I personlly thought that floppy looking beret looked too French.
A patrol cap...
looks more military.
Posted on 06/14/2011 10:06:41 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Army is abandoning the beret, after a failed 10-year experiment.
The black beret, which proved deeply unpopular with American soldiers, will be replaced by a patrol cap for everyday wear, US Army spokesman Colonel Tom Collins said Monday.
The move came after outgoing Army chief of staff, General Martin Dempsey, asked the army's sergeant major "to go out and talk to soldiers across the force and see what was on their minds," Collins told AFP.
"One of the things that soldiers consistently brought up was the desire to wear the patrol cap as part of their duty uniform," he said.
The beret will still be part of the Army's dress uniform, but will no longer be worn in the field as soldiers complained that it was impractical, he said.
"It does not have a visor and doesn't shield the sun, doesn't absorb sweat well," Collins said.
One soldier put it more bluntly.
"I hate wearing a wet sock on my head," Chief Warrant Officer Mark Vino, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, told the Army Times. "Plus it makes head/skin break out."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Thank God. I was still in for a couple years after this damned thing came along. Hated it. I was a regular soldier (Cav Supply Sergeant) and never felt right wearing a beret of any kind, but I could never look any SF guys in the eye again when wearing it.
Good.
In almost every picture my kid sends me, he’s wearing that damned beret.
(172nd IB)
I like the Army hats that were worn in “From Here to Eternity.” They looked good and they were practical.
This is important news!
In the new gay Army,
fashion is everything. Weaponry is secondary.
We won’t be killing any enemies, unless our fashion statement does it for us.
Berets can look quite fantastic, provided they’re worn by troops motivated enought to MAKE them look good. That means, invariably, a “high and tight” and a soldier who takes time to shave, cut, wet and form the beret.
Otherwise, “wet sock” is about right. It should be eliminated from all non-specified units immediately, and be retained only by SOF and Airborne units, as before.
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My brother never turned in his red beret when he was in the 101st.
Finally the end for Shinseki’s “style over substance” campaign. Too bad this Clinton-era move was well underway already for Bush to kill it when he came into office.
As long as they aren’t going back to C- caps, everyone will be happy.
I was in the navy when Adm Zoomie changed uniforms out from the old traditional dixie cups to suits and caps. They looked silly and they finally got rid of that after millions of dollars wasted.
That beret looked so....so....so FRENCH!....................
Millions of sailor's dollars.........................
Mike
That beret was typical of Clintoon: Symbolism over substance.
That would be an extremely long distance call with infinite hold.
Now he only has to dust the beret off for use with the dress uniform, which is not a bad U.S. Army birthday present.
Mr. niteowl77
I would NOT want to wear a beret everyday, getting it dipped in grease and oil in the motor pool, truding through the bush? Please. Soldiers cant afford the dry cleaning bills to keep it looking good.
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