Army beret to be dumped in favor of more practical caps

[High_Gravity]

Army beret to be dumped in favor of more practical caps

If you tend to confuse American soldiers with beatniks, you will soon have one less excuse: The US Army has announced that it will be replacing the black beret as the default headwear for its standard combat uniform.

Introduced a decade ago as part of the standard Army Combat Uniform, the black wool beret was almost universally despised by US soldiers. It lacks a visor to shield the eyes from the sun. It's hot and doesn't absorb sweat. You can't carry it in a pocket. You need two hands to put it on.

“I hate wearing a wet sock on my head," Chief Warrant Officer Mark Vino of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., wrote in to the Army Times newspaper. "Plus it makes my head/skin break out.”

The widespread use of the beret also irritated some members of elite units. The green berets worn by the US Army Special Forces were seen as badges of honor, earned through many months of intense training. The same is true for the red berets worn by Airborne forces. The Rangers had traditionally worn black berets, but switched to tan berets when the black ones became standard for all US Army soldiers.

The Army-wide black beret was made effective on June 14, 2001 by then-Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, who saw it as a symbol of excellence, and as a unifying symbol that would help "erase the distinctions between heavy and light forces."

The reversal came after a survey of opinions from soldiers in the field found that the head covering was hated by just about everyone.

The beret, which is based on the traditional hat of Basque shepherds, will not completely disappear from the Army. Special Forces, Airborne, and Rangers will continue to be allowed to wear the beret as part of their standard uniform, and individual unit commanders will still have the option of ordering their troops to wear them. The hat will also remain as the hat worn with the Army Service Uniform, which is worn for public and official functions.

Army beret to be dumped in favor of more practical caps - CSMonitor.com

 

[rightwinger]

Always hated the beret

Americans do not wear berets

 

[whitehall]

It was a Clinton creation. It's ironic that the Beret was authorized for the US Army by a draft dodger and initially manufactured in China. Maybe it was a coincidence that the famous photo of comrade Che Guivera (the darling of the liberal establishment) showed him wearing a black beret.

 

[Two Thumbs]

The funniest part for is that Navy sailors would kill to swap the dixie cup for the berret.

Seriously, if they get to dump a cool cover like the berret, we should get to toss that fucking dixie cup

 

[The Gadfly]

The funniest part for is that Navy sailors would kill to swap the dixie cup for the berret.

Seriously, if they get to dump a cool cover like the berret, we should get to toss that fucking dixie cup

AAAW, I'm disappointed to hear that; Why, I thought the dixie cups and jumpers were most appropriate for you squidlings; the perfect, cute little uniform for Uncle Sam's "spoiled and pampered pets", as it were.

At any rate, now maybe the army will leave the berets to those soldiers who have actually EARNED them. Imagine that.

 

[Mr Natural]

The funniest part for is that Navy sailors would kill to swap the dixie cup for the berret.

Seriously, if they get to dump a cool cover like the berret, we should get to toss that fucking dixie cup

I could never get that fuckin' thing to stay on my head.

As I recall from bootcamp, the idea of the dixie cup was to provide some floatation should you fall overboard. Assuming, of course, the goofy thing stayed on your head on the way down.

Luckily, I was in the aviation branch so we got to wear ballcaps with our working uniforms.

 

[Two Thumbs]

The funniest part for is that Navy sailors would kill to swap the dixie cup for the berret.

Seriously, if they get to dump a cool cover like the berret, we should get to toss that fucking dixie cup

I could never get that fuckin' thing to stay on my head.

As I recall from bootcamp, the idea of the dixie cup was to provide some floatation should you fall overboard. Assuming, of course, the goofy thing stayed on your head on the way down.

Luckily, I was in the aviation branch so we got to wear ballcaps with our working uniforms.

You are correct!! It was a floatation device.

Just imagine you and a shipmate have just been washed overboard by a large wave. While you are deperatly trying to tread water, the ships crewman is calmly floating along on his dixie cup.

I seriously kept a straight face the whole time I typed that.

As you may recall, it was watertight. Whenever it rained on you, it would fill up, and since the front was worm lower than the back, it would run down your face and under your jacket.

Fortunatly, I was on subs and was allowed to wear a crew cap while in my dungarees.

 

[ginscpy]

Those berets look gay.

 

[Oddball]

Beret is gay...

To this day, nothing beats the 25-mission crush cap.

 

[Toome]

Didn't surprise me that GEN Shinseki thought it might be a good idea to have everyone in black berets; general officers tend to talk themselves into thinking like that. What surprised me most of all was that CSM Tilley went along with it. I served with the good CSM, and he was always no-nonsense. While some CSMs might tell their bosses, "Sir, perhaps you should consider other alternatives," Tilley wasn't afraid to say, "Sir, that's about the stupidest fucking idea I ever heard of...what's next? Garter belts!"

Fortunately, my retirement was already in motion before the beret was implemented as the universal headwear.

 

[Sunni Man]

We wore the baseball style caps when I was in.

I loved that they had a bill to shade your eyes from the sun.

And could be stuffed into your pocket when not needed.

 

[JWBooth]

The berets were a silly assed idea from the beginning.

 

[JWBooth]

AAAW, I'm disappointed to hear that; Why, I thought the dixie cups and jumpers were most appropriate for you squidlings; the perfect, cute little uniform for Uncle Sam's "spoiled and pampered pets", as it were.

At any rate, now maybe the army will leave the berets to those soldiers who have actually EARNED them. Imagine that.

Jumpers?

In my day it was dixie cups and seafarers.

 

[Sarah G]

Army beret to be dumped in favor of more practical caps

Army beret to be dumped in favor of more practical caps - CSMonitor.com

Well what are the new hats going to look like?

 

[Sunni Man]

I believe that the beret was instituted so that American soldiers would blend in better when they were on NATO and US missions.

 

[Sarah G]

Beret is gay...

To this day, nothing beats the 25-mission crush cap.

That's not bad.

 

[Trajan]

I remember 10 years ago when they took the Ranger black beret and gave it to everyone......I remember signing an e mail protest chain letter etc....his statement at the time made exactly zero sense to me and still doesn't and here we are back to patrol caps.....dipshit.

“To symbolize The Army’s commitment to transforming itself into the Objective Force, The Army will adopt the black beret for wear Army-wide. It is not about increasing recruiting; we achieved our recruiting target of 180,000 recruits last year–without a beret. It is not about retention; for the second year in a row, we exceeded our reenlistment goal by a wide margin–without a beret. It is not about morale; Soldiers are ready today to go into harm’s way. It is about our excellence as Soldiers, our unity as a force, and our values as an institution.” — from Gen. Shinseki’s order, effective June 2001


Oh and the velcro bullshit is gone too, back to sewing on insignia etc..,,,friggin green machine, nothing ever changes....

 

[Two Thumbs]

seriously, quit your bitchin about the beret. It could be worse;

 

[Trajan]

seriously, quit your bitchin about the beret. It could be worse;

dixie cups....

u r right ......................

 

[High_Gravity]

I believe that the beret was instituted so that American soldiers would blend in better when they were on NATO and US missions.

You have a point.