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Beautiful Swords And Knives
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In the British forces they are also worn for any appearance at Court. In the United States, every Naval officer at or above the rank of Lieutenant Commander is required to own a sword, which can be prescribed for any formal outdoor ceremonial occasion; they are normally worn for changes of command and parades. For some Navy parades, cutlasses are issued to Petty Officers and Chief Petty Officers.
In the U.S. Marine Corps every officer must own a sword, which are prescribed for formal parades and other ceremonies where dress uniforms are worn and the rank-and-file are under arms. On these occasions depending on their billet, Marine Staff Non-Commissioned Officers may also be required to carry swords, which have a hilt of a pattern very similar to U.S. Naval officers' swords but are actually sabres.
The Marine officer swords are of the Mameluke pattern which was adopted in 1825 in recognition of the Marines' key role in the capture of the Tripolitan city of Derna during the First Barbary War.
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