When is the boonie cap authorized?

It depends on the unit commander. I was never allowed to wear one untill I deployed with 1BCT 82nd Airborne! It was like the berets for when we deployed! We were the only unit and in fact may have been the only brigade to wear them. I remember when I deployed in Afgahnistan 2012 a NCO(E6) from another brigade said it wasn't authorized then he saw another group walking to chow with them on including my 1SG and CO and walked away lol!

So... I have always been a fan of the sun hat (boonie). There are posts like Camp Roberts where the installation CDR took the ability to use the sun hat away from commanders. I just got diagnosed with skin cancer on my nose; carcinoma is caused from sun exposure. I have herd officers say the sun hat does not look professional, I think getting parts of my face cut off looks unprofessional, this is a lack of solider care plain and simple. We went from the stetson to the campaign hat, Brodie helmet all of them blocked the sun well. Post 911 I had to pull gate guard in a damn beret for 12 hours at a time for months. sun block is not the answer.

You know what's funny, when our unit first deployed in 2010 we were in Kuwait running convoy security missions up north through K crossing, and the first thing that the CSM puts out when we got in Country was, "I don't want to see anybody wearing that Booney hat's"?
What can I say, it wasn't more then a week after the CSM put that out that the medical officer went and paid the Colonel a visit

It was the uniform at JOTC in Ft Sherman Panama.

Logic isn’t something often used in the Army. I’m glad you let your guys use them.

Wish it was authorized all the time.

Used to hate them, thought they were a stupid affectation.

Then I wore one in Iraq. We were told two weeks before we left that we had to wear patrol caps again. I carried a patrol cap in one pocket, and wore the boonie anyway.

Doc says, "Protect them ears! That sun will melt them right off your head!" I believe him here in ND.

Uniform is up to the Commander

I remember wearing it in Central and South America, Philippines, and North Africa. When we were training in Panama, we wore P Caps.

Will never be authorized in my battalion even if it was 150 out