Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz was just doing what many senior enlisted Marines do: Looking out for uniform standards. Instead, he stepped into a hornet’s nest.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, Ruiz used an old picture to make a point about uniform standards, blurring out the face of a soldier wearing a medal-strewn, World War II-era uniform.
“Uniform standards have entered the group chat!” Ruiz wrote on two slides. “Exhibit A: This is what it looks like when we don’t have a standard. Make sure to check out MCO 1020.34H for all uniform guidance!”
However, the photo was of Audie Murphy, the single most decorated American soldier of World War II and one of the most decorated American service members of all time.
Medal of Honor recipient 2nd Lt. Audie Murphy. Wikipedia commons
The image was quickly taken down after soldiers and Marines on the services’ respective Reddit boards had a field day as they united online in confusion and sarcasm to (lightly) roast the top-enlisted Marine.
Ruiz, who seems to be well-liked as a senior Marine who has kept his focus on issues of importance to junior Marines, whether they be serious or just plain funny, quickly deleted the post and appeared to issue a full apology on Instagram.
“Earlier today I posted a picture of a great American hero, Audie Murphy,” Ruiz wrote in an Instagram story. “In poor taste, I linked his uniform to today’s regulations. My sincere apologies, as I meant no disrespect. There is a history linked to that photo and why his decorations are where they are. It shouldn’t have happened and there are no excuses.”
Separately, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps told Task & Purpose the post was an “unforced error where the message being sent should have used a Marine as an example.” It said that there was no intent to “disparage a great American soldier.”
In light of all this, we felt it might be handy to create a simple and easy-to-follow primer for any other sergeants major or first sergeants out there who may want to harken back to history for examples of why the Corps is so hardcore on uniform regulations.
Next time, leave Audie Murphy out of it and just use a photo like this:
Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz
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