Last week's dressing down of the NYPD by Marine Sergeant Shamar Thomas at Occupy Times Square has started a movement of its own.

Thomas unleashed on the police at length about the use of abusive tactics on unarmed civilians and the YouTube video of the exchange went viral.

Since then, #OccupyMARINES has sprung up, calling for former Marines to don a civilian uniform and join the Occupy protests.

OccupyMARINES have now called on veterans of other branches of the military to lend their support to help "talk sense" to police and recruit them into supporting the Occupy movement.

Because active members of the armed forces are prohibited by military law from joining the protests, only former servicemembers are being called upon and even they have restrictions. (via Jill Klausen and Addicting Info)

Veterans may wear their uniforms, but only if they do not protest. The OccupyMARINES website says:

Should Non-Active Military Supporters Present Themselves At Demonstrator Groups In Military Dress Uniform We Ask They Do Not Actively Participate With Group Activities; We Will Honor Our Military Uniforms And The Sacrifices Of Our Brothers And Sisters. Only Non-Dress Uniform Supporters May Actively Participate.

The dress code for protesting veterans is:

An OccupyMARINES shirt or sweatshirt with military service affiliation and Occupy Wall Street logo

Dicky's EMT black cargo pants

Ranger Joe's Corcoran Boots-I XC Jump Black Aviator Boots

And blouse bands. Elastic bands used by military members to fold the hem of their pants up and drape over the top of their boots.

While requesting donations, the group's website asks that contributors wait until OccupyMARINES has achieved 501(c)(3) status.

In addition to the Marines' initiative, the police have formed a separate organization called #OccupyPolice that is "for police in support of the 99%." The OP website goes on to say that "Police in America are part of the 99 too #OccupyPolice."

The original video from last week is below. It has over 2.2 million YouTube hits as of Sunday October 23.