Uniforms of the United States Marine Corps The Uniforms of the United States Marine Corps serve to distinguish Marines from members of other services . Among current uniforms in the United States Armed Forces , the Marines ' uniforms have been in service the longest . The Marine Dress Blue uniform has , with few changes , been worn in essentially its current form since the 19th century . Dress uniform . The Marine Corps dress uniform is an elaborate uniform worn for formal or ceremonial occasions . Its basic form of a blue jacket with red trim dates back to the 19th century . It is the only U . S . military uniform that incorporates all three colors of the U . S . Flag . There are three different variations of the Dress uniform : Evening Dress , Blue Dress , and Blue - White Dress ; only officers and staff non - commissioned officers ( SNCOs ) are authorized to wear the Evening Dress . Until 2000 , there was a White Dress uniform , similar in appearance to the U . S . Navy ' s Dress White uniforms , but worn by officers only ( in a manner similar to that of the Dress White uniforms worn in the U . S . Coast Guard ) . This uniform has since been replaced with the Blue / White Dress uniform for officers and SNCOs . Blue Dress . The most recognizable uniform of the Marine Corps 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 civilian black tie . The various designations are listed in descending order of formality : 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 Guard s , who 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 . Officers , NCOs , and SNCOs wear a scarlet " blood stripe " down the outer seam of each leg of the blue trousers . General officers wear a wide stripe , field - and company - grade officers have a wide stripe , SNCOs and NCOs have a wide stripe . General officers wear trousers that are the same color as the coat , while all other ranks wear medium ( sky ) blue trousers . A blue boatcloak with a scarlet lining is optional . A blue crewneck sweater , in the same color shade as that of the trousers , may be worn with the " C " and " D " uniforms , rank insignia is displayed on shoulder epaulette s , officers their respective ranks and anodized brass for enlisted . When wearing the crewneck sweater with the long sleeve khaki shirt , a tie is not required . Blue - White Dress . Prior to 1998 , the " Blue - White " dress uniform was authorized to be worn for the ceremonial units at Marine Barracks , 8th & I in Washington , D . C . ( most famously the Silent Drill Platoon and Color guard ) . Since then , it has become the authorized summer dress uniform for all officers ( it replaced , in 2000 , an all - white uniform , similar in appearance to that of the Naval Officer / CPO white dress uniform ) , SNCOs ( unless they are in formation with NCOs and junior enlisted personnel who are not authorized to wear the uniform ) , and by NCOs and junior enlisted personnel for ceremonies and social events only , if authorized and provided by the command structure . Like the Blue Dress uniform , the Blue - White Dress consists of an " A " and " B " uniform , and is worn in the same manner as that of the Blue Dress uniform , except for the trousers , skirt , or slacks being white instead of blue . Unlike the Dress Blues , the Blue - White Dress uniforms do not feature the " blood stripe " . As with the Dress Blues , the " A " is not authorized for leave and liberty wear . The white trousers are not authorized for wear with either the long - sleeved or the short - sleeved khaki shirt , precluding the " C " and " D " uniforms . Red Dress . To differentiate themselves from the infantry , musicians — at that time , buglers and signal callers — would reverse the traditional colors . Today ' s members of the eight fleet bands in Marine Corps wear the standard Blue Dress uniforms , while the members of the United States Marine Corps Band ( The President ' s Own ) and the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps ( The Commandant ' s Own ) both based in Washington , D . C . carry on this tradition by wearing the Red - Dress uniform ( a scarlet blouse with blue trim ) . Like the Blue - White Dress uniform , musicians are not authorized to wear the khaki shirts with the Red - Dress uniform . Should the condition warrant ( e . g . , summer heat ) , the band will wear a white shirt with the appropriate Dress uniform trousers ( with the exception of the white trousers ) . Evening Dress . The Evening Dress is the most formal ( and by U . S . Military standards , the most elaborate ) of the Dress uniforms , and is the equivalent of white tie in usage . It is only authorized for wear by officers and SNCOs , and only a required uniform item for senior officers ( Majors and above ) . It comes in three varieties : A blue boatcloak with a scarlet silk liner 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 . Service uniform . The service uniform consists of green and khaki colors . It is roughly equivalent in function and composition to a business suit . It is the prescribed uniform when Like the Blue Dress uniform , the service uniform is authorized for wear while off - duty ( i . e . , while on leave or liberty ) . The service uniforms are designated : There are two types of authorized headwear for the service uniform . Both men and women may wear the green soft garrison cap , sometimes nicknamed a " piss cutter " . There is the option of wearing a hard - framed service cap ( called a Barracks Cover ) . The design of these covers differ between women and men . However in late 2013 , the Commandant of the Marine Corps approved the Marine Corps Uniform Board ' s recommendation to adopt the male dress and service cap as the universal dress and service cap for all Marines ( male and female ) . As on the Blue Dress uniform , officers wear rank insignia on the shoulder epaulettes of their jackets and the collars of their shirts , while enlisted personnel wear rank insignia sewn on their sleeves . A green crewneck sweater in the same color shade as that of the trousers may be worn with the " B " and " C " uniforms , rank insignia is displayed on shoulder epaulette s , officers their respective ranks and black for enlisted . When wearing the crewneck sweater with the long sleeve khaki shirt , a tie is not required . Utility uniform . The Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform or MCCUU is intended for wear in the field or for working parties , but has become the typical working uniform for all deployed and most garrison Marines and Sailors . 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 / winter ( green / brown / black ) and desert / summer ( tan / brown / grey ) . To further distinguish the uniform , upon close examination , the Eagle , Globe , and Anchor can be . The variety worn depends on the environment and season : Deployed Marines wear whichever color is more appropriate to the climate and terrain ; Marines in garrison wear the woodland MCCUU in winter months , and the desert MCCUU in summer months ( the transition occurs simultaneously with Daylight Saving Time ) . Formerly , the desert MCCUU was worn with rolled sleeves in garrison , with the sleeves of the blouse 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 other branches , who folded the sleeves in with the camo facing out . In Haiti , the practice earned them the nickname " whitesleeves " . 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 . Most badges and breast insignia are authorized for wear on the utility uniform , shined or subdued as appropriate . Landing Support Marines also wear the Red Patch insignia . Unlike the dress and service uniforms , utility uniforms are not permitted for wear on leave or liberty ( i . e . , while off - duty ) , except when traveling in a vehicle between a place of duty and a residence , or in emergency stops . 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 " , or the cuffs are rolled inside and tightened over their boots with a spring or elastic band known as a " boot band " or " blousing garter " . With the introduction of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program ( MCMAP ) , Marines now wear color - coded rigger ' s belts instead of the old web belt , indicating their level of proficiency in MCMAP ( the web belt was phased out in 2008 due to a requirement for all Marines to achieve a tan belt rank by then ) . In combat , Marines will also wear one of two ballistic vest s : the Outer Tactical Vest and the newer Modular Tactical Vest , as well as the Lightweight Helmet ( replacing the PASGT helmet ) and Improved Load Bearing Equipment . Marines in a combat area may also wear Flame resistant organizational gear , or FROG uniforms . These combat uniforms are designed to reduce fire - related injuries , and look quite similar to the MCCUU . Other individual equipment may be worn as directed . The wearing of the MCCUU by civilian contractors deploying with Marine units was granted early in the Iraq War , but rescinded in early 2008 . In January 2013 , the Marine Corps solicited a request for a new tropical material variant of the MCCUU . They are looking to purchase 35 , 000 sets of uniforms , that among other things will dry faster than the fabric currently used on the MCCUU . Physical training uniform . The Physical training uniform or PT uniform consists of one of the following pairs : In addition , Marines can wear a watch cap and gloves in cold weather , or a hydration pack to prevent dehydration . Miscellaneous . The following items may be worn at the individual ' s discretion , except when in formation , ceremony , inspection , or when the commander decrees that uniformity is required : Working uniforms will be worn when the individual ' s duties require , to include coverall s , flight suit s , cooking uniforms , and other safety clothing like goggles , glove s , or apron s . Wear by Navy personnel . Naval officers and enlisted sailors assigned to Marine units are authorized to wear all Marine uniforms except the Dress and Evening Dress uniforms . When wearing Marine uniforms , Naval personnel must meet and adhere to Marine grooming and physical regulations , as well as replace Marine insignia with U . S . Navy insignia whenever feasible . These members of the Fleet Marine Force include Doctors , Dentists , Nurses , Medical Service , Hospital Corpsmen , Chaplains , Religious Programs Specialist s , Lawyers , Legalmen , Naval Gunfire Coordinators , Divers , and Naval Academy midshipmen who are selected for Marine officership . Most Marine units will have , at minimum , Naval medical and religious personnel , who will be issued and required to wear the MCCUU ; wear of other Marine uniforms is optional . Medical battalions and dental battalions , being almost entirely Naval officers and sailors , may direct other uniform wear . Other units , such as artillery , aviation , or legal units , may have other Naval personnel attached , and issued Marine uniforms . Insignia , rank , and other accoutrements . Like any uniform , Marine uniforms have many accoutrements whose symbolism may not be obvious . One of the most notable adornments is the Eagle , Globe , and Anchor , found in some manner on most uniforms ; it is even within the MARPAT digital camouflage pattern . It is also the standard cap badge for all uniform covers . An to the Eagle , Globe , and Anchor can be . The " blood stripe " is found on the outside seams of the dress uniform pants of NCOs , SNCOs , and officers . Tradition holds that it represents the high casualty rates of those leaders during the Battle of Chapultepec . Officers wearing the Evening Dress uniform also have additional gold trim on the trouser stripe . Various uniforms display rank insignia differently . Enlisted Marines will wear chevron s on the sleeves of all uniforms but the Utility and other working uniforms : gold stripes on red for the Dress coat , green stripes on red for the service coat , green stripes on khaki for the khaki short and long sleeve shirts , and black metal or plastic pin - on insignia on the collar of the utility and other working uniforms and the all weather coat . The same insignia is pinned on the epaulettes of the wool sweaters and tanker jacket . Officers will wear large insignia on the epaulettes of dress , evening dress , and service coats as well as sweaters and tanker jacket ; smaller insignia is worn on the collar of all other uniforms ( officers in a combat environment may wear subdued insignia , where flat black replaces silver and flat brown replaces gold ) . Chief Warrant Officers who are designated " Infantry Weapons Officer " with an MOS of 0306 ( also known as " Marine Gunner " ) replace their left insignia with a gold or black bursting bomb . Navy personnel authorized to wear Marine uniforms wear their assigned rate . Musicians in the United States Marine Band replace the crossed rifle in their insignia with lyre s to denote their non - combat role . Marines wear awards in several ways . Large medals are authorized only on the Dress " A " uniform , while awards for which no medal was struck will have ribbons mounted on the opposite pocket . Miniature medals are worn on the Evening Dress uniform , and are authorized for wear with civilian tuxedos when appropriate to the event . Other dress and service uniforms are worn with ribbons and weapon qualification badges , though the unit commander may decide to forgo the latter . Breast insignia , also known as badges , are similarly worn , though individuals have the option of wearing subdued insignia on the utility uniform . The buttons on the dress and service coats are reminiscent of Marine insignia prior to the adoption of the Eagle , Globe , and Anchor . The quatrefoil — the cross - shaped braid worn atop an officer ' s cover — is a distinguishing part of the Marine officer ' s uniform . The design is of French origin , and is a tradition from the pre - Civil War era when officers wore a rope cross on their caps to allow sharpshooters high in the rigging of a sailing ship to identify his allies in a battle . Enlisted Marines wear service stripe s on the cuff of the dress and service coats , each stripe denoting four years of service as a Marine . The standing collar of the dress coat is reminiscent of the uniform that earned Marines the nickname " Leatherneck " . Green cartridge belts and / or brassard s can be worn by personnel in an authoritative or ceremonial duty status ( such as drill instructors or fire watch sentries ) , wearing such items regards the individuals as " under arms " whether they are actually carrying a weapon or not . As such , they do not uncover indoors . During ceremonies , officers have the option of wearing a Sam Browne belt and the Mameluke sword , and Noncommissioned Officers may wear the NCO sword . The current Mameluke sword is modeled on the sword presented to First Lieutenant Presley O ' Bannon by the Ottoman Empire viceroy , Prince Hamet , in 1804 , during the First Barbary War , as a gesture of respect and praise for the Marines ' actions at the Battle of Derne . Members of the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments wear the French Fourragère to represent the multiple awards of the Croix de Guerre by the French government in World War I . Comparison with the Army . Marines are sometimes confused with United States Army . This was more prevalent when both services wore the same utilities , but with the introduction of unique digital camouflage patterns ( MARPAT for the Marines , UCP for the Army ) , this is no longer a point of confusion . There are several other significant differences : History . On 5 September 1776 , the Naval Committee purchased the Continental Marines uniform regulations specifying green coats with white facings ( lapels , cuffs , and coat lining ) , with a leather high collar to protect against cutlass slashes 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 . At the second founding of the United States Marine Corps in 1798 , the Secretary of War authorized a blue uniform edged in red ; blue chosen for naval ties , and red with sentiment for Royal Marines and John Paul Jones ' s Marines tradition of wearing red . A year later , Marines were issued leftover uniforms from 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 . 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 NCOs . In 1859 , new dress uniform regulations were issued ; the new uniform had a French - style shako with an unpopular pom - pon . There was also the option of a fatigue cap , fashioned after the French képi . In the expeditionary period post Civil War , Marines began wearing a khaki field uniform , better suited to tropical and arid environments . In the 1890s , 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 . In 1901 the emblem moved from the side to the front of the campaign cover . In 1912 the Corps adopted a " Montana peak " for the campaign cover and in the same year adopted a forest green uniform . The green service uniform was adapted with a standing collar . When the size of the Corps grew in World War I , Marines were forced to adapt surplus uniforms from the Army to clothe its troops and to maintain a similar appearance to the army to prevent soldiers from mistaking the forest green uniform for German uniforms . The garrison cap was introduced , originally to be worn overseas , as it could easily be carried when wearing the steel helmet . This marked the first time Marines , as well as other U . S . service members , wore distinct combat and non - combat field uniforms , in addition to dress uniforms . The service uniform was designated for ceremonies , garrison , and leave . Sometime after World War I , the tradition of a " uniform of the day " designated by the unit commander was created to ensure uniformity of troops , now that there was a wide variety of uniforms available for wear . Also born was the tradition of reporting to a new duty station in the Service " A " uniform . In 1926 , the standing collar on the service uniform was changed to a rolled - flat collar , but the dress uniform collar remained standing . A khaki version of the service uniform was adapted as well , for use in summer months . At the start of World War II , the Marine Corps had four standard uniforms . Dress Blues could be worn with a white canvas belt , a leather belt , or a blue cloth belt for officers , but their issue ceased in early 1942 except for recruiters and ceremonial units for the duration of the war . The green winter service uniform , issued with a coat and a shell cordovan garrison belt for enlisted men with a Sam Browne belt for officers ( until a cloth belt of the same material replaced both in 1943 ) , was initially worn as a field uniform ( such as the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade in Iceland wearing them daily ) . The garrison cap was reintroduced , originally to be worn overseas , but quickly became standard . The summer khaki service uniform featured pointed pocket flaps , and the trousers had no rear pockets as opposed to the Army ' s trousers having both front and back pockets . Beginning with a prewar deployment to Guantánamo Bay in early 1941 , a fiber pith helmet began to replace the campaign hat worn in tropical areas and by recruits in training , but was eventually phased out as field uniforms were eventually replaced with utilities and helmets in November of that year . When the 1st Marine Division arrived in Melbourne , Australia , Australian battle dress was issued for the cooler climate . The Corps adopted its own waist length Vandegrift jacket that continued being issued . Marine combat uniforms were adapted from Army inventories again , a tradition that would continue through until the adoption of the MCCUU in 2000 . However , they made more extensive use of camouflage , due to the jungle environment being more suitable for era patterns , such as the reversible camouflage uniform was issued to some units in 1943 . The introduction of women into the Corps doubled the number of uniforms , as women had an equivalent for every male uniform . After the war , female uniforms became close to their male equivalents as women were more closely integrated into the Corps , and the green service uniform was worn year - round as the khaki summer version was discontinued . In the late 1980s , the full white dress uniform coat was discontinued , though the white dress trousers remain in use for ceremonial units today . After the Korean War , khaki utilities were replaced by olive drab versions , which were in turn replaced in the mid - 70s by ERDL pattern uniforms . The Battle Dress Uniform became the standard utilities in the early 1980s , with the woodland and 6 - color desert patterns available . After the Gulf War , the 3 - color desert pattern was developed to address deficiencies , and worn until the MCCUU was adopted in 2000 . Swagger stick s were once in vogue in the Corps , starting as an informal accessory carried by officers in the late 19th century . In 1915 , it gained official approval as recruiters were encouraged to carry them to improve public image . This tradition grew when Marines deployed for World War I encountered European officers carrying swagger sticks , leading to an entry in the uniform regulations in 1922 authorizing enlisted Marines to carry them as well . The usage died down in the 1930s and 40 ' s , excepting China Marines , and returned in vogue when a 1952 regulation encouraged them ; reaching a peak from 1956 to 1960 , when Commandant Randolph M . Pate encouraged use . However , his successor , David M . Shoup , quickly made them optional and discouraged their use . In 1977 then Commandant Gen . Louis H . Wilson issued a directive banning the carry of them while in uniform . .