OT: Question for JReed or anyone who may know.....

[Mokwaw]

.....why is the right shoulder flag patch on military uniforms on "backwards"...??? I always thought that the flag was suppose to have the union on the left corner when being veiwed. I have noticed for quite some time now that our soldiers in Iraq and Afganistan have the flag patch with the union in the right hand corner.....is there something I'm missing...?????

[cas]

Didn't used to be.... but that's correct now. Like the flag is blowing due to the direction of your movement.

[jnyork]

Here you go: http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/flagetiq.html#q57

[JReed]

I wouldnt know only the Army and National Guard wear the flag patch. I guess everyone knows who Marines are.

[Mokwaw]

Thanks for the info..............

[timkelley]

Tacky Jeremy,very tacky.

[awp101]

Tacky Jeremy,very tacky.

I'm just glad he's housebroken. We'll work on tacky later...

[JReed]

Tacky Jeremy,very tacky.

I'm just glad he's housebroken. We'll work on tacky later...

House broken? I think my wife would dissagree. My Mom always said I was as subtle as a frieght train.

[Ysabel Kid]

Didn't used to be.... but that's correct now. Like the flag is blowing due to the direction of your movement.

I understand the concept, but it still looks wierd to me!

Now come on guys, be kind to Jeremy - we wouldn't want our Marines to become too civilized, would we?

[Rusty]

Yep Jeremy I know what you mean. My Sgt. used to say I was about as subtle as a hand grenade in a box of oatmeal.

[RSY]

It's painted the same way on aircraft, too. Check out Air Force One.

Scott

[RSY]

I guess everyone knows who Marines are.

I wish that were true. I was in back when they made us switch to wearing nametapes on our utilities and got rid of the "USMC" iron-ons. That really irked a lot of folks. I mean, who really needs to know your name??? "Corporal," "Gunny," "Lieutenant," "Major," etc. used to work just fine for names. And as a last resort, there was always "Hey , Marine!!!" Why on Earth they wanted us to look like a run-of-the-mill dogface, swabbie, or zoomie is beyond me.

Scott

p.s. Some little-known Marine trivia: When General Gray was Commandant he had kicked around the idea of making the infantry wear berets (aka the Euro-lid) instead of our regular covers. Thank goodness we dodged that bullet!!!

[JustaJeepGuy]

More little-known Marine trivia: What's the quickest way to pee off a Marine?



Remind him the USMC is part of the Navy. Gets 'em going every time!

(From a once-upon-a-time sailor)

[Otto]

Some little-known Marine trivia: When General Gray was Commandant he had kicked around the idea of making the infantry wear berets (aka the Euro-lid) instead of our regular covers. Thank goodness we dodged that bullet!!!

One thing I've always liked about the Marines, and hated about the Army, is that Marines mostly wear the same uniform. Look at a Marine and you can tell he's a Marine. The Army always wants to divide itself up with unit patches, or special boots, or goofy hats, and whatnot. Every Soldier wants to think he's a real Soldier, not like those other guys over there. It also kind of defeats the purpose of having uniforms, if there is no actual uniformity.

[JReed]

Some little-known Marine trivia: When General Gray was Commandant he had kicked around the idea of making the infantry wear berets (aka the Euro-lid) instead of our regular covers. Thank goodness we dodged that bullet!!!

One thing I've always liked about the Marines, and hated about the Army, is that Marines mostly wear the same uniform. Look at a Marine and you can tell he's a Marine. The Army always wants to divide itself up with unit patches, or special boots, or goofy hats, and whatnot. Every Soldier wants to think he's a real Soldier, not like those other guys over there. It also kind of defeats the purpose of having uniforms, if there is no actual uniformity.

That is because we are a Corps of Marines. The Army has several Corps broken down into Divisions, Brigades, and Regiments. Leads to alot of seperation and who is better then who in my opinion. It is easier to have Esprit de Corp when you are a smaller group to begin with.

Let the flame begin

[Otto]

JReed,
Just curious, what is the average Marine's attitude toward Marine Reservists? It used to really irritate the stuff out of me the way the Regulars looked down their nose at the NG. I volunteered to serve my country, and resented not being taken seriously as a Servicemember. I eventually realized that it is hard to take an organization seriously, when most of the people in that organization don't take themselves seriously.

[JReed]

Most of the Active guys joke about the Marine Reservists but when called upon they prove time and again that they can do the job. The main thing I see is that the reseves take some time to get their heads in the game where as the active guys are already in the game.

[RSY]

In all fairness, the Marine Corps did actually wear divisional/wing shoulder patches, at one time. But, that was the extent of it; there was never any differentiation based on military occupation.

The Army was/is very segmented with regard to piping color, etc.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Sta ... h_insignia

Scott