South Vietnam (defunct)
Beret of Vietnam
Red — Paratroopers
US Army advisers to Vietnamese airborne forces
wore the Vietnamese maroon beret during the Vietnam War.
Green — Marines
Brown — Rangers
Black or Green — Special Forces
Black — Palace Guards
Tan — Political Officers
Black Beret
Maroon Beret
In 1943 Frederick Browning, commander of the
British First Airborne Corps, granted a battalion of the
US Army's 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment honorary
membership in the British Parachute Regiment and
authorized them to wear British maroon berets.
US Army advisers to Vietnamese airborne forces wore the
Vietnamese maroon beret during the Vietnam War.
Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA)
policy from 1973 through 1979 permitted local
commanders to encourage morale-enhancing
distinctions and airborne forces chose to wear
the maroon international parachute beret as a
mark of distinction. This permission was rescinded
when in 1979 the army introduced a policy of
standardized headgear, but on 28 November 1980
permission was given for airborne organizations
to wear the maroon beret.
Brown Beret
Blue Beret
White Beret
Berets were originally worn by elite forces in the United States Army.
Hence, there was controversy when in 2001 the United States Army adopted the black beret, previously reserved for the Rangers, as standard headgear for all army units. The Rangers are now distinguished by tan berets.
The United States Army Special Forces are generally known as "green berets" for the color of their headgear. Soldiers in special operations units wear distinctive organizational flashes while conventional forces soldiers wear a pale blue flash with thirteen white stars.
United States Army units can be distinguished by the color of their berets, as follows:
Jungle green — Special Forces and JFK Special Warfare School (Only Special Forces Tab Soldiers Under the branch of US Army Special Operations)
Tan — 75th Ranger Regiment and Ranger Training Brigade
Maroon — paratroopers and all other Airborne units except 101st Airborne as well as other special operators (Civil Affairs, PSYOP) on jump status or under an airborne unit. Soldiers do not have to be jump qualified to wear the maroon beret
Black — all other Army units
The wearing of berets in the United States Air Force is less common, but several career fields are authorized to wear berets of specific colors, as specified in the following list:
Scarlet Red — Combat Controllers
Maroon— Pararescue
Black — Security Forces
Royal Blue — United States Air Force Academy first class cadets (seniors) and cadet cadre
Black berets are authorized as an optional-wear item for women E1-E9 in the United States Navy.
THE ARMY BLACK BERET
The Army must change to maintain its relevance for the evolving strategic environment. To provide our Nation strategic options for mastering the complexity of that environment, The Army committed, in its Vision a year ago, that "as technology allows, we will begin to erase the distinctions between heavy and light forces." In the United States Army, the beret has become a symbol of excellence of our specialty units. Soldiers of the Special Forces, our airborne units, and the Ranger Regiment have long demonstrated such excellence through their legendary accomplishments and unmatched capabilities. Their deployability, versatility, and agility are due, in part, to their organizational structure and equipment. But more significant is their adaptiveness, which keeps them ready to take on any mission, anytime, anyplace.
Today, the distinctive emblem of these units is the wear of the beret. But, over the past 50 years, berets have been worn by a variety of Army formations--airborne, armor, cavalry, infantry, ranger, special forces, and others. The black beret was being worn by formations Army-wide, when it was approved by the Army for wear by the Ranger Regiment in 1975. Today, it remains one of our symbols of excellence in The Army as reflected by its wear in the Ranger Regiment.
We are transforming today's most powerful Army in the world from a Cold War Legacy Force to an Objective Force with early entry capabilities that can operate jointly, without access to fixed forward bases, and still have the power to slug it out and win campaigns decisively (Intent, June 1999). This Transformation will correct the condition in today's Legacy Force where our heavy forces are too heavy, and our light forces lack staying power. To master this strategic transition and to establish the parameters for decisiveness in the 21st century, The Army must become adaptive to be strategically responsive and dominant across the entire spectrum of military operations.
To symbolize The Army's commitment to transforming itself into the Objective Force, The Army will adopt the black beret for wear Army-wide. It is not about increasing recruiting; we achieved our recruiting target of 180,000 recruits last year--without a beret. It is not about retention; for the second year in a row, we exceeded our reenlistment goal by a wide margin--without a beret. It is not about morale; Soldiers are ready today to go into harm's way. It is about our excellence as Soldiers, our unity as a force, and our values as an institution.
Effective 14 June 2001, the first Army birthday in the new millennium, the black beret will become standard wear in The Army--Active and Reserve Components. Sergeant Major of the Army Tilley will lead the effort to craft implementing guidelines, including indoctrination standards that all Soldiers will meet before they are authorized to wear the beret. Special operations and airborne units will retain their distinctive berets.
Soldiers remain the centerpiece of our formation. We will march into the next millennium as The Army--the strategic joint force of choice for the 21st century.
SHINSEKI
Information & Plaques
Courtesy of The Institute of Heraldry
&
United States Army!!
