US Army berets - blue, black, green, maroon, tan...

[patches]

Unknown berets worn by members of the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea - date unknown

And when you enlarge it the flashes are either upside down, tombstone like, and are Yellow. Best Guess, berets worn in the 70s perhaps for either the 4th Squadron 7th cavalry or one of the battalions of the division's 72nd Armor.

[MPage]

And when you enlarge it the flashes are either upside down, tombstone like, and are Yellow. Best Guess, berets worn in the 70s perhaps for either the 4th Squadron 7th cavalry or one of the battalions of the division's 72nd Armor.

 

I'm thinking that they're wearing ROK SF berets, wearing allies' headgear for a photo as is sometimes done.

 

http://galleryplus.ebayimg.com/ws/web/191921852177_1_0_1.jpg

 

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glRXfARnmAs/R8eA7BsOgTI/AAAAAAAAABs/_NqVzD5erO0/s400/SNV80830.JPG

[patches]

 

I'm thinking that they're wearing ROK SF berets, wearing allies' headgear for a photo as is sometimes done.

 

http://galleryplus.ebayimg.com/ws/web/191921852177_1_0_1.jpg

 

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glRXfARnmAs/R8eA7BsOgTI/AAAAAAAAABs/_NqVzD5erO0/s400/SNV80830.JPG

Yeah That's Got to be it MP, good going!

[Manny C]

Hey everybody, here is a scan of my 2/502 beret. It is worn out. What time period do you think? Steve

These berets were worn in the 70's prior to the beret ban...

[Manny C]

Hey everybody, here is a scan of my 2/502 beret. It is worn out. What time period do you think? Steve

These berets were worn in the 70's prior to the beret ban...

[Manny C]

Special Operations Command, Pacific is the beret flash. This flash is not exactly the same as the examples depicted in the reference book I have, which both have a black border dividing the colors, in a 'T' shape. Could be a very early style, when the unit was stood up in 1983, or perhaps from before then, from the unit's earlier incarnation? There's very little info about the history of that command.

 

I'm guessing the guy was a Ranger(?).

 

s-l1600.jpg

I believe that this is a beret from the TX state Guard, unfortunately....

[seanmc1114]

Black beret worn by a private assigned to the Armor Center around 1976/1977.

[patches]

Black beret worn by a private assigned to the Armor Center around 1976/1977.

I wonder why no flash? Could he have a Armor AIT Trainee Grad? Did Armor AIT Trainees wear that Tab? One would think only Unit Commanders, Drill Sergeants and other Cadre would be the only ones wearing it.

[MPage]

It looks like he's wearing Armor Center DUIs; if so, would that indicate headquarters?

[doyler]

Black beret worn by a private assigned to the Armor Center around 1976/1977.

 

 

Thats a young looking PFC.

 

Wonder if he had permission to use a razor?

[patches]

It looks like he's wearing Armor Center DUIs; if so, would that indicate headquarters?

Right, seeing that now. It looks like a Patch Type Crest right. But then there's the rub, I thought this is the DI for the Armor Center.

 

http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=11663&CategoryId=6998&grp=2&menu=Uniformed%20Services&ps=24&p=0

[MPage]

Right, seeing that now. It looks like a Patch Type Crest right. But then there's the rub, I thought this is the DI for the Armor Center.

 

Handler.ashx.jpg

http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=11663&CategoryId=6998&grp=2&menu=Uniformed%20Services&ps=24&p=0

 

That's what I thought; then I saw this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/702491241845145811/ but I guess it's just an ordinary decorative pin, i.e., not a DUI.

[patches]

 

That's what I thought; then I saw this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/702491241845145811/ but I guess it's just an ordinary decorative pin, i.e., not a DUI.

And here's the pin from the above link.

 

 

[vonmoen]

Basic training cadre and graduates from the Armor School at Fort Knox wearing berets in 1976. In the first picture they look like red berets but in the second they look like black berets.

Thanks for posting this, the first photo is of my training platoon at Ft. Knox. I'm the newly minted Tanker in the center of the second photo with my California classmates wearing the same black beret as my avatar photo. Upon graduating we were told we could purchase our berets at the PX and a group of us made a mad dash to get ours. I didn't get much of a chance to wear in at my duty station in Germany, but I was able to dust it off and wear in when I joined a Cavalry Scout Platoon in the California Army National Guard back in 1981. Black berets were longer authorized for wear by Armor or Cav, but we still wore ours while conducting training in the field. The Brass knew about it but looked the other way as long as we did our jobs. Here's a photo of me and my Scout crew, circa 1985.

 

[patches]

Thanks vonmoen, you know come to think of it now there is another Black Beret sighting post 1978 in this very topic.

 

Post#235 Reservists of the 6th Bn 68th Armor 157th Inf Bde (Sep) from Pennsylvania.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7676-us-army-berets-blue-black-green-maroon-tan/page-10

[vonmoen]

One more photo from around 1980, Scouts from CSC, 4-160 Infantry at Ft. Irwin. Both served in Vietnam, one with the 1st Cav (right) and the other with the 3rd Marine Division (left). You can make out the 3rd Marine patch on the right sleeve. Marine combat patches were ordered removed from Army uniforms around 1982-3 if my memory serve me.

 

[MPage]

Whoa, I just realized this is post-1980.

 

vonmoen - in the color photo above, does the guy on the left have crossed sabers on his flash?

[vonmoen]

Whoa, I just realized this is post-1980.

 

vonmoen - in the color photo above, does the guy on the left have crossed sabers on his flash?

Yes he does. Although frowned upon by the Brass, our platoon wore berets and boonie hats in the field. The guys in the photo were two of the toughest, craziest NCOs I've ever worked with.

[MPage]

Yes he does. Although frowned upon by the Brass, our platoon wore berets and boonie hats in the field. The guys in the photo were two of the toughest, craziest NCOs I've ever worked with.

 

Good stuff; I think it's safe to say (according to the photos and recollections in the thread) that the berets with crossed swords on the flashes were primarily used by reconnaissance and scout units of the NG, in the 80s. Do you have any info as to how or where those were obtained? The one I have, has the ''US Cavalry'' company's label.

[vonmoen]

When I graduated Basic Armor Training and AIT at Ft. Knox in 1976 I purchased my beret at the clothing sales PX. Mine is marked "Basque Beret 9 1/2 wool" in white stencil on the inside. When I joined up with the Scouts in 1981, about a third of the Platoon had berets. About half of those were Armor/Cav school trained while the other half comprised Vietnam Vets. Crossed sabers and rank insignia were worn about 90% of the time. The Scouts that received formal MOS training (11E or 19D) were allowed to wear the yellow cord on their class A uniform, and the yellow neck scark was also an option.

[MPage]

I posted these before, but anyway the first one is what we're discussing, and the second one I'm going to presume is from a NG armored division or maybe a brigade. I wonder if the "US Cavalry" company sold these berets with flashes and branch insignia already attached(?)

 

 

 

 

 

[seanmc1114]

Blue beret with flash and DUI of the 158th Aviation Battalion circa 1975.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1409964235749268&set=p.1409964235749268&type=3&theater

[seanmc1114]

Member of the 2nd Battalion 509th of the 8th Infantry Division wearing a black beret with a larger than standard Ranger tab and 3rd Zouaves Regiment badge.

[seanmc1114]

Red berets worn by Engineer officer candidates at Fort Belvoir, Virginia

[seanmc1114]

United Nations blue beret worn by a member of the 1st Infantry Division in Bosnia.