Marines Ban Polyester Clothing In Iraq

Military.com - Marines Ban Polyester Clothing In Iraq.

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Under direction of Marine Corps commanders in Iraq, wearing synthetic athletic clothing containing polyester and nylon has been prohibited while conducting operations off of forward operating bases and camps.

The ban on popular clothing from companies like Under Armour, CoolMax and Nike comes in the wake of concerns that a substantial burn risk is associated with wearing clothing made with these synthetic materials.

When exposed to extreme heat and flames, clothing containing some synthetic materials like polyester will melt and can fuse to the skin. This essentially creates a second skin and can lead to horrific, disfiguring burns, said Navy Capt. Lynn E. Welling, the 1st Marine Logistics Group head surgeon...

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Originally Posted by SWJED

Military.com - Marines Ban Polyester Clothing In Iraq.

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Interesting aside here, the Army doesn't even issue natural fiber undergarments anymore...

I had to dig this one out of the archives and dust it off. Here we are over six months after the ban was put in place and the Marine Corps has yet to issue standards for fire resistance. What's more, a debate is finally beginning that questions whether the ban is even going after the correct layer.

Actually, I thought this came out over the summer. My team and I discussed it, but we rationalized that, with all the #### we wore (kit, body armor, ACU top, THEN our underarmor), if fire finally reached the underarmor to melt it, we were probably dead already.

I still wore my underarmor whenever I went outside the wire.

I have a friend who is a chemist at Exxon who told me there is significant research underway to make the synthetic fabrics more fire retardant. He gave no indication that any break through was eminent, but they are doing some serious work on the problem.

There are already folks doing it. The problem is, there is no definition of what fire retardant is.

Oddly enough, my issue "desert boots" are half-polyester.

The things that make you go hmmmm.

Almost every piece of snivel gear I have been issued in the last fifteen years was synthetic. In fact, the only thing that I can come up with off the top of my head that was not was my wool sweater. The last time I was issued one of those was around '94.

SFC W

I still have my poncho liner from Ranger Class 2-77; it traveled the world with me.

Much like Linus on Peanuts cartoons, I find it the most comforting sleeping item. :)

Tom

The newer version of the old brown 5 button sweater is acrylic.

Look at this site for PM-ICE, MCSC, toward the bottom.

FROG is closer to current cammies / BDUs than a NOMEX suit. Developing in response to Urgent UNS.

Yes, I know about it, but the point has already been made that MARCORSYSCOM has yet to issue any sort of a standard for FR. I do know that they are considering a garment similar to the Crye Precision Combat Shirt in MARPAT with a body made of Dri-Fire.