Earning it: A complete history of Army berets and who's allowed to wear them

I do know and have made it an extreme hobby to know. This article and its title are click bait and feel good propaganda. The article IS NOT the rest of the story about berets and our Army.
Part of this and the controversy surrounding it is being caused by the 'Stolen Valor' BS getting out of hand and caused by soldiers that should be keeping their mouths shut.

What is interesting is that the article would have been better served if they had quoted this instead of the statement that it makes:
"In the 1970s, Army policy allowed local commanders to encourage morale-enhancing uniform distinctions, and the use of berets boomed. Armor personnel at Fort Knox, Ky., wore the traditional British black beret, while U.S. armored cavalry regiments in Germany wore the black beret with a red and white oval.

Troops of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., started wearing the maroon beret in 1973, while at Fort Campbell, Ky., the trend exploded, with post personnel wearing red, military police donning light green, and the 101st Airborne Division taking light blue as their color. In Alaska, the 172nd Infantry Brigade began using an olive green beret.

In 1975, the Airborne Rangers got approval from the Army Chief of Staff to use the black beret as their official headgear.

Over the next few years, the whole thing got out of hand, and in 1979 senior Army officials put on the brakes, Bradford said. The leadership allowed the Rangers to keep their black berets and in 1980, agreed to allow airborne troops to continue wearing the maroon version. But all others varieties were declared off-limits."

In the one picture, the coloring does not do justice to the actual color of the beret, which happens to be OD Green for those of you that do not know (think old Army OD Green wool blankets). The soldier pictured was assigned to the 1st Battalion 60th Infantry 172d Infantry Brigade. Anyway, at the time you would not mistake these soldiers as being SF.

And for those of you that do not know; LTG Yarborough is either directly or indirectly responsible for a significant number of uniform and heraldic items worn today by Airborne, Ranger, and SF soldiers.

To throw something else in the mix, the Air Force has been wearing berets since the 1970's. Berets are authorized for what the Air Force considers "combat" AFSC's (MOS).

Black - Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) and Air Liaison Officers (ALO).
Maroon - Combat Rescue Officers and Pararescue (PJs)
Red (scarlet) - Combat Controllers & Special Tactics Officers
Dark Blue - Security Forces
Grey - Special Operations Weather Technician
Green - Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Specialists

I believe that at one, US Navy riverine forces also wore berets.

I have never seen a Marine in a beret. Maybe one day they too will jump on the beret band wagon.

Me (caught yawning) wearing black beret 1976 or so.