Navy to Wear Special Marine Corps Dress Blue Uniforms Against Air Force at 9/11 Game
The Navy Midshipmen football team will unveil a new, snazzy uniform on 9/11 to pay homage to the Marine Corps on a day that Americans will reflect on the 20th anniversary of the worst attack on U.S. soil in history.
The Naval Academy used the football team's website to showcase the uniforms that will look like the dress blue uniforms worn by enlisted marines and officers.
The college football season's first full slate of games will be the weekend of Sept. 2-6, with Sept. 4 being the first full Saturday of games. Navy will host Marshall the opening weekend before hosting the Air Force Academy on Sept. 11 at Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Air Force-Navy game on Sept. 11 will kick off at 3:30 p.m., and CBS has made it the national broadcast that afternoon.
The Navy's uniforms will be unique, aimed at the minor details with Marine Corps insignia and grandeur. The jerseys will be the same navy blue as the dress blue jackets, and the football pants will match the lighter, royal blue with a red stripe, or "blood stripe," going down each side.
The well-recognized symbol of the Eagle, Globe and Anchor will appear on both shoulders, the front left of their pants and on one side of their white helmets. The front of their helmets will have the Marine Corps battle cry "oo-rah" on it, and the backs of the helmets will have the Marine Corps motto "Semper Fi," which is Latin for "always faithful."
Furthermore, here are some tiny, but important, details. The tops of the helmets will have the same quatrefoil that is on top of the covers (those are the hats that go with the dress blues). What is the quatrefoil?
"An interwoven braid in the shape of a cross of figure eights found on top of the Marine officers' barracks covers," the Navy athletics press release stated. "Officially, the quatrefoil first became an authorized part of the uniform in 1859. The quatrefoil was the fashionable military style of the era."
The Naval Academy trains not only future officers in the U.S. Navy, but also for the U.S. Marine Corps, which is a branch of service within the Department of the Navy. The two branches often work together at sea and with amphibious assault exercises, among other interlaced exercises.
After two years of classes and naval training at the Naval Academy, midshipmen are introduced to the Marine Corps during "Marine Week" of Professional Training of Midshipmen. Midshipmen who consider pursuing the Marine Corps upon graduation must attend a four-week "Leatherneck" training in Quantico, Virginia, during the summer of their senior year. At Leatherneck, the midshipmen are evaluated on their physical training, leadership and military skills.
"As seniors, midshipmen may choose to compete for selection into the Marine Corps as a ground officer, cyberspace officer, or pilot," the Navy's website states. "After graduation, all Marine Corps officers attend The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia to become more proficient in the professional knowledge and skills necessary to be effective in leading Marines. Upon graduation from The Basic School, they will have the opportunity to serve in one of the many Military Occupational Specialties throughout the Marine Air Ground Task Force."
About 25 percent of all Naval Academy graduates get commissioned as Marine Corps officers, with about 50 percent of the football players going the Marine Corps route.
