In order to establish a "unisex" appearance for the United States Marine Corp, president Barack Obama is vying for members to wear a more common hat The New York Post reported Wednesday.
"The Dan Daly cap looks too French, and the last people we want to associate our Marines with would be the French military," a commenter on the Marine Times Web site said. "Why are we even focused on this while we are laying troops off for no budget?" another commenter said.
The new hats are called the "Dan Daly" hat and are named after the World War I sergeant, a resident of Long Island, N.Y. who has been awarded two medals of honor. They are also fashioned after the look for the time period: 1904 to 1918.
"We don't even have enough funding to buy bullets, and the DoD is pushing to spend $8 million on covers that look like women's hats!" a senior Marine source told The Post. "The Marines deserve better. It makes them look ridiculous."
Voting for whether to go with the new or stick with the hold ends Friday. The choice will be in the hands of Marine Corp head Gen. James Amos.
"The Marine Corps is being 'encouraged' by DoD to standardize on a unisex/universal dress and service cap," Marine brass said in an internal memo The Post reported..
The Daly hat will be $8,221,958. If the marines stay with their current hat, they will maintain $284,043 because they are less expensive. The corp. currently wears hats catered to a specific gender.
"None of the [members] liked the idea of a universal cover for all Marines," according to a memo The Post reported. "The group members did not like the appearance of the Dan Daly cap on the male Marine."
