Milsurp After Hours

Looks like the Beret is out for the US Army....unless special forces continue to wear them as a mark of distinction. Regular troops found them uncomfortable and pretty worthless as headgear in the field or in their normal work day. They will keep them for dress uniform use.....for show.

http://www.military.com/news/article/ar ... ional.html

Lazy buggers

Just how did you get "lazy buggers" out of uncomfortable and worthless
After having read the whole article, I can see why they weren't too happy with them.
More likely they just didn't want look like "Monty", and I don't blame them.

Vern.

Just think about it. A beret won't keep the sun out of your eyes. It won't keep the rain off the back of your neck. It is made out of some kind of almost wool and can't be comfortable in the heat. And when it is wet it must be like having a wet sponge on your head. It is made for show and not for use.

But it folds up neatly and fits under an epaulette; never did like the beret.

They were walking out dress, along with shoes, in the Infantry and we hated them so much that before we went on leave we'd hide our slouch hats, boots and gaiters in the bush just outside camp.
Once we'd passed Leave Inspection at the main gate we'd get dressed 'properly', after all we (thought) we were 'Diggers' and they wore slouch hats.

One day having gone through all this we were walking down the road and the well known Studebaker of the CO,* Maj. Archer Dennis MC came along, 'Arch' stopped and offered us a lift which was gratefully accepted (with misgivings ) but he never said a word about our dress.

I guess that he didn't like berets much either.

*Commanding Officer as we were an Independent Company and although we were 'A' coy of 4 RAR, because we were a good few miles from Battalion, the Major had the full powers of a CO, which in practical terms meant that unlike a Company Comander he could send miscreants to jail.

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Having said all that I do like to wear the Blue Beret on appropriate occassions.

When I went to the 101st in Vietnam from the 9th after the last 9th brigade pulled out I still had my jungle hat. Nice brim all around that kept the sun off the ears as well as kept the sun and rain out of the face and off the back of the neck. The 101st, only in the last couple years previously haven given up their actual airborne jump status, still had something against jungle hats. In all the rear areas only the Army baseball cap.....generally the Vietnamese gook shop kind that had some actual shape to them .....were being worn as a matter of regulation.

I was on stand down once from the 3/506 in 1970 at whatever the home base we called Phu Bi was called by the Army. I was wandering around and some remf sgt saw me and told me I couldn't wear the jungle hat at this super sized military base. I couldn't believe it. In the field .....or on the small fire bases nobody gave a damn what you wore in the 101st , but I was only in the rear basecamp for a few days.

When I see the beret thing now days for the regular troops I just feel like the military is just pumping some" you are a hero" stuff into the heads of young kids who are just carrying on the perpetual war. Everybody is a hero now days. The press promotes it. Everybody in every support unit that does the tour is a hero......and one tour after another. Sad how things are really, whatever kind of hat anybody wears.

Niner Delta wrote:Just how did you get "lazy buggers" out of uncomfortable and worthless
After having read the whole article, I can see why they weren't too happy with them.
More likely they just didn't want look like "Monty", and I don't blame them.

Vern.

Bet you have been waiting for this Just got to look at em Vern, they mostly look like an unmade honeymoon bed the morning after to me
I still wear my beret on Remembrance Day Parade and proud to do so. I never liked peaked hats and certainly not the sort as shown here
http://www.galaxyarmynavy.com/galaxy_ar ... s_caps.asp

We still use the Cavalry Stetson, but for special occasions. This was a change of command ceremony last spring.

Nice picture; three generations?

No. My grandson, myself, and the new squadron CO.