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 ...
I had to wear that damn USN ice cream vendor uniform. I never got to wear the traditional uniform. Some hate it, but if worn smartly, is a good looking getup.
Previous thread for all to view comments there. It is well over 12 hours ago, so no big deal. I hated this decision since it started.
Posted on Monday, June 13, 2011 8:19:19 PM by cll
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2734273/posts
As a Navy man myself, I liked the caps. I never got the attachment to a hat that doubles as a dog dish.
The garrison cap, aka C- Cap is the ugliest thing to have ever been worn in any service.
Good for the Army and the Rangers get their Beret back!
The patrol cap is authorized for details in motor pools. In Texas we are authorized to wear boonie hats to protect us from the extreme heat.
“In the new gay Army,
fashion is everything.”
You mean the beret and barrett bunch?
Anything, ANY-THING, instead of that weanie beanie garrison cap!
It all depends on how it's worn...
Exactly.
I always thought the beret was a social experiment in equal outcome rather than equal opportunity - kind of like everything else the Socialists want to do (the mortgage fiasco comes to mind...).
I CAN'T believe that the leaders of this country - even the Military brass themselves - are ready to sacrifice the honor of the only government institution that most Americans feel some true affection and admiration for... just so that a bunch of degenerates can feel a bit like decent human beings... which they are not!... Not matter what the try to corrupt: boys scouts, Catholic Church and now the arm forces... their stench will still linger on with them.
The idea that when everything "stinks" then they will be more in tune with the world... won't work, but by then we will have sacrificed everything that is worth admiring... the the loss will immeasurable... and who knows what kind of a country we will be then.
I have a nice, conservative gray woolen beret (civilian) that I wear in the winter (mainly to funerals). I can't imagine putting that oven on my head today. It's already 100F here in Ft. Worth.
/johnny
Think they'll stop with allowing open perverts in the military since they are "deeply unpopular" as well, before they spend millions? *rolls eyes* Probably not, can't stop the agenda to destroy the military, ya know!
This story can't be true. Or maybe I should say: knowing the US Army, the story must be true.
I can remember the hoopla that accompanied the change to the beenie, which no one thought of calling a wet sock. Everyone - all the soldiers, esp the licks-piddle functionary officer corps - stood and cheered when the beenie was introduced.
The beenie was a symbol of the renewal of the Army, at least that's what all the officers said.
“Now, we're all members of an elite force. We're as good as the Marines.”
If I recall, didn't the “Rangers” get angry when the black color was stolen by the straight leg types.And the poor “Rangers” had to be mollified with a brown beret.
Now, did the officers really believe that introduction of a beret would transform them into a great fighting force? I don't know. But from what I've observed, almost all have their opinions and beliefs shaped by whatever directive emanates from DOA. Stay tuned, folks. Round two coming up.
Really? The tankers were authorized to wear the black beret in 1973. The Rangers had that tanker authorization removed in 1979 and then had that authorization given to themselves.
I realize some wore them in the 1940s while preparing to invade Japan. Rangers deserve the respect they get, but I don’t get the fashion wars, especially when the infantry guys get involved. I’ve seen infantry LTs who were made PLs of cav units wear a stetson with a blue cord. That’s just plain BS. If you aren’t cav, you don’t wear spurs and you don’t wear a stetson. Those are earned by being cav.
No one in the army can have a distinctive item for their branch that is cool without some infantry LT who just *has* to wear it too. Well, they are Queen of Battle.
What will one wear with khaki dress (Class B)?
I have several straw hats I wear when I work outside during the summer. My daughter gave me a mesh type hat that is really cool. I can’t stand to have the sun beating down on me all day here. I do wear my older boonie hats when dove hunting.
Umm, no - it was not all that popular with the troops or the officer corps when introduced. It was popular with the political leadership (elected, appointed or commissioned).
There were a goodly amount of internal complaints about the beret when introduced, but command directives are not generally open to debate. Complaints from the force about the beret led to numerous changes in uniform policy within individual commands and posts; exceptions to when the beret was required, etc. In many ways, that made the situation worse, because Joe might be perfectly fine with his headgear on one post and completely unsat in another, doing the exact same work for the same types of unit.
Good old piss cutters!
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