Dogged by durability issues, MARSOC’s newest camouflage uniforms are getting upgraded.
Much like the flame-retardant digital cammies worn by conventional Marine forces, the enhanced woodland-pattern gear fielded last year to Marine special operators is prone to ripping after limited use. Complaints from Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command personnel in
To mitigate the problems, manufacturer Crye Precision switched back to cotton thread from flame-retardant thread, said Joe Sroka, MARSOC’s force modernization officer at the command’s headquarters at
When MARSOC units deploy, operators take along a variety of uniforms because their diverse missions sometimes require that they wear camo other than the digital Marine Pattern worn by troops assigned to conventional units. The operators working with Afghan soldiers, who wear woodland-pattern camouflage uniforms, take two sets of the woodland cammies downrange to better blend in with the Afghans they’re working with. Officials expected the new uniforms would endure one deployment.
The shortcomings were first reported in late August on Military.com. A deployed MARSOC operator told the website’s Kit Up! blog that “guys were getting major sized holes after only 2-3 missions in country,” forcing many to revert to older, standard-issue woodland pants. Others, he said, have tailored the pants “on our own time/own dime.”
It’s important to note that while the stitching may have been improved with cotton thread, Sroka said, it won’t address every durability concern.
“The issue is the inherent nature of the flame-retardant fabric. It’s the most cutting-edge material out there,” Sroka told Marine Corps Times. “The problem ... if you can call it a problem, is that it’s not as durable as a cotton blend or a [nylon-cotton] type uniform, which is what standard-wear, everyday uniforms are made out of.”
After flame-retardant uniforms get soaked with sweat, they can become brittle upon drying, causing cracks and tears.
It is unlikely MARSOC will abandon use of this flame-retardant fabric, Sroka said. Known as Defender M, it is considered the best of several flame-retardant fabrics on the market, he said, because its fibers are inherently flame-retardant.
Chemical flame-retardant treatments used on other fabrics can dissolve after only three washings. That’s not ideal, he said, even if the fabric holds together better.
“We all understand that there is a trade-off in durability when you’re looking for survivability from flame,” Sroka said.
If operators need replacements in theater, “we generally have some standing by because we know these problems do exist,” Sroka said.
Industry, he said, is continually pushed by the Marine Corps and the Army to improve durability issues within the Defender M line. Today’s, he said, “is a hundred percent better than the Defender M from five years ago.”
“There are other companies that have come up with materials they call flame-retardant, but the testing that the Marine Corps does is very expansive,” Sroka said. “There are four-minute burn rules, there are blast parameters, and the only material that has stood the test of time is Defender M.”
Defender M is manufactured by TenCate Mills.
MARSOC began requiring its personnel to wear flame-resistant uniforms after two operators were severely burned during a 2009 combat mission in