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Rangers' Tan Beret STILL Not Safe... Everyone Gets to Wear It
Text of the memo:
MEMORANDUM FOR 75th Ranger Regiment, 6420 Dawson Loop, Fort Benning,
Georgia 31905
SUBJECT: Request to expand assignments authorized to wear the Tan Beret
1. Your request for expansion of assignments that authorize the wearing of the Tan
Beret is approved.
2. The Tan Beret is authorized for wear in the following assignments: Headquarters
elements of Combatant Commands, The Joint Staff, Department of the Army
Headquarters, U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Special Operations
Command, U.S. Special Operations Command Joint Task Force, Theater Special
Operations Command, and Joint Special Operations Command.
3. The Tan Beret is authorized for Ranger-qualified Soldiers in the above listed
assignments if they previously served in the 75th Ranger Regiment and departed on
honorable terms. Soldiers authorized to wear the Tan Beret who are assigned to an
organization without an approved flash will wear the Headquarters 75th Ranger
Regiment flash. The 75th Ranger Regiment is the sole proponent for validation of prior
service on honorable terms.
4. A copy of this memorandum has been provided to The Institute of Heraldry for
historical reference.
5. Should you or your staff have questions concerning this action, please contact SGM
Anthony J. Moore, Uniform Policy Branch at [login to see] .
Text of the memo:
MEMORANDUM FOR 75th Ranger Regiment, 6420 Dawson Loop, Fort Benning,
Georgia 31905
SUBJECT: Request to expand assignments authorized to wear the Tan Beret
1. Your request for expansion of assignments that authorize the wearing of the Tan
Beret is approved.
2. The Tan Beret is authorized for wear in the following assignments: Headquarters
elements of Combatant Commands, The Joint Staff, Department of the Army
Headquarters, U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Special Operations
Command, U.S. Special Operations Command Joint Task Force, Theater Special
Operations Command, and Joint Special Operations Command.
3. The Tan Beret is authorized for Ranger-qualified Soldiers in the above listed
assignments if they previously served in the 75th Ranger Regiment and departed on
honorable terms. Soldiers authorized to wear the Tan Beret who are assigned to an
organization without an approved flash will wear the Headquarters 75th Ranger
Regiment flash. The 75th Ranger Regiment is the sole proponent for validation of prior
service on honorable terms.
4. A copy of this memorandum has been provided to The Institute of Heraldry for
historical reference.
5. Should you or your staff have questions concerning this action, please contact SGM
Anthony J. Moore, Uniform Policy Branch at [login to see] .
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Posted from milsuite.mil
Beret
Uniforms
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
6
6
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Part of me wants to say that wearing it outside of the regiment isn't right. At the same time the memo does state that you have to have served in the Regiment and it's limited to SOCs, the Pentagon, and Combatant commands. I'm a little iffy on the combatant command decision unless the individual is in some sort of SF liaison position or something like that.
Ultimately I don't have the tab so I guess my opinion on the matter doesn't really hold any water. I've got nothing but respect for most of those SOF guys.
Ultimately I don't have the tab so I guess my opinion on the matter doesn't really hold any water. I've got nothing but respect for most of those SOF guys.
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This is one of the Army's biggest problems - egoism and hats. The idea that any unit needs a special hat to be special strikes everyone outside the Army as absolutely silly. But heh, you whined about how special you are and got a special hat to prove it! Good for you! Getting into the 75th is not easy ... and it will show up on your ERB/ORB for the rest of your life!
Now that you have your special hat, I guess the best thing to do with it is to make sure EVERYONE knows about your special hat! And really, what does wearing this special hat mean when you are serving in something outside the special hat unit? That you once served in the special hat unit? So 19 years ago, when you were a lieutenant, you served in a unit that authorized special hats ... at a tactical level, and now wearing your special hat makes you super qualified to work at the strategic level? The last special hat guy I worked for liked to write about squads ... not exactly strategic stuff we need LTC's and higher thinking about at the Combatant Command level (sounds more like FORSCOM?)
When we start caring more about headgear than actual standards and merit, that is a bad sign for the overall health of an organization. Having worked at the CC level, which are joint assignments, the 'special hat' kind of guys can be problematic when they lack the humbleness to work with, much less actually appreciate, guys that ... oh, drive hundred million dollar fighter jets (some of whom land them on carriers in the middle of the ocean), the SAMS guys (who don't get special hats for some reason?) the strategic planners, the General Officers, the Chiefs of Staff (and you want to talk about someone who has earned a special hat?), the lawyers (many of whom can argue cases at the Supreme Court, not at east bar to pass), the little IT guys that keep gobs of information flowing around the world, etc. etc. etc. Hell, I am still waiting for the lowly lab techs that got sent to Liberia to test for Ebola in the middle of epidemic to get a special hat ... odd that the Army does not seem to appreciate their contribution?
It's one Army. Ranger Regiment fits neatly in a much bigger picture, and would not have any place without reference to that bigger picture. Maybe they should stop worrying about hats, and stay focused on killing bad guys - because its the later that wins wars ... not special hats. Lets hope Rangers care more about being Rangers than they do about silly hats (because a tab and distinctive scroll just aren't enough, not too mention your own 'branch' at Army HRC) we need a hat the rest of the Army rejected and can't even shade your eyes from the sun ... nothing says elite like a complete lack of functionality - especially at the strategic level!
Seriously, the last time someone outside the Army even considered wearing a beret was when Prince was signing about his Raspberry beret. No one outside the Army cares a whit about your special hat, so why is it so important to people ... no longer in Ranger Regiment? Serving in Joint Commands, where the distinction between the 82nd Airborne and the 75th is about as well appreciated as the differences between flying an F16 vs. an F18.
Best stop the whole Capstone thing, the Harvard Fellowships, etc. special hats will save America from strategic malaise? Honestly, whomever cannot hang up the 'hat' when they walked away from Ranger Regiment may want to examine why it is they think everyone in the Army needs to know, at the absolute earliest, that they worked in Ranger Regimentt? Why is this something that the Army should be wasting time and effort on? Hats? Can we think of better way to tell the Army you have nothing to offer but what you ALREADY did? That your wartime contribution was expanding the places where you can wear a special hat? I am sure that is sending shudders down both the Taliban and Putin's spines as they read that strategically shattering news that Rangers will ... well, they have always been in Combatant Commands ... but now they will wear their hats to prove it!
Seriously? More special hats equates to Afghanistan suddenly getting better? Is this what I want my 17 year old boy to sign up for? An organization devoted to special hats rather than rigorous training and excellence in combat? This is the Army at its worst, pandering to fashion and elitism rather than results.
We need Rangers, not special hats. Hopefully the 75th remembers that (and its mission in relation to the overall mission: delivering victory for our country) ... as well as the rest of the Army. If you are wasting time on hats at a time when the Army is involved in conflict all over the world, you may want to ask what it is you are not worrying about that you should be worried about.
Now that you have your special hat, I guess the best thing to do with it is to make sure EVERYONE knows about your special hat! And really, what does wearing this special hat mean when you are serving in something outside the special hat unit? That you once served in the special hat unit? So 19 years ago, when you were a lieutenant, you served in a unit that authorized special hats ... at a tactical level, and now wearing your special hat makes you super qualified to work at the strategic level? The last special hat guy I worked for liked to write about squads ... not exactly strategic stuff we need LTC's and higher thinking about at the Combatant Command level (sounds more like FORSCOM?)
When we start caring more about headgear than actual standards and merit, that is a bad sign for the overall health of an organization. Having worked at the CC level, which are joint assignments, the 'special hat' kind of guys can be problematic when they lack the humbleness to work with, much less actually appreciate, guys that ... oh, drive hundred million dollar fighter jets (some of whom land them on carriers in the middle of the ocean), the SAMS guys (who don't get special hats for some reason?) the strategic planners, the General Officers, the Chiefs of Staff (and you want to talk about someone who has earned a special hat?), the lawyers (many of whom can argue cases at the Supreme Court, not at east bar to pass), the little IT guys that keep gobs of information flowing around the world, etc. etc. etc. Hell, I am still waiting for the lowly lab techs that got sent to Liberia to test for Ebola in the middle of epidemic to get a special hat ... odd that the Army does not seem to appreciate their contribution?
It's one Army. Ranger Regiment fits neatly in a much bigger picture, and would not have any place without reference to that bigger picture. Maybe they should stop worrying about hats, and stay focused on killing bad guys - because its the later that wins wars ... not special hats. Lets hope Rangers care more about being Rangers than they do about silly hats (because a tab and distinctive scroll just aren't enough, not too mention your own 'branch' at Army HRC) we need a hat the rest of the Army rejected and can't even shade your eyes from the sun ... nothing says elite like a complete lack of functionality - especially at the strategic level!
Seriously, the last time someone outside the Army even considered wearing a beret was when Prince was signing about his Raspberry beret. No one outside the Army cares a whit about your special hat, so why is it so important to people ... no longer in Ranger Regiment? Serving in Joint Commands, where the distinction between the 82nd Airborne and the 75th is about as well appreciated as the differences between flying an F16 vs. an F18.
Best stop the whole Capstone thing, the Harvard Fellowships, etc. special hats will save America from strategic malaise? Honestly, whomever cannot hang up the 'hat' when they walked away from Ranger Regiment may want to examine why it is they think everyone in the Army needs to know, at the absolute earliest, that they worked in Ranger Regimentt? Why is this something that the Army should be wasting time and effort on? Hats? Can we think of better way to tell the Army you have nothing to offer but what you ALREADY did? That your wartime contribution was expanding the places where you can wear a special hat? I am sure that is sending shudders down both the Taliban and Putin's spines as they read that strategically shattering news that Rangers will ... well, they have always been in Combatant Commands ... but now they will wear their hats to prove it!
Seriously? More special hats equates to Afghanistan suddenly getting better? Is this what I want my 17 year old boy to sign up for? An organization devoted to special hats rather than rigorous training and excellence in combat? This is the Army at its worst, pandering to fashion and elitism rather than results.
We need Rangers, not special hats. Hopefully the 75th remembers that (and its mission in relation to the overall mission: delivering victory for our country) ... as well as the rest of the Army. If you are wasting time on hats at a time when the Army is involved in conflict all over the world, you may want to ask what it is you are not worrying about that you should be worried about.
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SSG(P) (Join to see)
Great assessment, sir. I'm not a Ranger, never have been, never will, so I have no dog in this fight. I just figured it would make for some interesting conversation, and it has. I am currently in the 82nd, and hate wearing the maroon beret, or any beret for that matter. As you pointed out, it lacks any functionality, and in the warmer months, just traps body heat in your head (which is not good for the brain). The "hooah factor" of berets wore off for me about 2 weeks into AIT.
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MAJ Eric Greek
No worries. However, I was on Fort Benning (home of the 75th Ranger Regiment) when the Army adopted the black beret. Considering that Soldiers outside the 75th didn't want to adopt a functionless hat anymore than Ranger Regiment wanted to part with their distinctive hat, I was pretty surprised when elements of the 75th organized a beret burning protest. Some of those engaged were simply prima donnas that any elite units suffers from. Many were people I respected tremendously who were reduced to frothing at the mouth over a silly hat that the people being ordered to wear didn't even want to wear. One side said, "Ranger that four-star general," and the other ... was flipping out - over a hat.
Seeing the Chief of Staff of the Army have to weigh in and waste organizational time an energy quashing a silly hat protest, and the reversal of support for beret burning to adamant condemnation by ambitious officers (after the Chief weighed in) and destruction caused all around ... I can't think of many things that have wasted more pointless time than ... hats.
Seeing it leaves an impression.
Why the same emotive nonsense continues to exist over a hat? At the Combatant Command level, you are talking about incredibly complex regional issues that require coordination with a culturally distinct countries and organizations (NGO's, US Aide, DOS, etc.), a grasp of the full elements of state power, cultural nuances, and not only is Ranger Regiment not exactly the best cauldron of preparation for success at that level (being among the most tactically proficient warriors in history, i.e. good at killing, doesn't really tell us how to stop the Iranian Guards Quds force from exploiting transnational smuggling and fanning the flames of sectarian rivalry - its a very different problem set and the skills to solve those problems are not the same), showing up in a hat that says, "I am special," immediately sends the wrong message to everyone involved at that level who is left bewildered as to why some guy is walking around with hat that is apparently more important than nucs in North Korea.
None of the NGO's, for example, I worked with ever expressed any interest in what Ranger Regiment had to say about any given issue (its all one Army to them). They were very interested in our logistical and intelligence capabilities. So why are we focused on headgear? At all? This was a solved issue ... and I certainly haven't encountered anything in current or future operations that would drive a re-exaimnation of hats at such a critical time in our nation's history.
Seeing the Chief of Staff of the Army have to weigh in and waste organizational time an energy quashing a silly hat protest, and the reversal of support for beret burning to adamant condemnation by ambitious officers (after the Chief weighed in) and destruction caused all around ... I can't think of many things that have wasted more pointless time than ... hats.
Seeing it leaves an impression.
Why the same emotive nonsense continues to exist over a hat? At the Combatant Command level, you are talking about incredibly complex regional issues that require coordination with a culturally distinct countries and organizations (NGO's, US Aide, DOS, etc.), a grasp of the full elements of state power, cultural nuances, and not only is Ranger Regiment not exactly the best cauldron of preparation for success at that level (being among the most tactically proficient warriors in history, i.e. good at killing, doesn't really tell us how to stop the Iranian Guards Quds force from exploiting transnational smuggling and fanning the flames of sectarian rivalry - its a very different problem set and the skills to solve those problems are not the same), showing up in a hat that says, "I am special," immediately sends the wrong message to everyone involved at that level who is left bewildered as to why some guy is walking around with hat that is apparently more important than nucs in North Korea.
None of the NGO's, for example, I worked with ever expressed any interest in what Ranger Regiment had to say about any given issue (its all one Army to them). They were very interested in our logistical and intelligence capabilities. So why are we focused on headgear? At all? This was a solved issue ... and I certainly haven't encountered anything in current or future operations that would drive a re-exaimnation of hats at such a critical time in our nation's history.
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Considering the list of units, I think that is fair. If said former Ranger transfers to a signal brigade - the beret goes away. It's not like they can wear it in ANY assignment. I imagine Special Forces is the same way. But what about 82nd Soldiers? Will the beret follow them as well if they're airborne qualified? What about the blue infantry cord for infantrymen?
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SSG Robert Webster
The Infantry distinctive items are authorized to be worn in similar situations. As an example ROTC and JROTC Instructors, SF soldiers have the same basic allowance for wear of the Green Beret.
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