Posted on Jun 24, 2014
What do the different color berets in the Army signify?
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So this is more of a question for my army brothers than it is a discussion. I am curious to know what the colors mean.
Thanks Wags
Thanks Wags
Beret
Uniforms
Special Forces
Army
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 143
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Since June 14, 2001, the black beret is worn by all United States Army troops unless the soldier is approved to wear a different distinctive beret. In the U.S. Army there are four approved distinctive berets: Maroon, tan, brown, and green.
In 2011, the Army replaced the black wool beret with the patrol cap as the default headgear for the Army Combat Uniform.
The maroon beret has been adopted as official headdress by the Airborne forces as a symbol of their unique capabilities, the tan beret by the 75th Ranger Regiment, the brown beret by the Security Force Assistance Brigades, and the green beret by the Special Forces.
In 1943 General Frederick Browning, commander of the British First Airborne Corps, granted a battalion of the U.S. Army's 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment honorary membership in the British Parachute Regiment and authorized them to wear British-style maroon berets. During the Vietnam War, U.S. military advisers to Vietnamese airborne units often wore the Vietnamese French-style red beret.
HQDA policy from 1973 through 1979 permitted local commanders to encourage morale-enhancing distinctions. Airborne forces chose to wear the maroon beret as a mark of distinction. This permission was rescinded in 1979 when the army Chief of Staff, GEN Bernard Rogers, required all units to adhere to the uniform regulation (AR 670-1). On 28 November 1980, the updated regulation authorized airborne (parachute) organizations to resume wearing the maroon beret. In the interim, airborne units wore baseball caps with silver wings and the oval flash above the rank badge with the fatigue uniform, and the overseas cap with glider and parachute patch with the dress green uniform.
In 2011, the Army replaced the black wool beret with the patrol cap as the default headgear for the Army Combat Uniform.
The maroon beret has been adopted as official headdress by the Airborne forces as a symbol of their unique capabilities, the tan beret by the 75th Ranger Regiment, the brown beret by the Security Force Assistance Brigades, and the green beret by the Special Forces.
In 1943 General Frederick Browning, commander of the British First Airborne Corps, granted a battalion of the U.S. Army's 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment honorary membership in the British Parachute Regiment and authorized them to wear British-style maroon berets. During the Vietnam War, U.S. military advisers to Vietnamese airborne units often wore the Vietnamese French-style red beret.
HQDA policy from 1973 through 1979 permitted local commanders to encourage morale-enhancing distinctions. Airborne forces chose to wear the maroon beret as a mark of distinction. This permission was rescinded in 1979 when the army Chief of Staff, GEN Bernard Rogers, required all units to adhere to the uniform regulation (AR 670-1). On 28 November 1980, the updated regulation authorized airborne (parachute) organizations to resume wearing the maroon beret. In the interim, airborne units wore baseball caps with silver wings and the oval flash above the rank badge with the fatigue uniform, and the overseas cap with glider and parachute patch with the dress green uniform.
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You should have been around in '75.They were seriously considering berets for everyone with the color based on their branch color.Could you imagine a division online with all that B.S.on their head..
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Biggest mistake the Army Every made
Beret should be Airbone/Air Assault only
Beret should be Airbone/Air Assault only
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Black is standard issue, Maroon/wine is Airborne, Green Special Forces, Khaki is Rangers
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Ahhh found the "stupidity". The new "Advisor", or Security Forces Assistance Brigade, brown beret
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MAJ (Join to see)
The new SFAB beret looks truly terrible. It's useless in the field, which is especially ironic for a unit that is supposed to spend its time training foreign armies in God-forsaken locales. The only utility of a beret is that it's easier to stow than a dress cover. The only utility of this particular beret is that it won't need to be washed for an entire rotation, since it looks filthy already.
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SGT Joshua Bressel
You ain't just whistling Dixie, brother! It's SHIT BROWN! If you want to EARN a beret, that means something, go to the Q-course, and EARN a Green Beret! Otherwise, throw that shit brown cap in the latrine, where it belongs, don your Kevlar, or boonie, as needed IN THE FIELD, and soldier on, SOLDIER!
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SGT Joshua Bressel
Major, that's why you keep NCOs and Medics around, and I was both! We keep you honest! There's a reason why, despite my career being cut short, by a grenade, why, after 12 years, I only made it to E-5. I said shit like that. The only regrets I have, though, are the comrades who didn't make it home. As an Airborne Ranger, I wore the tan beret, after I reclassed, and became a special operations combat medic, I wore the maroon. It was never about a goofy hat, for me, or I would've gone to the Q-course. It was about saving lives, which I discovered, I was meant to do, rather than take them. I went to combat medic, SOCM, flight medic, ALS, and every medical course available, NONE of which gave me a badge, or ribbon, or distinctive device. What they gave me, was the knowledge, that when I heard that scream, "MEDIC", I would be ready, I would be "Doc", and I would bring them home. I was wounded, and ended my career, covering my casualty, when a grenade landed next to us. He lived. He has a wife, and 3 kids. I'd do it again. I wouldn't hesitate.
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