142                               U.S. MARiNES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, 1990-1991


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                                           Drawing by Sgt Charles G. Grow, USMC
JstSgt Wiiner, Company D, 3d Assault Amphibian Battalion, Task Force Ripper, is
weaflng the desert hat in the correct manner, 7 Jw~ua,y 1991.

to receive official guidance. The prescribed manner of wear was with the brim
turned down along its entire circumference. Yet, immediately upon issue every
conceivable interpretation emerged, some less subtle and outrageous than others.
Popular styles included: the rolled up "cowboy" brim, the flat hat with its
absolutely level brim and flat crown (the latter achieved by a cardboard insert),
the completely upturned brim, and the "fedora" worn by General Boomer.
   The shaped battledress hat typified Marines belonging to the Force Service
Support Group, 3d MAW units, or MEF headquarters. Its existence proved less
common in the 1st Marine Division where field conditions, and soine com-
manders, proved a natural deterrent. Within the division, styled hats appeared
among rear echelon personnel rather than with Marines assigned to maneuver
unitS. In October 1990 it would be a bat worn by a member of the division that
prompted a CentCom directive against styling. In a visit to forward deployed
units, MEF Sergeant Major Rafe J. Spencer spotted the one hat that went too
far. While the hat in question merely had its front and back brims turned up,
what pushed Sergeant Major Spencer into taking action was the fact that its
owner was a gunnery sergeant and he used one of his metal collar rank insignia
to pin the front brim to the crown. The resulting CinCCent directive of 21
October  prohibited all but regulation wear:


              When the desert battledress uniform (DBDU) floppy
           hat is worn, the chin strap will be tucked into the hat so
           it does not show and the brim of the floppy hat will be
           worn down. Curling or bending the brim of the hat,