CV NEWS FEED // The U.S. Marine Corps is expanding its criteria for allowed uniforms due to a reported shortage in traditional camouflage-patterned gear. 

Lindsay Cornick of FOX News wrote Monday that the Marines’ newly installed Commandant Gen. Eric Smith spoke of this apparent “manufacturing shortage” of “woodland-patterned ‘cammies’” in a recent video posted to Instagram.

“He announced that as the problem continues, local members will be allowed to wear alternate uniforms contrary to Marine standards,” Cornick reported.

Smith stated that the Marines are going to continue to have this problem “until the fall of 2024,” citing a “backlog that has been created after COVID.”

“Until that time, local commanders, battalions, and squadrons are authorized to use FROG [flame-resistant organizational gear] gear or [desert-colored] cammies to mitigate,” Smith said:

What we cannot have is a situation where a Marine is wearing unserviceable cammies, because that looks bad for the Corps, and we can’t have a situation where that Marine is being given a hard time about those unserviceable cammies. We’re going to get this fixed, but it’s going to take a little patience.

Cornick noted that desert-patterned camouflage gear also appears “to be out of stock on the My Navy Exchange, the retail chain operated by the United States Navy.”

“The website reported that the desert cammies will also be back in stock by fall 2024,” she added.

Smith was confirmed by the Senate to be the 39th leader in the Marines’ nearly 250-year history in a 96-0 vote that took place on September 21. He had also served in the position for the preceding two months in an “acting” capacity.

President Joe Biden had nominated Smith back in May, but his promotion was delayed as a result of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s, R-AL, ongoing holds on senior Department of Defense (DoD) nominees. Tuberville first began his holds in February in protest against the DoD’s new policy of using taxpayer money to pay for service members’ abortions. 

When Smith’s predecessor retired on July 10, the Marines were left without a commandant for the first time since 1859. However, Smith immediately took over as acting commandant, a fact that the senator was quick to note to explain that his holds were not affecting military readiness.

“Acting officials are in each one of the positions that are due for a promotion,” Tuberville wrote in a June op-ed for The Washington Post. “The hold affects only those at the very top — generals and flag officers. The people who actually fight are not affected at all.”

On multiple occasions, Tuberville also explained that his holds were not stopping Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, from holding a floor vote on Smith and the other delayed military nominees. 

After months of resisting, Schumer finally caved to Tuberville and brought the promotions of Smith and two other senior military officials to a vote on September 20. 

“Democrats can’t have it both ways,” the Alabama senator said following this news. “Either they can confirm these nominees through regular order, or they can stop complaining about acting officials.”

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