Army: Beret out for most use

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I think the whole general issue beret thing was a recruiting ploy. Come join the army and you'll automatically join the ranks of the Green Berets.
 
Berets aren't for everyone...;)

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I worked hard to earn the right to wear a beret (airborne infantry), and when they allowed every REMF and FOB-it to wear a black beret...?! (worse yet, taking black from the Rangers, and making them wear this desert colored tan...)

Anyway, while in fatigues, the berets suck, as they do not provide shade for your face, nor wick away sweat.

Keep the berets for class A uniforms for; Special Forces, Ranger, Airborne!
 
The Army makes some really stupid decisions about uniforms. Anybody old enough to remember the mint green WAC uniform? And then the Army got rid of the khakis, which I always thought was the best looking uniform, other than dress mess. When the Chief of Staff brought in the black beret, I was already retired, but jeez, what a stupid thing to wear. And if that wasn't stupid enough, then most recently the Army got rid of the green Class A uniform, making the dress blue uniform its replacement. I was up at the Pentagon recently and saw most of the Army guys wearing short sleeved white shirts and the dress blue trousers with the gold stripes. Makes me almost embarrassed to see them...
 
JamesArthur60 said:
All I know about Army uniforms is they have a patch, rope or medal for just about anything.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/US-NEW-CLASS-A-UNIFORM.png
Click to expand...


LOL, and the USAF doesn't give out a ton more ribbons for just about everything...? Kidding aside, I always had more respect for a sailor or Marine who had a MSM than I did for a soldier. Working with the Navy for a bit, I saw how much tougher their standards were for awards than the Army was.

IMHO, too many badges and awards cheapen the significance of the awards. Case in point, recent complaints that there weren't enough Congressional Medals of Honor given for the Iraq war as opposed to the Afghanistan war. Next we'll have quotas, by gender and race and theater to make sure individual gallantry and ultimate sacrifice metrics meet the diversity goals of the solider-politicians.
 
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JamesArthur60 said:
All I know about Army uniforms is they have a patch, rope or medal for just about anything.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/US-NEW-CLASS-A-UNIFORM.png
Click to expand...

This coming from an Air Force vet....the only "civilian branch of the military":D I would wager that if you compared an airman of the same rank to those soldiers in the pictures...your blue business attire would have a whole heck of a lot more medals...the exception of course are soldiers who deploy to combat:p
 
Although I thought John Wayne looked great leading his Green Berets in the movie, I never really like them. A little too "French" for me. I always like the traditional head gear that seemed to serve us so well for so many years.
 
I liked the Khakis, didn't know they did away with the greens. Didn't like the beret idea. I still have my green patrol cap and the cat eyes still glow.

My dess blues are in a suit bag in the bacl of the closet.
 
Speaking of UGLY uniforms...

Do any of you recall the Nixon mandated White House Police uniforms? They looked like high school majorettes. Thankfully they didn't last!
 
Army uniforms have been going downhill steadily since the 1970s. They gave the airborne units the maroon beret-like the British Paras, the Rangers the black one, then the tankers wanted a black beret sort of like the one the German Panzer Troops wore-and quickly discarded, the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) tried to get a blue one. I actually was a "Green Beret" (don't think much of them, that's another story), I consider berets UnAmerican. And impractical. The khakis were eliminated in 1984 despite their long history, they came up with the gray-green shirt worn with cloth epaulettes, they looked like an airline uniform. Nowadays the troops wear the ACU with the roughside out boots everywhere, looks macho, but sloppy IMHO, in my day you only wore fatigues off post while on duty or going to and from quarters. I note the ACUs, like the BDUs, are a great way to hide a gut-so much for weight control. And wearing the Dress Blues as a Class A uniform is like wearing evening wear to the office.
When Petraeus went to London some time ago his rows and rows of "fruit salad"-all awarded for popgun campaigns or staff assignments -drew a lot of derisive comments. In my day (1967-1971) the National Defense Service Medal was dismissed as the "KP and Firewatch Medal", nowadays there's a medal for completing Basic Training ?! One another board some said "I thought that was what the uniform signified."
 
I recall seeing pictires of tankers in Germany wearing black berets from the mid 70's. I always wanted a pair tanker boots but never did buy any. When I was at Campbell everyone spoke of the Blue beretnever wore it, though i do have one in my dresser drawer.

I always liked khakis and greens with bloused jump boots. i still have my garrison cap with glider patch too.
 
I agree with ChuckS1. I too think the khaki uniforms were the best of all time.

I was in the Army starting in 1958. First uniforms issued were the old OD 33 (olive green), Ike jacket (horse blanket) uniforms with both long and short sleeve khaki pants and shirts. When khaki shorts were worn, we wore knee length tan socks that made is look like a bunch of Brits from the old WWII movies set in North Africa!

The Bermuda shorts were taken from us in about 1962. In 1959 we got the dress green uniform. (I really like the old OD one better!)

For wear with fatigues, we were issued a "utility" cap....but never wore it. We went to the PX and purchased Ridgeway hats which are the type of hat you always see Fidel Castro wearing. If I am not mistaken, this cap was never official....but everybody used it.

I haven't seen all the current Army uniforms, but for the most part, I'm unimpressed.
 
ChuckS1 said:
The Army makes some really stupid decisions about uniforms. Anybody old enough to remember the mint green WAC uniform? And then the Army got rid of the khakis, which I always thought was the best looking uniform, other than dress mess. When the Chief of Staff brought in the black beret, I was already retired, but jeez, what a stupid thing to wear. And if that wasn't stupid enough, then most recently the Army got rid of the green Class A uniform, making the dress blue uniform its replacement. I was up at the Pentagon recently and saw most of the Army guys wearing short sleeved white shirts and the dress blue trousers with the gold stripes. Makes me almost embarrassed to see them...
Click to expand...

Any sailor from the 70's remembers the gawdawful "CPO style" dress blues with combo hat. :barf:

The first thing most of us NTC San Diego guys did after graduation was head down to Seven Seas & get fitted for a set of genuine crackerjacks.

Faulkner said:
I think the marine utility cap, properly blocked, is the best looking headgear.
Click to expand...

Sorry. Dixie cup with a snazzy fleet roll.

Chicks dig the bell bottoms.:cool: And we all remember what Jack Nicholson had to say about 'em! :D
 
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