Marines Ban Polyester Clothing In Iraq

[979797]

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.

[Merv Benson]

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.

[GS]

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

[120mm]

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

The things that make you go hmmmm.

[Uboat509]

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

[Tom Odom]

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

[GS]

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