Can you wear your Marine unit patch as an Army combat patch if you deployed with the Marines? Policy appears to say no.

Note: A couple years ago met a couple Army MP's working at Fort Shafter here in Hawaii, both were sporting 1st Marine Division patches. I asked them if they were former Marines...both stated that they were not. They then stated that while deployed to Iraq they were attached to the 1st Mar Division, it was there that they participated in a number of combat operations with the Marines primarily participating in convoy security (they were actually apart of the Marine Corp unit much like how the Navy assigns Corpmans to the FMF. It is my understanding that In the Army: while involved in combat operations, regardless of the service, you're authorized to ware the units shoulder patch as long as you were in a combat environment. Intersting to note. a number of female soldeirs are authorized to ware the 1st Marine Division patches as well being that they participated in the Lioness program where females were attached to Marine Infantry units to assist with handling local females within AO.

The reg say no. I had a 1SG who told me to wear it. `He was also a former Marine. In Germany got called some pretty nasty things. I just told them I was attached to a Marine unit. I was in the Marine Corps from 87 to 96. I was deployed to DS/DS. I wore my 2D MARDIV patch in the Army.

I was attached to marines during desert storm because they switched to M1 tanks and didn't have mechanics. i was authorized to wear a marine patch.

Yes you can. As long as you have orders. My unit was attached to the 1st Marine Division during Operation Phantom Fury. We eventually got official orders about a year later from the Department of the Army which outlined exactly what units were approved to wear the 1st MarDiv SSI. That being said...although I was authorized...I never did. Wore Army SSI.

We were authorized to wear the 1st MEF patch in Ramadi.

If you are a Boot, whether enlisted or Officer, and you "look like a boot" there is no shame in it, for everyone is a boot at some point. But remember...how you walk, talk, and carry yourself had a lot more to do with "how you look" than your lack of medals/ribbons/patches/badges.

Some people never shake that "Boot-ness" off...if ya know what I mean.

Normally I might end with something about how, again, the Army wants to be more like Marines...as I seem to run into that on a weekly basis, without a lot of surprise.

However, instead of that, this time, I'm just going to toss into the ring that maybe your personal concern for what others think is the root of your problem. This isn't a (insert expletives) Fashion Show, people.

(Im sure someone will suspect I went a bit off topic here...my answer in short, is that I can barely believe the OP question even needed to be asked)

Semper Fi

There was a message sent out stopping the unauthorized wear of MEU combat patch. The only except was from the beginninng of the Iraq invasion and army soldiers that were assigned to a Marine unit while in a designated combat zone.