ARMY field uniform caps for use with woodland camouflage uniforms.

[pawtwo]

Hi

 

I'd like to start a topic about all types of headgear worn with field woodland camouflage uniforms in 1981 to 2008 era.

 

# 1. Temperate weather:

 

CAP, CAMOUFLAGE PATTERN, WOODLAND CAMOUFLAGE PRINTED, NSN: 8415-01-084-1685 (size 7) made of 80/20 cotton/nylon blend that was in use from 1981 to 2004-2008. Is this correct that these caps were in use till 2004-2008 for field use? Or these were replaced by beret for field work also?

 

# 2. Hot weather:

 

2.1. HAT, SUN, WOODLAND CAMOUFLAGE PATTERN, TYPE III, NSN: 8415-01-196-8378 (size 6 7/8) made of 100% cotton ripstop that came about 1985 and was made and used till the end of BDU usage. Was there any special conditions that these could be worn instead of patrol cap?

 

2.2. CAP, HOT WEATHER, NSN: 8415-01-393-7820 (size 7 1/8) made of 50/50 nylon/cotton ripstop that came about 1995 and was made and used till the end of BDU usage.

 

 

# 3. Cold weather

 

CAP, COLD WEATHER, INSULATING HELMET LINER, WOODLAND CAMOUFLAGE, CLASS 2, NSN: 8415-01-099-7846 (size 7 1/4) that was made from 1981 till the end of use of BDU's.

 

 

#4. Also about 2001 there came black Beret:

BERET, WOOL, BLACK, NSN: 8415-01-089-0138 (size 7 1/2) and was in use till the ARMY decided to switch ACU Patrol Cap. Was this style of headgear used only inside ARMY installations and not in field with BDU uniform?

 

Also some questions that I have no idea:

 

Does in 1981-2004 (2008) era was there any reasonable knitted style caps that could be used in cold weather instead of helmet liner cap?

 

What kind of cap was worn with all cotton hot weather BDU's during 1985-1995 period? Was there any 100% cotton patrol cap or only boonie hats was only hot weather headgear available at that time?

 

Best Regards

Paul

[Martinjmpr]

Hi

 

I'd like to start a topic about all types of headgear worn with field woodland camouflage uniforms in 1981 to 2008 era.

 

# 1. Temperate weather:

 

CAP, CAMOUFLAGE PATTERN, WOODLAND CAMOUFLAGE PRINTED, NSN: 8415-01-084-1685 (size 7) made of 80/20 cotton/nylon blend that was in use from 1981 to 2004-2008. Is this correct that these caps were in use till 2004-2008 for field use? Or these were replaced by beret for field work also?

 

# 2. Hot weather:

 

2.1. HAT, SUN, WOODLAND CAMOUFLAGE PATTERN, TYPE III, NSN: 8415-01-196-8378 (size 6 7/8) made of 100% cotton ripstop that came about 1985 and was made and used till the end of BDU usage. Was there any special conditions that these could be worn instead of patrol cap?

 

2.2. CAP, HOT WEATHER, NSN: 8415-01-393-7820 (size 7 1/8) made of 50/50 nylon/cotton ripstop that came about 1995 and was made and used till the end of BDU usage.

 

 

# 3. Cold weather

 

CAP, COLD WEATHER, INSULATING HELMET LINER, WOODLAND CAMOUFLAGE, CLASS 2, NSN: 8415-01-099-7846 (size 7 1/4) that was made from 1981 till the end of use of BDU's.

 

 

#4. Also about 2001 there came black Beret:

BERET, WOOL, BLACK, NSN: 8415-01-089-0138 (size 7 1/2) and was in use till the ARMY decided to switch ACU Patrol Cap. Was this style of headgear used only inside ARMY installations and not in field with BDU uniform?

 

Also some questions that I have no idea:

 

Does in 1981-2004 (2008) era was there any reasonable knitted style caps that could be used in cold weather instead of helmet liner cap?

 

What kind of cap was worn with all cotton hot weather BDU's during 1985-1995 period? Was there any 100% cotton patrol cap or only boonie hats was only hot weather headgear available at that time?

 

Best Regards

Paul

 

Hi, Paul. My Army service covered the entire BDU era so I can feel confident in anwering your questions:

 

1. The original BDU's were, I believe, 50/50 cotton/nylon. They were very hot in warm or humid climates. The cap was the same BDU cap used throughout the BDU era and I believe it was also 50/50 or it may have been some other compound. They were slightly water resistand but also very thick and heavy. They all had ear flaps which we were never, under any circumstances, allowed to use, even in the field. Towards the end of the BDU era (around 1995 or so) a lightweight cap was issued made out of 100% cotton with no earflaps. There were also commercial caps that appeared similar to BDU caps but did not have the earflaps. They were generally allowed to be worn as they were virtually indistinguishable from a "genuine" BDU cap when worn.

 

2. "Patrol caps" - PRE-BDU era: The term "patrol cap" is a military slang term that I believe originates with the infantry or specifically with the Rangers. I first heard the term in 1980 when going through basic training. We still had the old OG-107 "pickle suit" fatigues at this time but some Ranger units would go to the field with a green flat-topped cap (of the same style as the later BDU) but with no ear flaps. Normally these had rank insignia pinned or sewn onto the front of the cap and a nametag with the soldiers name on the back, along with two small squares of reflective tape. The slang term for the reflective tape was "ranger eyes" and they were used so that when soldiers were on patrol at night they could see the soldier in front of them. This cap, altogether with the rank, name tape and ranger eyes, was called a "patrol cap." It was specifically NOT authorized for wear in garrison and could ONLY be worn in the field.

 

3. Berets were never worn in the field under any circumstances, at least not during my time. I can't speak for the time before 1980. When I was in the Special Forces we didn't even take our berets to the field (as support personnel I wore a green beret from 1990-92 and starting in 1993 support personnel switched to maroon berets.)

 

4. The "hot weather" hat was usually just referred to as a "boonie hat" (i.e. for wear in the "boondocks.") It was typically an organizational issue item (i.e. the unit would issue it to the soldier and the soldier was supposed to turn it in when he left the unit.) Wear was in the field only. Normally only issued to light/airborne/special operations units because "conventional" units wore helmets in the field. There was a "wide brim" boonie hat and a "narrow brim" boonie hat. I believe the "narrow brim" was the issued hat and the "wide brim" was an unauthorized optional purchase item that some units allowed their soldiers to wear in the field (again, these were mostly light or special operations units.)

 

5. The "cap, cold weather, helmet liner" was usually referred to as a "pile cap." Some units (very few, in my experience) wore this in garrison in cold weather environments in place of the BDU cap during winter months. As I said, though, this was unusual - normally the BDU cap was the cap worn in garrison. The pile cap was worn under the helmet and was about the only way to keep your head warm when helmet wear was mandatory (normally in the field all "conventional units" require their soldiers to wear their helmets at all times when outside.)

 

6: "Patrol Caps" - BDU era: In most special operations units, the standard headgear for wear in the field was the "patrol cap." Different units had different SOPs (Standing Operating Procedres) but generally the patrol cap was a BDU with the rank sewn or pinned to the front (sewn was preferred) and an embroidered name tape on the back with the two "ranger eyes" and in some cases, a piece of reflective "glint tape" on the top (the glint tape was there so that US close-air-support aircraft could identify friendly troops - this came about after some well-publicized "friendly fire" deaths during Desert Storm.)

 

It's important to stress that "patrol caps" like this were in clear violation of the US Army uniform reg in place at the time, AR-670-1. That regulation specifically prohibited things like name tapes and ranger eyes. For that reason, "patrol caps" were ONLY worn in the field or on deployments (in other words, they were only worn when far away from the "regular army") In garrison, the normal head gear for special operations and airborne troops was the beret, either maroon (airborne), black (Rangers or green (Special Forces.)

 

I actually got into trouble when I was going through BNCOC (Basic Noncommissioned Officer School - a military leadership school) for wearing my patrol cap in formation and was required to switch to my beret as I did not have a BDU cap that didn't have a nametag or ranger eyes on it.

 

7: The black beret: Beginning in June of 2001, ACOS (Army Chief of Staff) Gen Erik Shinseki put out an order that all soldiers would now wear the black beret with dress uniforms and garrison BDU uniforms unless they were in an elite unit that already wore a different color of beret. At the same time, the Rangers, who had previously worn the black beret since the mid 1970's, switched to a tan beret in the same color as the British SAS. Since the beret was now the "garrison" headgear, many units started relaxing policies on modifying the BDU cap for field use. I don't know when (or if) AR-670-1 was ever modified to allow a name tape or ranger eyes on the back but I can tell you that by the early 2000's it was very common practice.

 

Hope this helps, feel free to shoot back any questions you might have.

[Allen Dail]

Here are pics of the Hot Weather BDU cap. As stated above it does not have earflaps and has three vent gromments on either side

[Allen Dail]

I was is in Armor and we had a black knitted balaclava that we could wear in winter not sure if this was issued to other units though. Here is a pic of me wearing it under my cvc at Grafenwohr ,Germany. Some guys also wore the watch cap or beanie of the PT uniform in cold weather under the Helmet in the field. Regards Allen

[pawtwo]

Thanks for all replies!

 

So is it correct that in 1985-1995 era even when you were wearing hot weather BDU, in garrison environment you would be wearing standard BDU cap with earflaps?

[Martinjmpr]

Thanks for all replies!

 

So is it correct that in 1985-1995 era even when you were wearing hot weather BDU, in garrison environment you would be wearing standard BDU cap with earflaps?

 

Correct. You could buy a BDU cap that didn't have earflaps but I don't think they started issuing them until later - maybe 1997 or so, but I could be wrong.

 

Some soldiers cut the earflaps out but it was more common to just go to one of the many off-post military shops and buy a BDU cap without the earflaps. SInce they looked identical from the outside they were permitted for wear in uniform. I was at Fort Bragg from 1992 - 96 and of course it got quite hot there so the all-cotton, no-ear-flap private purchase BDU cap was very common for wear in the field.

[Martinjmpr]

I was is in Armor and we had a black knitted balaclava that we could wear in winter not sure if this was issued to other units though. Here is a pic of me wearing it under my cvc at Grafenwohr ,Germany. Some guys also wore the watch cap or beanie of the PT uniform in cold weather under the Helmet in the field. Regards Allen

 

Wasn't the black balaclava part of the ECWCS (i.e. gore-tex) uniform? For some reason I thought it was.

[Martinjmpr]

Oh, you asked about the black "watch cap." That became part of the APFU (Army Physical Fitness Uniform) some time in the late 1980's, I believe. Prior to the adoption of the APFU, soldiers would show up in whatever was comfortable for PT. You would see a riot of colors and styles at morning PT formations.

 

Officially, the black watch cap was for the PT uniform only, but in the field it was often worn in cold weather to keep the head warm. Also, sometimes we would do PT in BDU's (for example, if we were ruck marching for PT or going through the obstacle course.) In such instances we might wear a "modified" uniform that consisted of BDU trousers and jacket, running shoes and the black PT cap. This was not "official" per AR-670-1 but was very common (especially since I was in an SF unit, and they tended to take a much more relaxed attitude about uniform regs.)

[pawtwo]

Thanks

 

Right now I have a lot better understanding of woodland era headgear.