WITH TIlE 1ST MARINE DIViSION IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM            141


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                                                  Drawing by Sgt Charles 0. Grow, USMC
                   Some ways of carrying the pistol and M-16.

magazine pouches to the wide strap of the gas mask. `They either wore this
arrangement from around the waist in the prescribed manner for wearing the gas
mask, or created a sort of quasi-shoulder holster rig with the gas mask case.
Some members     of the MEF staff merely slung the gas mask and pistol
combination over their shoulder like a carry bag. Two members of the 4th Civil
Action Group wore the holster attached to their trouser waist belts thus making
it inconspicuous and more suitable for their work with Saudi nationals. This
configuration was not seen in the 1st Marine Division.
   Regardless of the manner Marines carried the pistol, they normally had it
attached to the green regulation nylon pistol lanyard. The prescribed method of
wearing the lanyard was over the opposite shoulder from the pistol (if worn on
the waist belt) and across the body. In time it proved more convenient to simply
loop the lanyard through the metal bar at the base of the holster and attach the
snap to the pistol thereby dispensing with having to remove the lanyard every
time the pistol belt came off. With shoulder belts, the lanyard looped around a
convenient strap. Though rare, some officers adopted the British method of
wearing the lanyard from the neck rather than across the body. A few officers,
Lieutenant Colonel Frank L. Kebelman III of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion
chief among them, managed to obtain British Army lanyards. Since the cord
proved too wide for the metal bar on the Beretta holster, Lieutenant Colonel
Kebelman tied the loop of his lanyard around his waist belt.
   Every member of the 1st Marine Division was issued desert battle dress
uniform (DBDU) hat. The desert hat was part of the basic uniform made up of
hat, boots, trousers, blouse, and green T-shirt. With the hat's capacity of being
styled in a variety of ways, its proper wear was one of the few uniform matters