In the 1970s, Army policy allowed local commanders to encourage morale-enhancing uniform distinctions, and the use of berets boomed.

Green Beret (Earn the Green Beret and Special Forces Tab)   "A Symbol of Excellence,  A Badge of Courage,  A Mark of Distinction  In the Fight for Freedom."   President John F. Kennedy   Beret worn by 5th SFG in 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 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 This permission was rescinded when in 1979 the army introduced a policy of standardized headgear, but on 28 November 1980 permission was given for airborne organizations to wear the maroon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.  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!!

A Short History of the Use of Berets in the U.S. Army Green Beret During World War II, US Army Special Forces personnel wore a variety of headgear during their operations as members of special operations units. Those who served with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in Europe often adopted whatever headgear their French or Belgian Resistance compatriots wore. This was often a beret, since many of the OSS teams served in France. The beret, worn in a variety of styles and colors, showed even up on OSS personnel in the Far East. Many of the first members of the US Army 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), formed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in June 1952, were veterans of the OSS. Berets of various types and colors began being worn unofficially as early as 1954 on the unit's field exercises in Germany and at Fort Bragg and Camp Mackall, North Carolina. The color green was favored because it was reminiscent of the World War II British Commando-type beret that had been adopted by the Commandos on 24 October 1942. After testing in 1955, the 77th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg specified, still unofficially, that its soldiers wear a beret of Canadian Army design in rifle green. Special Forces personnel in Europe in the 10th Special Forces Group (A) simultaneously adopted a green beret, even wearing it publicly with the Army class A uniform, despite the lack of official approval. Special Forces troopers first wore the green beret publicly at Fort Bragg during a retirement parade in 1955. In 1957, however, the Fort Bragg post commander banned the wearing of the beret. This ban was reversed on 25 September 1961 by DA Message 578636, which authorized the green beret as the official Army headgear to be worn by Special Forces. The first official wearing of the newly authorized green beret was at a Special Forces demonstration staged for President John F. Kennedy at Fort Bragg on 12 October 1961. President Kennedy was instrumental in the approval by DA of the green beret for US Special Forces. Currently, all Special Forces-qualified soldiers wear the green beret with the authorized flash of their Special Forces Group.   Information & Plaques Courtesy of  The Institute of Heraldry & United States Army!!

Rangers Black Beret   A 'birth' that began with the Korean Conflict was the Ranger "Black Beret." Conceived of in 1951 by then Captain Charles "Pete" Spragins, commander of the 10th Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne, while training with the 11th Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) at Camp Carson, Colorado, the beret's color was symbolic of much of the Ranger training and combat which took place in the hours of darkness. The Ranger Training Command at Fort Benning, Georgia, evaluated and endorsed the black beret for Ranger use but its official authorization in accordance with regulations by the Department of the Army would not be forthcoming for more than another two decades   "Airborne Rangers" 1951 Airborne Rangers Black Beret   The 1951 "Airborne Black Ranger Beret" had a Flash made from the Ranger Tab, (Gold and Black Ranger Tab) sewn above a Black Background Trimmings (Oval) with gold edging surmounted by a parachute badge. The blending of Airborne and Ranger are thus clearly displayed.     The Ranger Tab was approved by the Chief of Staff, Army, on 30 October 1950.   The Rangers Black Beret was not authorized for 25 yaers!! But worn by Rangers with pride!!   Vietnam "Unauthorized" Rangers Black Beret was still unauthorized but clearly a Ranger tradition was established.   Note: U.S. Army Ranger also wore the Vietnamese Black Beret during the Vietnam War.    Army Regulations 670-5 Dated January 30, 1975 "Rangers Black Beret" Became an authorized headgear for the Rangers.   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.   Information & Plaques   Courtesy of  The Institute of Heraldry   &   United States Army!!

Black Beret  The tradition of wearing black berets began with armored units. In 1924 the British Royal Tank Regiment adopted the first modern military beret, based on the Scottish highland bonnet and French Bretonne beret. The regiment selected the headgear for its practicality--brimless for use with armored vehicle fire control sights and black to hide grease stains.  In the US Army, HQDA policy from 1973 through 1979 permitted local commanders to encourage morale-enhancing distinctions, and Armor and Armored Cavalry personnel wore black berets as distinctive headgear until CSA Bernard W. Rogers banned all such unofficial headgear in 1979.  Rangers received authorization through AR 670-5, Uniform and Insignia, 30 January 1975, to wear black berets. Previously, locally authorized black berets had been worn briefly by the 10th Ranger Company (Airborne), 45th Infantry Division, during the Korean War before their movement to Korea; Company F (LRP), 52d Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, in 1967 in the Republic of Vietnam; Company H (Ranger), 75th Infantry, 1st Cavalry Division, in 1970 in the Republic of Vietnam; and Company N (Ranger), 75th Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade, in 1971 in the Republic of Vietnam.   Information & Plaques Courtesy of  The Institute of Heraldry & United States Army!!

Maroon Beret  The maroon beret has been the international symbol of airborne forces since its selection for use by the British Parachute Regiment in 1942. The color reportedly was chosen by novelist Daphne Du Maurier, the wife of the British airborne commander, MG Frederick Browning.  In 1943 MG Browning 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. In addition, after HQDA encouraged the unofficial use of morale-enhancing headgear in 1973, airborne forces chose to wear the maroon international parachute beret until CSA Rogers' ban of all such unofficial headgear in 1979.  On 28 November 1980, however, HQDA revised its ban on berets to authorize airborne organizations to wear the maroon beret.   Information & Plaques Courtesy of  The Institute of Heraldry & United States Army!!