Why do the Marines and Navy roll their sleeves differently?

1st Lt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 18:46:16 -0400

I never understood why they roll differently (camo in vs out). Thoughts?

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Jun 7 at 2016 6:48 PM

LTC Paul Labrador — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 18:48:50 -0400

Because they couldnt' figure out how to do it the Army way? ;o) While rolling it the Army/AF way was a bit more complicated upfront, unrolling them as a lot easier.

Response by CPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 7 at 2016 7:00 PM

CPO Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 19:00:33 -0400

The Navy does not roll sleeves like Marines any more. They roll like Army and Air Force, and this is due to CBR Warfare. The change came in Jan 31, 2012 when the Navy Changed from the Green BDU's and DCU's to the new Green and Desert Brown Type III and Type II Digi uniforms.

Response by PVT Samuel Caspers made Jun 7 at 2016 7:51 PM

PVT Samuel Caspers — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 19:51:35 -0400

Better question is when is the Army going to let us go back to rolling sleeves?

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 7 at 2016 8:44 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 20:44:11 -0400

I think the Navy rolls camo out so they don't stand out against the ship's superstructure and thus minimizing the effects of the camouflage. :)

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jun 7 at 2016 9:58 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 21:58:43 -0400

The Army no long rolls sleeves and hasn't since the wear out date of the BDU. Rolling sleeves in The ACU in UCP and OCP is not authorized

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 7 at 2016 10:33 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 22:33:03 -0400

Marines fear the white sleeves. When the enemy met the Marines they noticed a different type of warrior and they noticed the way their sleeves look white when they are rolled. The enemy noticed a soldier and got scared then his friend said no need to worry till the white sleeves comes then we need to run.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 8 at 2016 3:29 AM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 03:29:32 -0400

They could just roll their sleeves like the Army....just don't.(I'm only a little bitter)

Response by Sgt Michael Penney made Jun 8 at 2016 8:11 AM

Sgt Michael Penney — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 08:11:15 -0400

Marines roll sleeves in a garrison setting, NEVER in the field or combat. As a 29 palms Marine I didn't roll sleeves ever. Base order was "sleeves down year round", and for good reason, the sun. Loose sleeves stop sunburn and decrease body temp, rolled sleeves expose the arm to burn; and we always roll our sleeves so tight, not even air could get thru there.

Response by CPT Robert Boshears made Jun 10 at 2016 1:53 PM

CPT Robert Boshears — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:53:57 -0400

It's easier!

Response by Cpl Phil Hsueh made Jun 17 at 2016 10:27 AM

Cpl Phil Hsueh — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 10:27:04 -0400

Personally, my theory is that we do it just to be different. I don't know who first came up with the idea of rolling sleeves up first but when that happened the other branch(es) saw that and decided that they should do it too but they can't be like the other branch and so they figured out a way of doing it differently. It's just like the Marines blouse their pants over our boots where the Army prefers to tuck them into their boots, or how the Army allows their troops to wear cammies off base to go eat, shopping, ect. and the Corps doesn't, I seriously think it's done to be different; can't do things the same as each other, that would be bad.

Response by Sgt Wayne Wood made Nov 10 at 2017 10:07 AM

Sgt Wayne Wood — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 10:07:05 -0500

Because we’re concerned with results more than appearances.

Response by MAJ Raymond Haynes made Sep 27 at 2018 11:25 AM

MAJ Raymond Haynes — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 11:25:56 -0400

Rolling sleeves was a pain in the ass. You always had to ease-up on the curls in the gym because the sleeves got too tight. Not nearly as satisfying as running you foot down a fresh pair of starchies.

Response by SSgt Charles Freeman made Jan 2 at 2019 4:13 PM

SSgt Charles Freeman — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 16:13:26 -0500

I always thought it was because we are immune to all those sissy chemical, and biological threats that scare the rest of you....lol

Response by Sgt Britt Baxley made Jan 3 at 2019 8:36 AM

Sgt Britt Baxley — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 08:36:50 -0500

Pretty sure it’s like I’ve seen a few others say, just to be different. We’re all brothers and sisters in arms. We joke and play but we all “do” the “same job” (serving America). However Marines tend to March to the beat of our own drum. Plus it’s all about the white sleeves :).

To add to another Marines post I could be Bc of recognition . Many, Many, Many years ago ( when the USMC still allowed sleeves up in the field) I can’t remember if it were Africa or somewhere in Asia but a radio transmission was intercepted the said something to the effect of “ ah don’t worry to much about the ( insert Name of branch here

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2019 9:18 AM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 09:18:58 -0500

The Navy and Coast Guard sleeve rolls aren't exactly a roll, it's more of a fold. Our uniforms are flame and flash resistant. On a ship, in the event of a fire you can simply pull on your sleeve rolls and have long sleeves to protect from fire, though for a short time. As for why Marines simply roll their sleeves I have no idea.

Response by MCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2019 12:38 PM

MCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 12:38:22 -0500

As I see mentioned the out role lets you pull the sleeves down quickly for "Battle dress" on shipboard ( mainly to prevent flash burns from fire and or steam.) As Marines only go sleeves up in Garrison they roll theirs inside out so they can get a tighter roll that won't slip over time. If you don't keep up on the other style they slip out and start to look crooked.

Response by SFC John Diane Loyal made Jan 3 at 2019 1:35 PM

SFC John Diane Loyal — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 13:35:41 -0500

When BDU's first can out the material they were made from was all polyester and they where really hot to wear. The dye used to do the camo print was special in that it had anti infared properties, that's why you were not suppose to starch them. So any way soldier wanted to roll there sleeves in a manner as to not breakup the anti infrared ,that all was a mute point when command wanted to allow the BDU to be starched.Guess old habit die hard. Google BDU's and read.

Response by LCpl William McInnis made Jan 3 at 2019 5:22 PM

LCpl William McInnis — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 17:22:52 -0500

Well it just gives you two extra pockets for necessary
items. Take that.

Response by SGT Scott Ettinger made Jan 3 at 2019 7:19 PM

SGT Scott Ettinger — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 19:19:25 -0500

My observation......
I was in the army during the BDU era. One of their big things was NBC training. In the event of an NBC attack, the way the Army rolled their sleeves at the time, could be pulled down quickly for coverage. Just an observation, maybe not the truth.

Response by Cpl Alan Michaud made Jan 3 at 2019 8:52 PM

Cpl Alan Michaud — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 20:52:17 -0500

Legend has it that in Somalia the "bad guys", for lack of a more defined word for the enemy, came to know the Marines deployed there by the white sleeves and out dated black boots they were issued. They had a reputation for emptying their mags and then calling in the "skinny birds" in any lop sided fire fight. The insurgents tried to avoid them however it also did not achieve much other then creating a lot of dead Somali teenagers. I believe the practice of sleeve rolling started in Vietnam however in that time frame it was also common for air crew and mounted Marines to wear nothing but a skivy shirt and flack. I'm sure what started as hot Marines being lazy turned into a thing when some Gunny of zero desided they wanted to do it too. Like anything else a ritual turned into a reg as most things are in the Corps, also see Army gloves aka hands in your pockets.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2019 9:38 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 21:38:42 -0500

The army hasn’t been able to roll sleeves up in almost 20 years

Response by LCpl Darrell J. Farley Jr. made Jan 3 at 2019 9:43 PM

LCpl Darrell J. Farley Jr. — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 21:43:17 -0500

Went to MCRD San Diego with a prior service Corporal from the Army. He asked the Senior about rolling sleeves and the Senior explained the difference. As stated previously the Army could pull them down quickly in an NBC environment. Marines fold them ( at that time in the early 80’s) in 2 inch folds so they don’t slip down while on a working party or doing your MOS Duties.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 4 at 2019 12:19 AM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 00:19:44 -0500

Basically since the Navy deals with ships and shipboard fires are a hazard, the way we roll the sleeves is so that we can immediately grab the cuff and pull the sleeve down to go into battle dress. But since the Navy can’t seem to get their uniforms right and none of them are FR besides the coveralls and we don’t wear them on ships anymore besides security and ceremonies and inspections, I don’t see why we don’t roll camo in.

Response by LCpl Jason Keiser made Jan 4 at 2019 1:56 AM

LCpl Jason Keiser — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 01:56:14 -0500

Marines, we pride ourselves on tradition and looks, we are the loyal and the fierce and thats why you can spot us from the rest and you know not to f*** with us, we will kill you.

Response by PO1 Raymond Sauter made May 16 at 2020 1:20 AM

PO1 Raymond Sauter — Sat, 16 May 2020 01:20:21 -0400

I was in a Reserve outfit for a while that used cammies as their “uniform of the day” (early 90s, the “fleet” was still in Dungarees) and they rolled them the USMC way which I thought was a real pain in the butt. Had a friend who served in the Air Force show me they did it and decided it was not only easier but looked a heck of a lot better. The next drill weekend, I wore my sleeves the way my buddy showed me, got some pushback but was not ordered to change back to the “old way” and superiors noticed that it did, in fact, look much better. From there, I watched my work center (I was the LPO) then my division gradually change over and by the time I left, Almost everyone did it the Army/USAF way so maybe I was the instigator?

Response by PO3 Chris Wright, MBA made May 16 at 2020 1:14 PM

PO3 Chris Wright, MBA — Sat, 16 May 2020 13:14:55 -0400

We rolled the blueberries the army way for general quarters purposes.

Response by SN Sean Willson made May 17 at 2020 2:17 PM

SN Sean Willson — Sun, 17 May 2020 14:17:24 -0400

I was dungaree Navy and we wore either long sleeve or short sleeve depending on POD instructions. We didn’t have a “roll up” option.