The Marine Corps introduced Monday that it has launched a brand new pilot program that goals to mortgage officers within the service maternity uniforms totally free.
Marine officers who’re serving inside 100 miles of Quantico, Virginia, are actually capable of get a one-time situation of utility and repair costume maternity uniforms totally free between now and March 2026.
Usually, solely enlisted Marines get a free, one-time situation of maternity uniforms whereas officers, by regulation, are answerable for buying their very own. The assertion saying the brand new program stated the common value of maternity uniforms is $500.
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The Marines have traditionally been the least gender-integrated service. In keeping with an evaluation by the Council on International Relations, in 2020 solely 8% of Marine officers had been ladies in comparison with 21% within the Air Drive and 19% in each the Army and Navy.
Eligible Marines will get the fight utility uniform with three blouses or trousers, a inexperienced tunic, 4 service blouses (two brief and two lengthy sleeve) in addition to elements for the Marine service uniform as properly. This system’s web site notes that the blue costume skirts and slacks “are experiencing a delayed supply on account of COVID-19 and provide chain points” and that they will not be obtainable till subsequent yr.
One of many program’s objectives is to make use of the Marines who take part to supply suggestions on the uniforms’ match and longevity. Nonetheless, this system is simply the newest in a sequence of strikes throughout the army to handle the issues of pregnant and nursing ladies over their uniforms.
This system might additionally assist tackle issues over a “pink tax”– the upper prices borne by feminine service members for uniforms over their male counterparts. In October, a bipartisan pair of senators launched a invoice to assist tackle the difficulty. The laws got here on the heels of a authorities watchdog report that confirmed the disparity might be as massive as $8,000 between women and men over a full profession.
Final spring, the Marine Corps introduced it could begin releasing extra purposeful and higher becoming maternity and nursing undershirts and repair uniform blouses. In the meantime, the Navy rolled out maternity flight fits final summer season and a program just like this one in December, 2021. Late in 2020, the Army stated it could take a look at updating its personal 40-year-old smock maternity uniform.
This program is one results of a maternity uniform mortgage program that was signed into regulation in January, 2021 as a part of the Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA) that yr. The regulation let every service set up an workplace the place ladies can flip in gadgets which are not wanted for refurbishment and reissue to different expectant moms. Lawmakers stated that one of many objectives of this bigger program is to check whether or not having the best uniforms available permits ladies to do their jobs extra successfully whereas pregnant.
The NDAA required every service to situation a report on its findings by 2025.
Marines who’re capable of get a maternity uniform by means of this program could have as much as six months after their being pregnant to return the issued gadgets.
— Konstantin Toropin could be reached at konstantin.toropin@army.com. Observe him on Twitter @ktoropin.
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