[Mr.Unique]

We have a bumper crop of people out there with a James Bond complex.

I see this everywhere. If a guy was an electrician on a SOF helicopter, he'd take on an 'Afgahinsatan Operator' persona and act like he's Delta.

I have a guy at work who worked in space operations staring at a scope, but he has a full beard, long hair, and Spec Ops ball cap...in an office building.

[OldGoatCPO]

I can only speak for myself. I worked as a “tech” in both a SpecOps unit and a Force Recon unit. I am entitled to be a member of a Navy SpecOps society. Support personnel are a vital part of all SpecOps commands, for my part I had to go through an interview process just to be assigned to the unit. In my case our “Operators” always treated us as part of the team. While attached to the command, I wore a unit ball cap with a unit logo that included a Trident. After I retired, I stopped wearing it because of the Trident.

Army and Air Force seem a bit different, from the outside looking in, wearing the hat of a unit you were a part of seems fine. I believe the Army has tabs and pins that would further distinguish operators from support personnel. If he is only wearing the command cap, and he served in that command, I am not sure that is an issue. It is an issue to vets, if you NEVER served in any capacity in SpecOps and you wear a hat with a SOC logo. A.k.a A-Waltz.

Assigned as support personnel to Recon and a SOC was great, awesome commands, excellent senior enlisted and officers, I am proud of my time with them. Maybe that is what is going on with your coworker. Then again there are those who like to give civilians a false impression of their service.

[DesertRhino]

It’s everywhere... so idiotic.
A far cry from the WWII, Korea and Vietnam guys who came home, and dressed clean cut and went to work... and never said a word about it.