Army ditches black berets in favor of caps

Army ditches black berets in favor of caps

Associated Press
Tuesday, Jun. 14, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. — It's hot, it doesn't keep the sun out of your eyes, and you need two hands and a mirror to make sure it's on straight. After 10 years of complaints, the Army is all but ditching the black wool beret and allowing soldiers to go back to the old brimmed patrol cap for their everyday duties.

"It's the military equivalent of being able to wear a baseball cap to work," said Col. Pete Brooks of the South Carolina Army National Guard. "Wearing the beret in 100-degree South Carolina heat was like wearing a wet piece of black wool on your head."

Army Secretary John McHugh ordered the change to take effect Tuesday, the service's 236th birthday.

Elite units in the 1.1-million-member Army will continue to wear their colored berets as a mark of honor - green for Special Forces, tan for Rangers, maroon for airborne troops. But from now on, other soldiers will have to pull out the black beret only for special events, such as change-of-command ceremonies. Soldiers, of course, will still wear their helmets in combat.

"This just makes things a little bit easier for us," said Staff Sgt. Mylinda DuRousseau, who works with the 3rd Army at nearby Shaw Air Force Base. She said working as a cook meant she had to keep her shoulder-length hair tied back in a bun, which couldn't fit under the tight beret.

And then there was the three-step process of putting the thing on right: First, adjust the blue patch over the left eye; next, use two hands to straighten it; then, pull it on far enough so it stayed put, DuRousseau said.

In fact, the Army had to install mirrors at entries and exits so soldiers could be sure they had it on properly.

As for the patrol cap - a soft, 50-50 cotton-nylon blend that looks like a flat-top baseball hat in camouflage green - "you could reach in your pocket and flip it on, and just keep moving," Brooks said.

The change is one of several new uniform adjustments, including allowing soldiers to either sew or use Velcro to attach insignia and nametags. In the past, badges had to be pinned on, a lengthy process that required the use of a ruler to keep everything lined up. Another switch will be a return to dressier uniforms for Army men and women inside the Pentagon, a step ordered to spiff up the Army's image.

The uniform changes - especially the dropping of the beret - were popular on the Army's Facebook page, which registered at least 3,000 "likes" after the switch was made.

The black beret became standard a decade ago, introduced in a surprise move by then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki as a "symbol of unity" and a morale booster. But elite units that were distinguishable by their berets resented the change.

Lt. Col. Jeff Hannon, who works for the Army chief of staff in the Pentagon, had mixed feelings about the dropping of the beret.

"Under some circumstances it is clearly a good-looking piece of headgear" and more formal than the cap, he said.

But Hannon and others said the cap is more utilitarian because it affords protection against the sun when troops are out in the field. Hannon was showing his wife and young sons around the Pentagon on Tuesday amid the Army's birthday celebration.

"I actually liked the beret," said Hannon's wife, Katherine. "I thought it looked so much better than the cap, a little more sophisticated."

Good move. I hated the berets back when implemented and thought it was a dumb move to make.

TexasBlue wrote:Good move. I hated the berets back when implemented and thought it was a dumb move to make.

I agree. I hate those stupid berets! I'm glad that happened a very long time after my service in the Army!

dblboggie wrote:I hate those stupid berets!

lol guys. I'm going to tell that to the Royal Marine Commandos and Paratroopers I see almost on a daily basis.

Then I'm gonna step back to avoid the splatter

The_Amber_Spyglass wrote:

dblboggie wrote:I hate those stupid berets!

lol guys. I'm going to tell that to the Royal Marine Commandos and Paratroopers I see almost on a daily basis.

Then I'm gonna step back to avoid the splatter

I think it's a European thing. When I was stationed over there, that's all I saw from the NATO troops. We Americans like our regular caps for head gear. I'm not alone. Most of our military likes the reverted change.

The_Amber_Spyglass wrote:

dblboggie wrote:I hate those stupid berets!

lol guys. I'm going to tell that to the Royal Marine Commandos and Paratroopers I see almost on a daily basis.

Then I'm gonna step back to avoid the splatter

You let them know I think THEIR berets are just fine!

It's the American military berets I hated...

dblboggie wrote:

The_Amber_Spyglass wrote:

dblboggie wrote:I hate those stupid berets!

lol guys. I'm going to tell that to the Royal Marine Commandos and Paratroopers I see almost on a daily basis.

Then I'm gonna step back to avoid the splatter

You let them know I think THEIR berets are just fine!

It's the American military berets I hated...

You never know, they might agree with you. Even the cadets wear them here.

Very soon the NAACP led by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton will file a complaint stating that the Army is tossing out something that is black.

TheNextPrez2012 wrote:Very soon the NAACP led by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton will file a complaint stating that the Army is tossing out something that is black.

But the black people hated them, too.