Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. -- A Marine sits in a bush. His camouflage paint conceals his face from enemy observation. He raises the barrel of his weapon and takes a well-aimed shot. The enemy looks for him, but all they see is a thick bush in the distance.
Cammie paint is a critical tool the Marines use to stay concealed. It distorts their faces, helps them stay hidden and is a valuable skill in combat.
"Cammie paint is vital in a woodland environment," said Staff Sgt. Damian Wright, a drill instructor with Alpha Company. "It is necessary to maintain concealment."
Recruits get their first taste of cammie paint application during Basic Warrior Training.
"They're first taught how to use cammie paint during A-line and BWT," Wright said. "They are given a 30-minute class and shown examples of how they should look."
The recruits have three different styles they can use to conceal themselves, striping, blotching and combination.
Striping and blotching both make use of the paint by removing the shine from a Marine's face and also breaking up the facial features making it harder to see. The combination style combines striping and blotching, making the Marine even more difficult to see.
Painting faces with different shades and colors sounds easy. However, recruits learn first-hand that nothing is as it seems.
"When you put it on at three in the morning, you think it looks like Rambo," said Pfc. Zachery Belew, a recent graduate from Alpha Co. "Then the sun comes up and it looks all messed up." Belew also realized how "un-tactical" he
looked with his recruit training glasses.
"Cammie paint doesn't go well with port holes," Belew said with a smile. "It's just not tactical."
"It was an easy process," said Pvt. Donald Banks, another Marine graduate. "You just don't want it to look like trash. You have to find the right amount of spacing, paint and the right pattern."
Some recruits even used a methodical order to conceal themselves.
"I just started with green and added black stripes," said Pvt. Shane Thompson, another graduate.
Putting the paint on is only step one. Maintaining it is step two.
"The paint continuously needs to be reapplied," Wright explained. "It comes off with sweat or it smudges, and it needs constant upkeep."
Putting it on ... easy. Maintaining it ... annoying. Taking it off ... challenging.
"The hardest part about the cammie paint was taking it off," Thompson said. "The water smeared it, but it didn't come off the skin."
Other recruits found a solution.
"We used shaving cream to get it off," Banks said. "It just started to dissolve."
In the end, it took more than 100 wipes for the recruits to learn that being tactical means getting dirty.