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The Uniforms of the United States Marine Corps serve to distinguish Marines from members of other services. Among current uniforms in the U.S. military, theirs have been in service the longest. The Marine Dress Blue uniform has been worn in essentially its current form since the 19th century.

Contents 1 Dress Uniform 1.1 Blue Dress 1.2 Blue-White Dress 1.3 Evening Dress 2 Service Uniform 3 Utility Uniform 4 Comparison with the Army 5 History 6 See also 7 References

The Marine Corps Dress uniform is the most elaborate of the United States armed forces, worn for formal or ceremonial occasions. Its basic form of a blue jacket with red trim dates back to the 19th century^[1]. It is the only U.S. Military uniform that incorporates all three colors of the U.S. Flag. There are three different forms of the Dress uniform: Evening Dress, Blue Dress, and Blue-White Dress; only officers and SNCO's are authorized to wear the Evening Dress. Until 2000, there was a mess dress uniform, and until 1992, a Dress White uniform.

The most common dress uniform is the Blue Dress uniform, often seen in recruiting advertisements. It is often called "Dress Blues" or simply "Blues". It is equivalent in composition and use to black tie. The various designations are listed in descending order of formality:

• Blue Dress "A" has a long-sleeved midnight blue coat with a standing collar, white barracks cover, plain white shirt, sky blue trousers with white web belt or suspenders, white gloves, and black shoes and socks. Large medals are worn on the left chest; ribbons on the right. Marksmanship badges are not worn. Females wear pumps in place of shoes, and may wear a skirt in place of slacks. For males, the dress coat is cut to be formfitting.
• Blue Dress "B" is the same as "A", but ribbons are moved to the left chest, and medals are replaced with miniature ribbons. Marksmanship badges may be worn.
• Blue Dress "C" is same as "B" but without the outer blue coat and white gloves. A khaki long sleeve button-up shirt and tie are worn instead. Ribbons and badges are normally worn on the shirt.
• Blue Dress "D" is same as "C", but with a khaki short sleeve button-up shirt and no tie. This may be worn with a khaki waist-length jacket.

Officers have the option of wearing a Sam Browne belt, and the Mameluke Sword (for officers) or NCO's sword may be worn as prescribed.

Because the Blue Dress uniform is considered formal wear, Blue Dress "C" and "D" are rarely worn. The main exception are Marine Recruiters and Marine Corps Security Guards, which will wear the "C" and "D" in warm weather. Only the "B", "C", and "D" Blue Dress uniforms are authorized for leave and liberty wear; the "A" is not.

General officers have a two-inch wide scarlet blood stripe down the outer seam of each leg of their blue dress trousers; field and company grade officers have a 1 1/2-inch wide scarlet stripe down the outer seam of each leg of their blue dress trousers; and Staff NCOs and NCOs have a 1 1/8-inch wide scarlet stripe down the outer seam of each leg of their blue dress trousers. Like the U.S. Army, General officers wear trousers that are the same color as the coat, while other officers, Staff NCOs, and NCO's wear medium (sky) blue trousers.

Prior to 1998, the a "Blue-White" dress uniform was authorized to be worn for the Silent Drill Platoon, an elite platoon of Marines operating out of Marine Barracks ("8th & I" in Marine Corps talk), in Washington, D.C.. Since then, it has now become authorized summer dress uniform for all officers, SNCOs (unless they are in formation with NCOs and junior enlisted personnel who are not authorized to wear the uniform), and Privates to Sergeants may wear the uniform for official military and social occasions, if provided by the command, but not while on leave or liberty.

The Blue-White Dress consists of uniforms "A" and "B", identical to Blue Dress "A" and "B" except the trousers, skirt, or slacks are white instead of blue. As with the Dress Blues, the "A" is not authorized for leave and liberty wear.

The Evening Dress is the most formal of the Dress uniforms, and is the equivalent of white tie in civilian usage. It is only authorized for wear by officers and SNCO's, and only a required uniform item for senior officers. It comes in three varieties:

• Evening dress "A" (for officers) is identical to Dress Blue "A", except an evening coat with strip collar, white waistcoat, and white shirt with pique placket is worn. The stripe on the trousers is a thin red stipe inside a gold stripe instead of scarlet. Females wear a long skirt.
• Evening dress "B" is identical to Evening Dress "A" except males wear a scarlet waistcoat (General officers) or cummerbund (other officers), and females may wear a short skirt.
• SNCO's Evening Dress for Staff Non-Commissioned Officers.

A blue and scarlet boatcloak is optional. Junior officers not required to possess Evening Dress may substitute Blue or Blue-White dress "A". It is appropriate for such occasions as State functions, inaugural receptions and dinners, and formal dinners.

The service uniform consists of olive green and khaki colors. It is roughly equivalent in function and composition to a business suit. It is the prescribed uniform when

• serving on a court-martial
• making official visits and calls on American and foreign dignitarires, officials, and Military officers.
• vising the White House, except when in a tourist capacity, or on an occasion where another uniform is specified.
• reporting for duty onshore

Like the Blue Dress uniform, the service uniform is authorized for wear while off-duty (on leave or liberty).

The Service uniforms are designated:

• Service "A" (or Alpha) is the base uniform. It consists of a green coat, green trousers with khaki web belt, khaki long-sleeve button-up shirt, khaki tie, tie clasp, and black shoes. The coat is cut to be semi-form fitting, with ribbons worn on the left chest of the coat. Females wear a green necktab in place of the tie, pumps instead of shoes, and have the option of wearing a skirt instead of slacks. It is appropriate to remove the jacket while indoors.
• Service "B" (or Bravo) is identical to the "A" except the coat is removed. Ribbons may be worn on the shirt.
• Service "C" (or Charlie) is identical to "B" except with a short-sleeve button-up shirt and no tie.

There are three types of authorized headwear for the service uniform. Both males and females may wear the green soft garrison cap, sometimes nicknamed "piss cutter". There is the option of wearing a hard-framed service cap (called a Barracks Cover), the design of which which differs between females and males. As on the Blue Dress uniform, officers wear rank insignia on the shoulder straps of their jackets and the collars of their shirts, while enlisted personnel wear rank insignia on their sleeves.

A crewneck sweater may be worn with the "B" and "C" uniforms, in which case enlisted personnel are required to wear rank insignia on their shoulders.

The utility uniform is intended for wear in the field or for working parties. It is rendered in MARPAT digital camouflage that breaks up the wearer's shape, and also serves to distinguish Marine uniforms from those of other services. Previously, Marines wore the same utility uniforms as the Army. It consists of MARPAT blouse and trousers, green undershirt, and tan (specifically "olive mojave") suede boots. There are two approved varieties of MARPAT, woodland (green/brown/black) and desert (tan/brown/grey).

The approved headwear is the utility cover, an eight-pointed brimmed hat that is worn "blocked", that is, creased and peaked. In the field, a boonie cover is also authorized. The trouser legs are "bloused", that is, the cuffs are rolled inside and tightened over their boots with a spring or elastic band known as a boot band or blousing garter. Since the introduction of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program(MCMAP), Marines have the option of substituting a color-coded rigger's belt for their web belt, indicating their level of proficiency in MCMAP.

In garrison, the sleeves of the blouse are tightly folded up to the biceps, exposing the lighter inside layer, and forming a neat cuff to present a crisper appearance to the otherwise formless uniform. In the past, when Marines wore the same utilities as the Army and Air Force, this served to distinguish them from the others, who folded the sleeves with the camo facing out.

Unlike the Dress and Service uniforms, utilities are generally not permitted for wear on liberty (while off-duty). Except for essential commuting tasks, e.g. picking up children from daycare or purchasing gas, the wear of utilities in public is prohibited.

Both officers and enlisted wear rank insignia on each collar, which is affixed like a pin and not sewn on as in the Army/Air Force. Enlisted insignia is always black, while officers wear bright metal insignia in garrison and subdued insignia (or none at all) in the field.

Marines are often confused with U.S. Army soldiers. This was more prevalent when both services wore the same utilities, but with the introduction of digital camouflage (MARPAT for the Marines, ACU for the Army), this is no longer a point of confusion. However, there are several significant differences:

• Marines do not wear berets, and wear boots only with the utility uniform, while Army Airborne and Air Assault units wear shined black boots with dress uniforms.
• In the field, the Marine utility cover is an 8-pointed creased and peaked cover, the army field cover is the Army Combat Helmet--the replacement to the kevlar helmet or "k-pot". Unlike the Army, Marines do not wear rank insignia on the cover, instead there is an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor in the middle of the cap.
• Marines now wear predominantly dark green or tan camouflage, while the Army ACU is a light green/gray uniform intended for all climates.
• The Marine service uniform is an olive green coat with khaki shirt and tie, the Army uniform is a forest-green coat with light green shirt and black tie.
• The Marine service uniform contains fewer decorations - only ribbons, marksmanship badges, and breast insignia (e.g. scuba bubble or aviator wings). The Army service uniform contains, in addition, breast combat insignia (e.g. Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medic Badge), arm patches denoting current and prior combat unit, and certification tabs above current unit shoulder sleeve insignia like the Ranger Tab or Sapper Tab.
• Army officers wear branch insignia (e.g. infantry or engineering) on their left collar opposite their rank on the right collar where appropriate. Marines wear no branch (e.g. aviation or infantry) insignia, so instead, officers simply wear rank insignia on each collar. The single exception to this rule is a very small number of Chief Warrant Officers who are designated "Infantry Weapons Officer" (MOS 0306). These Officers, or "Gunners" as they are known wear a bursting bomb insignia on their left collar.

Traditionally, Marine officers eschew the wearing of rank insignia in combat, on the theory that it simply makes them targets (as in Vietnam) and do not allow saluting in these situations. Enlisted Marines are supposed to know who their leaders are, regardless of whether they are wearing rank insignia. This attitude supports the conduct of amphibious operations, the most complex of all military maneuvers. During such a maneuver, units are typically scattered and without a traditional command structure. Leaders are anyone who takes the initiative to lead, an attribute that is stressed throughout Marine Corps training and doctrine^{[citation needed]}.

On 5 September, 1776, the Naval Committee published Continental Marine uniform regulations green coats with white facings (lapels, cuffs, and coat lining), with a leather high collar to protect against cutlass lashes and to keep a man's head erect. Its memory is preserved by the moniker "Leatherneck", and the high collar on Marine dress uniforms. Though legend attributes the green color to the traditional color of riflemen, Colonial Marines carried muskets. More likely, green cloth was simply plentiful in Philadelphia, and it served to distinguish Marines from the red of the British or the blue of the Continental Army and Navy. Also, Sam Nicholas's hunting club wore green uniforms, hence his recommendation to the committee was for green.^[1]

At the founding of the United States Marine Corps in 1798, it was issued leftover uniforms from "Mad Anthony" Wayne's Legion, blue with red facings. It was the beginnings of the modern "dress blues". The uniforms also came with a round hat, edged in yellow.^[2] In 1834, President Andrew Jackson reinstated the green and white jackets of the Colonial Marines, with gray trousers. However, the dye on these faded quickly and in 1841 the uniform was returned to the blue - this time with a dark blue coat and light blue trousers, with a scarlet stripe down the seam for officers and NCO's. In 1859, new dress uniform regulations were issued; the new uniform had a French-style shako with an unpopular pompom. There was also the option of a fatigue cap, fashinoned after the French képi.^[2] In the 1890's the Marines adopted some practical changes to the field uniform, adding a "campaign" cover with a large Marine emblem on the side. and canvas leggings.^[1]

• Badges of the United States Marine Corps

1. ^ ^{a b c} Chenoweth, USMCR (Ret.), Col. H. Avery; Col. Brooke Nihart, USMC (ret) (2005). Semper fi: The Definitive Illustrated History of the U.S. Marines. New York: Main Street. ISBN 1-4027-3099-3. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Simmons, Edwin Howard (2003). The United States Marines: A History, 4th Edition. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-790-5. 

• Permanent Marine Corps Uniform Board
• Marine Uniform Regulations