RV - Ranking Military Uniforms [0:00:00]
[Music] Guys, I’m going to be transparent.
It was very difficult for me to rank this first uniform solo.
I mean, it's worn by an elite European presidential guard unit that has a storied history in combat.
In addition, the uniform is handmade and it’s got a lot of historical significance built
right into it.
All that being said, the way it's put together the overall look of the uniform of the Greek
Evzones, there's just something off about it.
Again, the individual components are cool.
That farion cap in red with that tassel, overall looks good.
The hand sewn fermeli, this thing is a work of art.
Literally, very one of these are handmade.
And if you look into the detail, you can actually see the rank of the soldier.
But, what I love about this, I mean, mean this is thousands and thousands of stitches.
As a guy that owned a custom clothier, I get the detail and the attention that goes into
making something like this.
And let's talk about that foustanella, made from 30 yards of fabric.
This thing has 400 pleats in it.
Each pleat representing a year under the Ottoman Empire.
The idea is you wear this and you remember that you've got to protect Greek sovereignty.
And the tsarouchia shoes, made to be a heavy footwear 3 kilograms with 60 tacks in each
one of them to simulate the sound of combat.
I also love the fact that they carry an M1 Garand.
If you're familiar with the history on this weapon, classic American weapon that has seen
worldwide service and is very accurate to fire.
Unfortunately, this uniform is an example of putting all of these great things together
and it just doesn't look right.
In addition, we got a lot of practicality issues.
First up, let's talk about the fermeli.
So, that tassel is overly long and it gets in the way.
I'm reading reports about guys, you know, this is all getting tangled up.
It is a pain in the butt to wear.
As, again, a former military man, I can tell you that dress uniforms they may look good,
but you want them also to function.
And that's, yeah, it's a small thing, but they could have made it half as long.
Next up, the ypodetes shirt.
It looks like it's coming out of the 1970s.
Way too much flare, way too much excess fabric that is going to get in the way.
I get it, it's nice white, signals the purity of the intentions.
But, it just from a practical standpoint, white and just all over that excess material,
yeah, a bad combination.
And now, let's talk about those tsarouchia shoes.
So, first up, the pom-pom,it just doesn't look good.
I know I’ve read the stories, oh, it kept their feet warm.
Really?
Why are you wearing it also in the summer and it just doesn't look efficient or effective.
Oh, you can hide a knife in this?
Why not actually put blades out there, that would actually look really cool if they actually
had blades instead of the pom-pom.
And, the tacks, those nails on the bottom.
I get that you want to have that sound, but when it comes to a practicality -- these guys
are actually climbing up Mount Acropolis my understanding and they're raising and lowering
the flag.
I was watching these guys march and move, they aren't getting any traction with these
shoes.
These things are going to slip all over the place.
I'm sure there have been incidents of guys falling and hurting themselves.
So, from a practicality perspective, these shoes are, yeah, really bad.
So, for all those reasons when it comes to the uniform of the Greek Evzones, and I'm
sorry my Greek friends, but i got to put them in the FUBR category.
Now, this next military unit was founded in 1814 by Victor Emmanuel I, the Duke of Savoy
and King of Sardinia.
Now, what’s interesting about this, guys, is they were formed almost 50 years before
the founding of their country and they were named after a particular type of rifle.
Now, right here, I’ve got a long rifle.
It’s got a 16-inch barrel.
If you were to shorten this, let’s say go with the 14-inch barrel, as many of you guys
know, that would be called a carbine.
That being said, back in the day, some of those long rifles would go out to 54 to 70
inches.
Try firing that from top of a horse, very difficult and, you know, just really unwieldy.
So, they would shorten the rifle.
What does that do?
It actually lowers in general the velocity of the round that’s going out and it makes
a little bit less accurate.
But, that being said, it’d be much more effective when you’re on horseback or if
you want to simply be able to quickly lift up the rifle and fire in a close proximity.
And now, that you know what a carbine is, let me introduce you to the next unit, the
Italian Carabinieris.
Now, the Carabinieri is very unique in that they serve both as military units and police
units within Italy.
Now, the Carabinieri was as I indicated named after the carbine.
It was a rifle that was carried on horseback.
And, initially these soldiers were brought in to support basically the king, the monarchy.
They were his personal guard.
Now, you may be wondering why does the king need a personal guard especially if you’ve
got an army.
Well, because the army isn’t always going to be loyal.
It has its own politics in the generals and there may be other outside influence.
When you’ve got a personal guard even if it’s just simply a hundred soldiers, think
about that.
You’ve got a hundred people that are loyal to you.
They’re not going to question.
You don’t need to ask any permission.
If you need to make something happen, you’ve got a hundred armed men ready to make something
happen.
[0:05:01] And you’d be surprised with small groups
how powerful they can be when they have a purpose or if they have a king or leader to
defend.
Now, the Carabinieri uniforms we’re going to be talking about today are their ceremonial
uniforms.
And I have to say that they are some of the best looking that I have ever seen.
I love their use of color.
Now, I’ve seen different reports.
Some people said the uniforms are black, very dark blue.
I’m going to go with midnight blue because it looks black and in general, I think that
they would probably go with blue.
You notice that they’ve also got right here silver lining and silver decorations basically
braiding that we’ve got throughout other parts of the uniform.
They also make use of the color, red.
When mixed with blue or black by the way is going to be just a really stark contrast.
And I think they don’t overdo it and it’s just overall the uniforms are on point, they
fit well, and they look good.
In addition, let’s talk about that bicorn hat.
Now, those of you guys that know your hats, you understand the bicorn came from the tricorn
hat and it really, you know, we see pictures of Napoleon wearing something like this, made
it really popular.
But, it did fade out probably about, you know, 1910, 1920.
Definitel whenever the first World War came around.
But, here’s the thing, the Carabinieris, they wore that type of hat into World War
I and they were very proud.
They were also called, you know, basically I think the airplane hats or something like
that by the soldiers.
But, they didn’t care.
They had stuck with and they brought something.
I just love the fact that they didn’t give up on this hat and it’s really one of the
most distinctive features of their ceremonial uniforms.
Another part of the Carabinieri uniform that I absolutely love is they still use capes.
So, technically, we did as well in the United States Marine Corps, but I never actually
met a Marine Corps officer that has a cape.
I bought one after the fact just simply because I think they’re cool.
But, to see guys actually wearing capes with their uniforms in parade, you know, parade
uniforms is just amazing.
And it’s – I love seeing something that was historically used brought in and as a
whole it just fits, it makes the combination look good.
Capes in general, I mean, I create a whole video.
In fact, let me know down in the comments if you want to see a video on capes.
But, capes fell out simply because they use too much material.
But, when it comes to functionality especially when riding a horse and being able to quickly
access your weapons, capes are amazing and they actually do a decent job of keeping you
warm.
I also got to give them high marks on their use of a side on.
So, they’re Italian, makes sense they would carry the Beretta 92.
Beautiful Italian made weapon that I also carried when I was in the United States Marine
Corps.
We have the M9 version, basically the same thing.
Very beautiful.
I just simply think it is reliable, it’s accurate, and, yeah, it’s cool to see them
actually use the same weapon that I do.
Now, I know some people are going to say, hey, they served Mussolini.
They actually oppressed their own people.
But, when you look at the unit as a whole, you look at actually they brought down Mussolini
as well, so a lot of interesting story.
When I read the history on these guys, I was very impressed.
Rating their uniforms, though, guys, I got to put them in the highest category, high
speed low drag, just a really cool historic uniform that really came well together and
to this day, looks amazing.
Now, for this next set of royal guards, we’re going to the other side of the world.
We’re going back to 1469, the Joseon Dynasty is when these guards first started guarding
the gates of the royal palace.
In modern times, these guards still protect the royal gates and what’s interesting about
them is they also handle crowd traffic and they’re expected to be able to play an instrument.
Now, it’s interesting because these royal guards do not carry modern firearms.
In fact, they rely on old school, yes, weapons that they’ve been using for hundreds of
years.
So, you’ll see them actually be able to use spears, scimitars.
If you’re familiar with this weapon, it’s basically going to have a long curved blade
at the end of the pole.
It can also be a sword.
But, basically these guys put on displays of them using the weapons.
You can tell that these guys know what they’re doing.
So, gents, who am I talking about?
The South Korean Royal Guards.
Now, initially I have to admit when I saw these uniforms, I thought, oh, that’s a
bunch of show.
Then, I saw them move in the uniforms.
And that’s what I like, there’s a lot of good video footage of these guys actually
using the weapons actually putting on displays of how they would move.
And to see these guys move fluidly to have no constriction, all of a sudden you realize
this is a very functional uniform.
Actually, you realize South Korea gets some pretty cold weather, actually this makes a
lot of sense to wear that clothing like the hat actually, okay, in the sun it may, you
know, look heavy, it may look a little bit over burdensome, but the hat actually does
a really good job.
Yes, it’s got those very – and the feathers actually are pretty cool.
When I started looking at the overall way that this is all put together, this one really
worked.
Now, a lot of people not familiar with ancient military strategy and doctrine may wonder,
why would you use such bright colors especially on the battle field or with military units.
Isn’t that make you easy to spot, you know.
Nowadays, we think of camouflage, we have communications via, you know, electronic devices.
But, back in the day, the way people communicated was visually because you couldn’t really
hear anything on the battle field.
[0:10:02] You got all these craziness going on, so it
helped whenever, hey, I can see that if I’m going to be a foot soldier, I’m in red,
I’m sticking with my guys, this is my unit, this is the side I should be on.
If officers are in blue, I know who to listen to, who’s going to be directing traffic.
And if I’m a commander from a distance from a mile away, I’m able to spot where people
are at and be able to see where the lines at.
So, colors were very useful in being able to determine the order of battle.
And from what I was able to piece together, again, with video, pictures, it looks like
their footwear is on point.
To be able to move in the way that they were able to with those weapons, you have to say
they’ve got great traction on the boots and overall, you know, they’re probably
decently comfortable.
So, I have to give these guys, you know, I’m going to put them in category two, pretty
friggin awesome.
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Now, this next uniform is a sub uniform of one of the most famous units in the world
founded in 1831.
As soon as I say, you guys are going to know it.
It allowed the French to be able to recruit foreign nationals.
Gents, the unit I’m talking about is the French Foreign Legion and their highly trained
legionnaires.
Now, for people that haven’t served in the military, they may not know how many different
uniforms a single unit can have at a particular point in time.
And understand it seems like every ten to fifteen years they change up the uniforms.
But, when I was in Marine Corps, we had our camis and then, if you were in a flight unit,
you had, you know, you can wear your flight suit.
You also had your dress As and this is what you wore whenever you’re checking into a
unit.
You had your Charlies, which you would wear, you know, if you’re in a recruiting station.
And you had the dress Blues, which were our most famous uniform.
But, right there, you know, you could have up to five different uniforms at one point
in your career.
Now, the French Foreign Legion is no different and they’ve got their history and they’ve
got their particular units.
The one I want to talk about today are known as the pioneers.
So, you go back to the 18th century, you had a particular engineering unit that carried
access were protected by leather had specialty gloves.
And they would go into combat to basically disassemble, you know, anytime that you’re
attacking an enemy, they would set up defenses, you would send in your engineers to, you know,
depending on what time of history to either blow up to tear down to be able to make room
for the soldiers that are going to come in and want to be quickly able to get through
and not get caught in entanglements and then, you know, end up getting, yeah, massacred.
You don’t want that.
So, you would send in your engineers, some of the, you know, my brother actually is – started
off as an engineer in the army and they would teach these guys how to use, you know, different
explosives nowadays.
But, so you can clear out space, so the main unit can make their way through.
So, based off that description, you could imagine the pioneers their engineering unit,
these were some of the bravest men because they were going in front, top, tip of the
sphere.
They’re probably going in at night to be able to disassemble to be able to break things
down and they probably have a high casualty rate.
So, the people that are part of this unit have a storied history are very proud of where
they come from and it’s really cool that they’ve got their own uniform.
All right, guys.
So, as you can see a very distinctive uniform, let’s break down its parts.
So first up, the beard.
Notice that these guys don't have to shave like the rest of the foreign legion.
Why?
So, if you're part of this unit, the beard is a historic symbol of a man that has been
on the front lines and can do as he pleases, because who knows how long he has to live.
And this is something actually seen a number of different services.
When I was in the Marine Corps we did have to shave still in combat.
But, a lot of other services I know let especially special forces allow you to basically grow
the beard.
Do whatever you want, this is your chance to be able to enjoy something that you haven't
been able to enjoy in your career because you're putting yourself in a very dangerous
situation.
Next up, let's talk about those axes.
When you see these guys you might think a bunch of French lumberjacks going off to a
pancake eating contest.
No, that's not what's happening here.
The axes symbolize their ability to tear things down.
And they traditionally did use axes at a time when you got all these wooden obstacles and
you would be able to go in there and just tear stuff up while you're getting shot at.
I mean, a pretty cool I think history with the axe here.
Next up, the white gauntlet gloves.
Very high gloves, thick leather to protect the hands because you are tearing through
things.
There's probably going to be barbed wire concertina wire.
You have to be able to handle things and tear things apart quickly.
Next up, let's talk about those leather aprons.
This was armor.
Many of you guys know the history of leather.
It was boiled, used, and layered in many ways to be able to provide armor.
Now, it's not going to be able to stop around going through, but it will possibly be able
to stop if you had a cannonball land by and all of a sudden hit some wood, you got you
know shrapnel just pieces of wood flying around.
It may be able to stop some of that, a glancing blow from a weapon.
It may be able to, you know, turn it, so all of a sudden just have a bruise versus actually
getting slashed.
So it could provide some protection and that's historically why they still wear it.
So, where am I going to rank the pioneers?
Overall, I really like the French Foreign Legion and their look, their hats are iconic.
But, I'm going to have to put this uniform in general officer bright idea.
I mean, I get the idea and it sounded really good probably on paper, but I bet the guys
wearing especially those leather aprons and those gloves, they're like, you know what?
I mean, this is cool.
I love the history with this, but on a hot day, incredibly uncomfortable.
The beards I think are cool.
And the axes, I would keep.
i don't think they really need those leather aprons.
It just seems overkill.
And I mean, you could add so many other things to this.
It just seemed like, yeah, keep the axes, keep the beards, but lose the leather aprons
and those over heavy gloves.
It's just, yeah, I don't think it really adds much to the look.
Now, for this next set of presidential guards, we're heading to the tropics.
And very interestingly enough, this presidential unit is made up from all of the armed forces
that serve in this country's military.
They also carry the AK-101, which is a very interesting weapon.
So, the idea was to combine the reliability of the AK-47 with the rounds and the accuracy
of what we see in the M16s 556.
So, it is basically it looks like an AK-47, but it carries 556 rounds NATO.
So, what unit am I talking about?
Fiji's Presidential Guards.
Now, based out of Suva, these guys are going to do a daily changing of the guard ceremony.
So, if you're ever in Fiji, you can go check them out, go watch them.
And during this ceremony, you'll be able to see them basically transition from one unit
to another.
Now, this uniform is very recognizable by the use of the traditional Fijian sulu.
In addition, the red color of the blouse that they're wearing.
And, yes, military terms even men wear blouses.
That's what we call the shirts.
Now, gents, I'll be honest, I wanted to try to like this uniform, but I just can't.
It seems like they pieced some things together, they try to keep some history, but they could
do a better job.
And, hopefully, they're able to improve on this.
But, let's start with that sulu.
First up, if you're going to go traditional, what's up with the bottom of it just having
that slash in there?
It looks sloppy.
I really also don't like how they paired it with sandals.
I get it, it's hot, but as a military person, you want functionality.
You want, hey, if we actually are carrying weapons, which it look like they're carrying
loaded weapons with, you know, bayonets on them, you're going to want to be able to move,
you're going to want to be able to run.
You never know when the situation is going to call.
And I do think proper boots or footwear that can give you traction, footwear that's going
to better protect the foot is going to be called for.
Even in the tropics, there are tropical weight and tropical type of boots that you can wear
I think would be totally fine.
Let's also talk about those shirts.
I don't think that they need to -- everything i saw was longer sleeve, I never saw any short
sleeve.
That bright red color isn't actually bad.
I like how they brought in the epaulettes.
But, I did think that they could go with something that's short sleeve and it would actually
look better with that overall combination.
Watching the video of these guys drill, they know what they're doing they've spent some
time on the grinder.
But, when it comes to the overall look of the uniforms, I think that they can very much
improve here, so I'm going to put them into the whiskey tango foxtrot.
Basically, what the [bleeping sound] All right, gents, so what do you think of
my opinions?
Who do you want to see next?
Let me know in the comments below.
I want to hear which other uniforms you would love to see.
And, guys, if you want to watch another video, where I rank military uniforms, especially
a lot of American uniforms, this is the video you're going to want to check out.
I made it a while back, it's a great one.
And, yeah, let me know in the comments and I will look to make another one like this
if you ask.
[0:18:43] End of audio