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


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11 hours ago, Cobra Jock said:

I joined C Company 1/29th (ABN-RGR) in August of 1974. Me and two other guys from A Co 1/29th: Karl Kurtz and Roger Bracket, all went to the Ranger Company to interview with the CO to obtain a letter of acceptance. Captain Robert L. Howard (Medal of Honor recipient) was then commanding. We were a bit intimidated but the interview went well and we were accepted. The unit was based at Harmony Church at the time. Funny, I remember running out to Victory Pond one morning just after I got there and, not accustomed to the pace, hills, or distance, I had to pull off for a quick barf.  While doing that I heard someone nearby doing the same - it was CPT Howard. I didn't feel so bad then. Upon returning to the Company area, the CO promoted a few of us PVTs to PFC. My platoon sergeant was SFC Riley, can't recall who the TOP was. The 1/29th moved to Kelly Hill in 1975 and reorganized, changing the company from "C" to "B." We maintained the 75th INF lineage at least until I left there in Aug 1977. Commanders while I was there were CPTs Howard, Hanson, and Nishimoto. Those b&w photos of C Co are great with many familiar faces.

Thank you for that detailed response.

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Skysoldier80
On 11/22/2019 at 5:10 PM, firefighter said:

A 1st Group trooper with a red beret instead of green, why?Posted Image

 

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

 

 

He is In the Support Unit.

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Skysoldier80
On 10/11/2017 at 3:34 PM, seanmc1114 said:

When were the colors of the South Vietnamese flag added back to the 5th Special Forces Group flash?

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Around 2016.  Oval has had it for a long time.

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Skysoldier80
On 10/12/2017 at 10:33 AM, seanmc1114 said:

Is the Ranger beret an organizational item or a personal item? The reason I ask is that I notice that the current and prior commanders of the joint-service U.S. Special Operations Command who were Army generals all seem to have worn the Ranger beret, either black in the 90s or tan today. Is that because they are personally Ranger qualified or is the USSOC considered a Ranger unit by the Army? I would think if anything it would be considered Airborne and the soldiers assigned to it would wear the maroon beret.

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If you are part of SOCOM you wear a maroon beret unless you were were a long tabbed (then green) or if you had ever been assigned to RGR RGT, then you wear that beret

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  • 1 month later...

An Early 1967 photo of ROTC Cadets of an unidentified school, undergoing training at an unidentified Army Post, these Cadets are wearing Black Berets at this date, they are wearing no other insignia IE Flashes or Bars, other than their School's DI, of which we can not tell. Note too the use of the Garands and M1910 Cartridge Belts and Canteen Covers, and no doubt Bandage Pouches and the M1945 Packs.

rotc early 67.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/11/2020 at 5:22 PM, Skysoldier80 said:

He is In the Support Unit.

 Notice the lack of the Special Forces tab (AKA the long tab) that would show completion of the "Q" course. SF is an airborne unit so everyone assigned there will wear a maroon beret. Support personnel and anyone else who is not SF qualified will wear the maroon and not the green beret. That includes their doctors, linguists, supply, drivers, mechanics, admin clerks... etc.

In the 70s to the 80s they would wear a green beret but instead of the full flash they would have a stripe in the same color and general design to show they weren't SF qualified. 

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On 7/17/2020 at 7:13 PM, patches said:

An Early 1967 photo of ROTC Cadets of an unidentified school, undergoing training at an unidentified Army Post, these Cadets are wearing Black Berets at this date, they are wearing no other insignia IE Flashes or Bars, other than their School's DI, of which we can not tell. Note too the use of the Garands and M1910 Cartridge Belts and Canteen Covers, and no doubt Bandage Pouches and the M1945 Packs.

rotc early 67.jpg

ROTC has their own allowed uniform modifications. These were probably doing something like the Ranger Challenge, where they do a series of tests in competition with other schools. Weapons qual, land nav, obstacle courses, PT test scores.

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Skysoldier80
3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

 Notice the lack of the Special Forces tab (AKA the long tab) that would show completion of the "Q" course. SF is an airborne unit so everyone assigned there will wear a maroon beret. Support personnel and anyone else who is not SF qualified will wear the maroon and not the green beret. That includes their doctors, linguists, supply, drivers, mechanics, admin clerks... etc.

In the 70s to the 80s they would wear a green beret but instead of the full flash they would have a stripe in the same color and general design to show they weren't SF qualified. 

Yes I am fully aware.  Thanks.

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7 hours ago, Unicorn said:

ROTC has their own allowed uniform modifications. These were probably doing something like the Ranger Challenge, where they do a series of tests in competition with other schools. Weapons qual, land nav, obstacle courses, PT test scores.

This was from an article from the June 1967 ARMY Magazines, no caption, just a general article on the integrated training ROTC Cadets had with the Regular Army, indicating they are just going through some training at an Army post along side a active division, wish the photo was captioned, you know with school they're from (We then could try and ID the unit crest they're wearing and bring up an image of it), the division that there training along side with,

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Fellow members, I would like it if you could take a look at the history section on the United States military beret flash Wikipedia article I have been working on.  Because it is Wikipedia, I cannot go into great detail on stuff but I can provide an overview with some detail.  I would enjoy reading your thoughts on what I may be missing from the history and any reputable sources that would help back them up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_beret_flash

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/31/2020 at 5:26 PM, patches said:

This was from an article from the June 1967 ARMY Magazines, no caption, just a general article on the integrated training ROTC Cadets had with the Regular Army, indicating they are just going through some training at an Army post along side a active division, wish the photo was captioned, you know with school they're from (We then could try and ID the unit crest they're wearing and bring up an image of it), the division that there training along side with,


At that time it could have been their own school uniform, or they might have been training with an armored division, many of whom were wearing the black tanker beret.

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12 hours ago, Unicorn said:


At that time it could have been their own school uniform, or they might have been training with an armored division, many of whom were wearing the black tanker beret.

The Black Beret was not worn by Armor Units in 1967 like it would be later in the 70s, it was worn in 1967 however unofficially, albeit in small numbers, by LRRP units and battalion level RECON Platoons in South Vietnam (This being 1967-very early 1969 before the establishment of the new 75th Ranger Companies that replaced the LRRP units in Divisions or Separate Brigades, and with the battalion level RECON Platoons who still could be seen wearing them as well ), and at the NCO School and within the Ranger Department at Ft Benning, and by random individuals in Infantry units, perhaps Armor and even Air Cavalry units in South Vietnam, even in one case as posted in this topic by an Artilleryman of the 1st Cav Div in 1967-69, again these are believed to be for the most part  RECON type units within a battalion, squadron, or company/troop, if not, like in the case of the Artilleryman, then just a local personally acquired beret worn as or for a lack of a better term, as a "Fashion Statement". Black Berets in this period were apparently seen in rare cases in other places army wide, here we believe these would be battalion level RECON Platoon members.

 

The Black Beret of course came to be worn starting in the early 70s, like 1972 to 1978 within Armor and Armored Cavalry unit, its wear while widespread both in the Regular Army and in the Reserve Components was again unofficial, and banned in 1978 by the DoA except for the Special Forces and the new 75th Rangers, as well as the Ranger Department at Benning.

 

On this ROTC photo, I sure wish the school these guys came from was mentioned, it would of went a ways in IDing unit, like in exmple they may have adpted by this date of 1967 some kind of RANGER title for their ROTC unit and adopted the then Black Beret as was starting to be associated with the Army Rangers at Benning and the LRRPs in South Vietnam, who were in a lot of cases Ranger Qualified, particularly the Officers.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Green beret with a candy stripe of an unknown group and Special Forces DUI's worn by an infantryman wearing the Infantry blue shoulder cord and discs. Note he is also wearing a fourragere.  

Beret.Green.Candy Stripe.Infantry Shoulder Cord & Discs.jpg

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  • 1 month later...
3 hours ago, cavcon said:

Great photo!    Thanks for sharing 

My pleasure. Photo was on the front cover of the November 1976 issue of ARMY Magazine.

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And this from the November 1978 issue of ARMY Magazine, a very detailed bulletin on the future of the Multi Colored Berets, there was an attempt, an appeal, to keep the Maroon Beret, but it was as we know now unsuccessful.

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I can't find if this one has been posted before, so here it is regardless. Trooper of Company O 75th Infantry during the second incarnation of that unit between August 1970 and September 1972 when it was known as the Arctic Rangers (the first being when it was the LRRP unit assigned to the 3rd Brigade 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam from February through December 1969). 

 

I have seen a post in another topic in this forum that indicates the flash was worn by Company C 1st Battalion 60th Infantry.

 

 

Also note that he is not wearing the blue oval with seven white stars often attributed to this unit. Instead, he is wearing a gold oval with black border and red lightning bolt attributed to the 75th Infantry HQ. 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 1/31/2008 at 5:00 PM, Tonomachi said:

I was going through my collection and came across a brown Canadian made beret that I believe was worn by a US Army Calvary Unit during the time period when just about everyone was wearing berets. I picked it up a couple of years ago at a flea market. Can anyone confirm that this was ever worn?

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I would like to add some information on this subject from personal knowledge, as I recognize this.  The beret above is fromTroop E (Air), 1st Cavalry, 172nd Inf Bde, stationed at Fort Wainwright Alaska, and was in use in the 1973-1979 timeframe.  The unit was commanded by then- LTC Norman Schwarzkopf, and the First Sergeant was my father, 1SG Everett M. Bell(BSM, AM, PH)(deceased).  I recall that dad was lead on the project, and watching at home the work of designing the flashes, there were several designs, and I believe he and my mother Bobbie worked on those, some were two part designs sewn together.  Ultimately a one piece felt fabric was approved, as shown above.  I distinctly recall the work that went into that, and the final product.  Also, I recall that the Canadian beret was sourced because it was easier to obtain in Alaska at that time, and was 'the Best'.   I do remember Dad donning such a beret proudly when it was finally worn by the unit,  I do not have any photos, however, nor his original, those having been lost over too many relocatons or other events that prevented their retention, at least by me.  I certainly wish I had that now. I have been a militaria buff from a young age, so that is the only reason I have to be able to have retained this information. What a great memory!  Having become a soldier myself, and finally getting my own US black beret at one time, I can attest to the fact that the Canadian wool beret was head and shoulders the gold standard in terms of quality and feel.  That much I do remember also.  Great find!

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25 minutes ago, MPage said:

 

Was it iron-on?

I think they were sewn on, my mom had a sewing machine back then. The photo does not appear to show stiching, perhaps they used some fabric adhesive.  In Alaska at that time, it was pretty remote, people made do with what was available.  Frontier life, in a way. Mom even made suits for us boys to go to church, and dresses for my sister.  There just wasn't much locally available, and most other things were ordered by catalogue, usually Sears, which took weeks or months to get. To clarify also my previous post, LTC Shawrzkopf was the senior rater for my dad, from what I noted on the EER(evaluation report) , so he was one level higher than the Troop E Commander, whose name I do not recall at this time.  I think the Troop Commander was a Major.  I also remember that the beret replaced an embroidered yellow ball cap, Dad gave to me, and I wore it all the time until it literally fell apart. I have a  picture of me wearing that yellow cap as a kid. Also to narrow down the time frame, it was most likely 1974 or 1975 that the olive drab beret was made and adopted by Troop E.  We left in the summer of 1975 to Selfridge ANGB Michigan, Mt. Clemens, home of the Battling Bathers!!

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