The U.S. Marines and also the sailors of the U.S. Navy will soon be using flame-retardant uniforms in an upgrade that was announced at the U.S. Marine Corps website last November 9, 2016. These uniforms come with new material making them less susceptible to severe burns.

The upgrade, called the Enhanced Fire Resistant Combat Ensemble (EFRCE), was developed in cooperation with the Navy and will be initially issued to Marines and Sailors assigned to Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and Naval Special Warfare Command as they deploy according to the website.

While the fabric of the upgrade will be the same as the material presently being used, it is said to be more durable and can self-extinguish flames to reduce incidence and severity of burns. Fire is said to be the most dangerous thing that can happen to a ship and the new uniform material can help prevent or minimize burn injuries to any Marine or sailor on board a ship as well dealing with fires in the battlefield.

As for the overall EFRCE, here is the explanation by the news article:

The EFRCE is part of the Marine Corps’ Flame Resistant Organizational Gear system which consists of a combat shirt and trousers, gloves, inclement weather combat shirt--worn over the EFRCE blouse during inclement weather-- and balaclavas that work together to protect the wearer from head-to-toe. The EFRCE comes in four camouflage patterns: Woodland and Desert, Navy Working Uniform Type II and NWU Type III. The new fabric is a blend of nylon, cotton and meta-aramid fibers—a material highly resistant to high temperatures, chemical degradation and abrasion.

(U. S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alexander Mitchell)

Meta-aramid is the same material that is used in Nomex, the flame-retardant material developed by Dupont in the early 1960s and it is used for firefighters’ uniforms.

Overall, the new uniforms will be issued to the Marines when the current supply of uniforms run out while for the sailors, they get their own upgraded uniforms when they deploy. For the Marines the design of the EFRCE has been improved to make it fit better when used under the Plate Carrier Generation III body armor.

The EFRCE is now in production, with an expected 70,000 systems scheduled for release in 2017.

Top photo:  U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Bobbie A. Curtis