What covers do male Marines currently wear? Do they still wear the garrison cap?

2017-10-07T10:25:11-04:00

Response by SSgt David Tedrow made Oct 7 at 2017 10:49 AM

2017-10-07T10:49:53-04:00

Yes it is still an authorized headgear as well as the Barracks Cover.

Response by MSgt Gerald Orvis made Oct 7 at 2017 6:12 PM

2017-10-07T18:12:14-04:00

Male Marines wear four forms of headgear: The barracks cap, which can be worn with white (dress) or green (service) covers. Next is the green service garrison cap, also known as the "pisscutter" and a few other less than dignified names. The next headgear is the camouflage utility cap, which nowadays is only in forest camo, but can be in desert camo if that uniform is worn in the sandbox. And, finally, there is the combat helmet with camo cover. Marines used to have a number of other "covers," such as dress shakos, undress kepis, campaign hats (now worn only in special billets)and so forth. The barracks cap was introduced in 1896 and went through a number of forms before emerging (in the 1930's) into the form we use today. The garrison cap was adopted in WWI when Marines in France began to wear British and French garrison caps. Helmets came in in WWI and took various forms (the "tin hat," the M1 of WWII, Korea and Vietnam, and today's helmet). When I was a junior troop (1960's - 1970's) we had garrison caps and barracks cap covers in cotton khaki, tropical wool khaki, service green and dress white. There used to be until the 1950's a blue dress barracks cap cover also. I haven't covered female Marine headgear, with which I'm not as familiar.