Why is the boonie cap so demonized in the army?

HISTORY OF THE FIELD AKA BOONIE HAT. IN 1904 THE US ARMY WAS PREPARING TO GO THE PHILLIPINES TO FIGHT THE MORO'S. IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE TROPICS A BRIMMED HAT WAS NEEDED, NOT THE CAMPAIGN HAT WORN BY THE NCO'S. IN 1904 A HAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE US ARMY.EXAMPLES CAN BE SEEN IN PICTURES OF THE MORO FIGHTS AND IN THE NEW ARMY MUSEUM. THE KICKER IS THAT ABOUT 1912 THE USMC WAS PLANNING ON THE CENTRAL AMERICAN CAMPAIGN TO TAKE THE MEXICAN PORT OF VERA CRUZ AND NEEDED A MORE SUITABLE HAT THAN THE CURRENT MC CAP. WITH NO OR FUNDS TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN "BOONIE" HAT THEY WENT TO THE ARMY QM AND PURCHASED THE 1904 FIELD HAT, ADDED A GLOBE AND ANCHOR PIN TO THE FRONT TO BECOME THE FIRST FIELD (BOONIE) HAT, HERE AGAIN DIFFERENT FROM THE PEAKED CAMPAIGN HAT THE NCO'S ALREADY HAD. I GOT INTERESTED IN THIS HAT FROM THE PICTURE POSTCARDS MY GRANDFATHER SENT HOME DURING AND AFTER THE CA CAMPAIGN OF AROUND 1914. THE SMITHSONISUM HAS PUBLISHED A BOOK SHOWING THE MC LABELED HAT. THE WAY THE FIELD HAT WAS CRUSHED AND WORN WOULD SEND ANY GARRISON TYPE INTO FITS, WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH THE STORY OF THE VN BOONIE HAT. THE NEW US ARMY MUSEUM SHOWS SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF THE 1904 HAT IN USE THROUGH WWI. A ORIGINAL GOES FOR $3500 ON EBAY, CLOSE COMMERICAL REPLICA GOES FOR LESS THAN $50 ON AMAZON FOR REENACTORS.

It doesn't fit the trim look, looks disheveled. Same as the wash and wear were then someone up the chain thought they should be starched.

I wore the boonie cap in Nam when we didn't have to wear the steel pot. We loved it. On another matter, I'm glad that I ETSed in 1971 and never had to wear the stupid beret. It should be specific to the Green Beret special forces, It makes the rest of the army look like a bunch of French mimes.

Boonie hats inherently represent an undiscipline image (in my opinion) that many senior NCOs tended to agree with in my full career. That agreement probably developed in the NCO training environment with decades of disciple and history associated with it.
The boonie hat has its places in the military world and life... particularly the jungles of the world (Vietnam, South and Central America...etc), which it was designed for and that's why it was called a JUNGLE HAT, and on occasion in the deserts of the world. But in the base cantonment environment on most posts/forts/camps around the world, that image is magnified when compared to the traditional symmetrical hats and covers of multiple shapes and forms.
With no disrespect, I'm guessing your career expands approximately 12 to 15 years or so which would bring you to the mid-2000's time frame or so. This is a different era compared to back in the 50s, 60s and 70s, and with some respect the early 80s, when starch was king, and when the boonie hat had its origins (first issued in 1967), the floppy sides and irregular shape made it a direct attack against the starch military world that existed at the time. Even in the early 90s when Desert Storm was the dominate event, the desert boonie hat had it's opponents. I was a young SSG at the time and worn one (Australian style with one side pinned to the top) but still heard my share of grief over wearing that hat.
But when i became a SFC and 1SG, my vision of the boonie "matured" because of the discipline I had to maintain with the troops. Again, as noted previously, this was based on educational knowledge I picked up from the NCO academies I had attended and were instructed by the OLD GUARD NCOS.
Even now as a retired CSM, I still believe the boonie hat has its place in the field, bivouac sites and jungles and deserts of the world. Just not a fan of wearing the boonie hat in the "civil" world of the base or post.
Hope that helps provides a vision of what a relic of the past tends to see when I see a boonie hat.

Respectfully
Bob S
CSM (R)

To me the Boonie hat is not demonized, just as the PC everyone wants to wear the hat their way and the unit just wants you to put it on and wear it no shaping or fluffing it. The beret is another piece of head gear that seems to be demonized by the command. The next time you see a soldier in a B or P hat or beret look at how its shaped, there are many ways to wear them but only one way that they were meant to be worn.

This is just a guess, but I'm guessing that it's because in the "eyes" of the Army, it's not "uni-form" - the shape of each individual hat varies from the manner in which it's donned by each individual wearer. "Function" or "utility" bear no importance in this consideration - it's all about their "not looking identical". (I started out in the Army, so I feel that I have a valid opinion in this regard.)

55 years later I still wear one. Whether fishing, boating, gardening and even shooting skeet in the summer. Baseball caps are for covering my bald spot LOL.

I wore a BDU pattern boonie hat during Desert Storm, until I was issued 3 tone DCU the switched over. None really cared one way or the other, but we also didn't have an excess of SGM running around trying to make sure we remembered them.
I have been on sever rotations to hit climates, and not had anyone say anything, but nobody invades the motor pool looking for infractions.

I wore one in Nam 1969 USMC Recon and Desert Strom Ron Retired Military

I got out of the Army when we were still issued rocks and slingshots. We got a choice of one fatigue-appropriate hat: baseball cap. There were no berets, no high-tech helmets and no boonie caps.
so I am obviously in no position to seriously comment on headgear except one: if the Army now has idiots worrying about headgear under combat conditions...we got too many idiots. Your job is to kill bad guys--not stroll in a straight line, polish belt buckles and make boots shiny. If your command can dance in the Sugarplum chorus line, y0u are a screwed up idiot. If they can swim up a sewer and bitew a bad guy's butthole off, I'll gladly buy you--and them--a beer.

Never noticed anyone having a problem with them when we were out in the field.

Boonie hats in field works well as camo, as it breaks up the outline of head and face

I think that the real issue is that during training or a deployment, it shouldn’t matter what headgear you wear unless it’s a safety issue- plain and simple. I’m not saying to whip out a ball cap, but if there’s no regulatory issue with boonie caps, politely tell the naysayers to bugger off. I wasn’t a fan of the boonie but in Iraq, it was totally practical. Hell, there’s still folks who can’t or refuse to wear their PCs and berets properly.

Not sure why these old posts keep popping up but I enjoy reading other folks’ replies. 1SG Healy’s response is pure gold.

For the same reason that the Cap, Cold Weather. Local Commands want it worn one way and so can never be worn as it was designed to be worn sometime around the Korean War.

I wore the boonie hat when deployed in '72. Seemed to work! When I deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan in '06 ... I just didn't like the way it looked and didn't wear it. It certainly had its place and I d never say anything to a troop that was wearing it correctly and in-country ... wear it any way you want it!

I wore one in Desert Storm, it was the main headgear issued. Well, technically, we changed into them on the flight over from the STORM. We had to look like the media had been portraying us over there. Truth is, they didn’t have enough uniforms to equip us, then when they did, they didn’t want us to “dirty” them up before the public saw us. If I was to give an answer to your question, I would be surmising. I really, in my humble opinion believe how Hollywood has used them in many of their fantasy creations, it’s put a bad taste in some peoples minds. Also, when I did see them on people, it was like me or two people and not the whole unit. Kinda skylights a person. I still have a problem with berets. They were reserved for “special” units, and not everyone ( myself included) is “special”. Just like the combat patch and the CIB. Just in my humble opinion of the military caving and giving everyone a trophy

I am a Vietnam veteran and an Air Force retiree. We in the Air Force didn't wear the boonie hat in Vietnam, but I have one and I love it for civilian wear. When I was in 'Nam a lot of our Army brethren--enlisted--chose the boonie for obvious reasons: It fits in a pocket, looks pretty good and is very practical in a bush environment. If I were under fire I think I would rather wear a helmet but I would probably be too busy taking cover to pay much attention. Don't know why the Army doesn't love it too. I guess they like the beret better.

1 reason is back when the bdus were still around. And we had to press them, starch them, polish boots. The army wanted a professional appearance. Crisp, clean look. The boonie doesn't have that. While we changed uniforms that were more field oriented not having to press them or shine boots. The army wanted to keep the professional mentality so the boonie was shunned still.
Just 1 perspective from an old soldier.

I suppose it’s a Solider thing. It is a Sun hat! Marines wear them in the field and in country. They are also totally beyond awesome for making your personal Ghillie cap. I highly doubt an experienced combat leader would have issues with you wearing it. But then again, I am speaking from a Marine’s perspective.

Don't have an answer but would like to make a few observations: In the field it's much easier to hear when wearing a boonie cap vs. a steel pot especially in the jungle; a boonie cap is lighter than a steel pot and it also absorbs sweat. Understand that the modern helmet is lighter than the steel pot but still heavier than a boonie cap.