Change That Beret, Soldier

[Heliport]

From Defence Helicopter

US Army Aviation: Change That Beret, Soldier
The following memo was issued by the current head of Army Aviation who is being promoted to another job. From: Curran, John M., MG

Subject: headgear

Commanders,

Our Army and Soldiers are at WAR. As such, effective immediately, The Aviation Center will discontinue the wear of various colored Flight Class hats. The Aviation center will adopt the Army Standard headgear which most accurately reflects the mindset of a deployed and mobilized Army. The headgear for all initial entry Soldiers is the BDU cap and the beret for those having completed initial entry instruction. Commanders will execute within you own formations with a not later completion date of 19 December.

We are all clearly members of the Army's Team. Our formations reflect the attitudes and values of our Brotheren on the front line.

John M, Curran

CG, USAAVNC

Reassuring to know the top brass are spending time thinking about really important issues.

[SASless]

To the unknowing....

The concept of a color specific ball cap for Warrant Officer Candidates cannot be overstated. That color, connotes the company you are in...the phase of training you are in is known to all by that color...unit cohesiveness...espirit...all is contained in that simple piece of headgear. Part of the training used to be dedicated to developing that "Do or Die" bonding that is so essential to combat helicopter flying that US Army Aviation is known for. Hit the VHPA web site (vhpa.org) and sample it and other linked sites to read about that spirit as demonstrated in the Vietnam Era Army pilots.

Needless to say...this old dog decrys the PC movement that now infests our Army's commanders.

Big Orange....my color and his spirit lives on. That is a story in and of itself which can be told over a beer sometime.;) ;) ;)

[Gomer Pylot]

I wore a purple hat. There was a war going on then, too, or was that just the Southeast Asia war games to MG Curran? Idiots abound, both in the military and in politics, and thus it ever was and shall be.

[Marc Tower]

I was Gold Flight...and I think MG Curan's decree will have an effect opposite what he intended. The 'all-for-one-one-for-all' attitude starts in the small unit.

[RDRickster]

No doubt that Espirit de Corp is key for small unit cohesion. That said, this is a small impact to the unit. Beans, Bullets, Bandaids, Bugle Call (mail), and Booty Call (liberty) will affect the moral more than anything else. It boils down to how you define moral.

I define it as the willingness or ethusiasm to do the job. Does anyone really want to be there? Hell no. However, if you told a trooper that you'd like him/her to volunteer for another tour, but that they'd have to do it without their organizational head gear, I doubt you would find a single soul that would refuse.

Soldiers love to bit#h... it a God given right. Nevertheless, haven't you ever noticed that the troops that bit#h the most are the ones that re-enlist year after year... not to mention that they are usually the hardest working? It's the quiet ones that actually leave the service.

Anyway, the coallition isn't viewed as such. It is considered an "American" force by the rest of the world, and the folks in uniform are under the microscope... now more than ever. There are probably other factors that you and I aren't aware of that affected the General's decision making process.

I've seen my fair share of bull$hit in uniform, but there is also the larger geopolitical scenario that you don't see from the line. Generals go to special schools to learn to deal with the press and other non-sense, but they have to answer to Congress... you don't. I always felt that the modern military was becoming more concerned about what CNN was reporting in their commentary vs. actually taking care of the solder and getting the job done.

Now that I look back, I see that things have gotten much better over the past couple of years. There will always be bull$hit, but it looks like the soldiers aren't getting their hands tied as much as they could be. Count your blessings!

[jayteeto]

It may be over-simplifying things, but the UK forces like to keep people looking (reasonably) uniform to stop important personnel from standing out as 'targets'. Does this rule only count on operations, or does it extend to home base? For years (until recently) we were not allowed to wear uniform off base in case IRA terrorists had a go!!

[B Sousa]

YELLOW HATS (ORWAC 70-28)

[SASless]

Rickster,

Hat of many colors...other than olive green...you are mixing issues just a bit here.

Color specific caps in US Army Flight Training and geopolitical psycho-babble are not related topics. How our Soldiers, Marines, and Airmen are viewed by civilians is far less affected by what hat they wear than by the effectiviness of their weapons and performance in combat.

The shameful decision to assign the Black Beret to the entire Army at the expense of the Rangers who have earned the right to the unique headgear is another example of misguided command thinking.

We need "elite" troops for specialized missions that require the very best personnel. Symbols of that excellence need to be preserved as traditions. These "special" troops deserve to stand out from the rest of the mob...just another case of dumbing down the Army.

Individual initiative is what has set the American military apart from so many of the enemies we have defeated. We need to foster an environment that rewards that. Special headgear is just one way of doing it.

A byproduct of that "think inside the box" mindset being put upon the Army today....one can only look at the absence of sandbags on unarmored wheeled vehicles in Iraq and the subsequent casualties that we continue to take. The installation of "field expediency" homemade armor is banned by the very mind set I describe. Look at the photographs of the SF troopers riding horses and ATV's in Afghanistan....try to get the "regular" Army to embrace that concept of thinking outside the box. We have the Stryker Brigade in development at Ft. Lewis, Washington....wheeled armored vehicles that the Marine Corps has been using for ages....just now are they sending any of them to combat in Iraq. Well after the serious fighting is over...and young troops are dying in their thin skinned vehicles.

No...I prefer to have folks that want to stand apart from the mob....and they need to be identified for all to see by means of uniforms and accessories to include headgear.

[[email protected]]

Sasless, I am afraid you are right - the whole concept of having an 'elite' force is wasted on those to whom political correctness is the end game. If there is nothing to aim for, to set your standards by, to aspire to - in normal life as well as in the Forces then we do 'dumb down' everything and accept mediocre as the way forward. How can you 'Be the Best' when the goal posts keep being moved inexorably towards the kicker making the goal too easy to achieve?

[B Sousa]

SASLess is right. When I heard about the Beret change in the Army it made me sick. Some jealous General is trying to make the military as generic as possible.
I never was a member of Special Forces, but knew many who were. They dam well earned the right to be seperate and elite.

[RDRickster]

Gentleman,

I was going to postpone my response until after Christmas, but I guess it can't wait. I think my message was taken the wrong way, or more was read between the lines. You see, I completely agree with you about organization head gear... I was one of the few wearing a beret YEARS before it became standard issue for the rest of the Army. That decision turned my stomach and somewhat cheapened my previous accomplishments.

Nevertheless, I still feel that this decision has a minor impact on the troops in the field. As SASless points out, there are MANY more pressing matters that require attention. I like to think I've become more open minded, and I would submit that it is a little nieve to think that perceptions aren't important. Perceptions are reality to the public... what I previously classified as "geopolitical considerations." In retrospect, the term I selected was probably a bit overdone.

Finally, I think the troops are doing an unbelievable job in some of the toughest climate/conditions you can imagine. Our government should do more for them, but public perception IS important to our image. It's hard to imagine what they are going through right now, while we sit at home and enjoy Christmas with our families.

God Bless,
Rick

[Red Wine]

The shameful decision to assign the Black Beret to the entire Army at the expense of the Rangers who have earned the right to the unique headgear is another example of misguided command thinking.

Sasless....

You are so correct....and you can bet your bottom Yankee Dollar that that decision was made by Generals that had never been there.

In a previous life, we swam, ran, jumped [crazy], dived, shot, climbed, maimed, detonated, paddled and generally created mayham for others....and all in the hope to wear that elusive Beret...and the colour said it all.

And in Australia there are only two colours......Sandy and Green!!!

[Edited for spelling errors only....geee]

[SASless]

Redwine....

I never qualified for a Beret...did get to chauffer both the Sandy and Green to work in a couple of places in this troubled world. Thereby, learning to have the greatest of respect for those guys.

I work with a very similar group of guys nowadays....very many of whom were Ranger, Recon, Seals, SF, or Combat Controllers in their younger days.