[Trying to understand]

Thanks for the website. My brother had a black hat, does that mean he wasn't a ranger?

[snippy_about_it]

My brother had a black hat, does that mean he wasn't a ranger?It depends on when he served really. Here is some information, not necessarily up to date but the best I can do right now. If you have anyone else in your family you can get more information from you can perhaps contact his unit website or the service directly?

Armor personnel at Fort Knox, Ky., wore the traditional British black beret, while U.S. armored cavalry regiments in Germany wore the black beret with a red and white oval.

Troops of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., started wearing the maroon beret in 1973, while at Fort Campbell, Ky., the trend exploded, with post personnel wearing red, military police donning light green, and the 101st Airborne Division taking light blue as their color. In Alaska, the 172nd Infantry Brigade began using an olive green beret.

In 1975, the Airborne Rangers got approval from the Army Chief of Staff to use the black beret as their official headgear.

Over the next few years, the whole thing got out of hand, and in 1979 senior Army officials put on the brakes, Bradford said. The leadership allowed the Rangers to keep their black berets and in 1980, agreed to allow airborne troops to continue wearing the maroon version. But all others varieties were declared off-limits.

[SAMWolf]

Unfortunately,

Effective 14 June 2001, the first Army birthday in the new millennium, the black beret will become standard wear in The Army--Active and Reserve Components. Sergeant Major of the Army Tilley will lead the effort to craft implementing guidelines, including indoctrination standards that all Soldiers will meet before they are authorized to wear the beret. Special operations and airborne units will retain their distinctive berets.

I don't know if that order was rescinded. Rangers would have the Ranger patch on their beret though.