNd WrItE a HyMn AbOuT HoW AwEsOmE ThEy ArE?
At 10:32 AM,
Oknazevad said…
It's not like the marines didn't get the high collared blues from the army in the first place…
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