I tend to disagree here. When it comes to uniforms, regulations, or pretty much anything that has any sort of link to any part of the history of the Corps the Marines become more anal than anybody.

I'm sure any of the above posters that served in the Marine Corps can attest to being verbally berated by senior ranking Marines not even in their unit for the most 'trivial' of details. Ever have your radio on in your car and not hear colors sounded? How about taking a sip of water while you're walking? Anybody ever been told to put their cover on while in a car? Or had a Chief Warrant Officer stop his car to yell at you for five minutes because you didn't notice the faded blue sticker on his windshield and thus didn't render a proper salute?

And no, you're not just subject to these anal rules just in boot camp or your first year or two in the fleet. Every Marine is subject to this stuff. In fact, I've seen a LCpl correct (Tactfully mind you!) a Colonel for wearing his cover in an uncovered area. I'm not complaining by any means, this is the way things should be (In the Corps at least) but I think most soldiers and airmen (or sailors that aren't corpsman) don't realize how absolutely strict the Marine Corps is in every aspect of your day to day life, on duty or off.

P.S - Saying that we should completely forget about our stateside uniform regulations just because we're deployed in a combat situation is ridiculous.

*EDIT* - I completely agree with Stonefly. That is what I was trying to get across.