Ex-Marine Sends Hollywood Military Costumes To Use In Ukraine War

A retired Navy veteran, who started renting out military equipment to Hollywood productions after completing four tours of service, is now sending out pieces of tactical gear to Ukraine in an effort to bolster the country's defenses against Russia's invasion.

Jon Barton, owner of the Los Angeles-based military consulting and rental company Night-Fire Media, is sending an estimated 1,000 uniforms and additional battlefield equipment to St. Andrews Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Echo Park, KTLA reported.

The pieces of gear will be flown to the Polish and/or Ukrainian border, where the former Marine hopes they will be able to help with Ukraine's defense efforts, according to the outlet.

"Our objective here is trying to get the uniforms and tactical gear to the Ukrainian people who are going to fight against Russia. To make sure they are equipped the best they can," Barton was quoted as saying by KEYT.

The 12-year military veteran, who described Ukraine as "a beautiful, amazing sovereign nation" that "deserves their independence," will be donating about 80% of his inventory, including about 620 uniforms of various camouflage patterns, 118 boots and 300 pairs of gloves, a report by The Guardian said.

"Sometimes, we forget the details - the slings, the canteens, the belts [and] the shoelaces. All that’s important," Barton explained.

Barton's idea to send the gear reportedly emerged after a friend asked him if he had extra camouflage uniforms. He then realized he had to do something after he saw the images of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine attacking Ukrainian civilians.

"It all clicked: uniform, boots, other tactical gear... I wanted to make sure that I got the most important critical gear out there first. So I just had to look through everything and grab what I thought was 'mission essential,'" Barton said.

Before they were flown out, uniforms were stripped of any patches that show U.S. flags, insignias or names in what Barton called "sterilizing the uniforms."

The packaged equipment was scheduled to go on a plane Tuesday and arrive the next day for the Ukrainians to use. However, the current status of the donated gear is unclear.

Barton will now head to Ventura County, where his company stores its inventory of gear from military base stores and third-party contractors.

While he said his actions come with professional risks, Barton still hopes larger film studios will follow his lead and donate their gear as well.

"Some of these prop companies have acres and acres of equipment, especially just uniforms and boots, something that we wouldn’t even bat an eye at in the film industries," he said.