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A Ukrainian military cadet in a light blue beret, formerly for Ukrainian DShV.
Troops began wearing berets as a part of the headgear of military uniforms in some European countries during the 19th century; since the mid-20th century, they have become a component of the uniforms of many armed forces throughout the world. Military berets are usually pushed to the right to free the shoulder that bears the rifle on most soldiers, but the armies of some countries, mostly within Europe, South America, and Asia, have influenced the push to the left (i.e. "French pull").
The use of beret-like headgear as a civilian headdress dates back hundreds of years, an early example being the Scottish Blue Bonnet, which became a de facto symbol of Scottish Jacobite forces in the 16th and 17th centuries. Berets themselves were first used as a military headdress in the 1830s during the First Carlist War in Spain, where they were said to have been imported from the South of France by Liberal forces, but were made famous by the opposing General Tomás de Zumalacárregui, who sported a white or red beret with a long tassel, which came to be an emblem of the Carlist cause.[1]
A French chasseur alpin in World War I, with his distinctive large beret
The French Chasseurs alpins, created in the early 1880s, were the first regular unit to wear the military beret as a standard headgear.[2] These mountain troops were issued with a uniform which included several features which were innovative for the time, notably the large and floppy blue beret which they still retain.[3] This was so unfamiliar a fashion outside France that it had to be described in the Encyclopædia Britannica of 1911 as "a soft cap or tam o'shanter".[4]
Berets have features that make them attractive to the military; they are cheap, easy to make in large numbers, can be manufactured in a wide range of colors encouraging esprit de corps, can be rolled up and stuffed into a pocket or beneath the shirt epaulette without damage, and can be worn with headphones.[5]
The beret was found particularly practical as a uniform for armored vehicle crews; the British Royal Tank Regiment adopted a black beret which would not show oil stains and was officially approved in 1924.[6] German Panzertruppen also adopted a black beret or Schutzmütze in 1934, which included a rubber skull cap as head protection inside.[7]
In all service branches, the beret is "bashed" to the right and a badge or insignia is worn above the left eye. In the army, all units can wear them with certain units wearing unique ones.[11] In the navy, the beret is an optional item[12] and in the air force, it is only worn by certain units.[13]
Australian and US paratroopers exchange wings during Talisman Sabre 2011
Berets were not officially adopted by the CAPF, but some of the forces issued their own types
NOT OFFICIAL:
Red – CAPF Provincial Women Special Police Corps
Dark blue – Public Security Police SWAT
During the 80s, camo berets were issued to some of the recon forces of PLA. It has no badge on it.
Type 07 uniform is being issued to both PLA and CAPF on August 1, 2007.
Colours of 07 berets are changed to the same colours with the service uniform. And several changes in designs were made from type 99 beret. The berets were not being issued until summer of 2009 to most of the troops.
Other than colours of the berets, the most significant difference between type 99 and type 07 is the type 99 beret badge is cloth, while type 07 is plastic.
Tank troops (tanquistas) wear black berets (including the "Gran Unidad Rescate de Sanguily"); also the special troops (Brigada Especial Nacional "Gallitos Negros") of the interior ministry (MININT).[18][19][20]
Red
The military police (Tropas de Prevención) wear red berets.[21][22][18][20]
Olive green
Special forces (Tropas Especiales "Avispas Negras") since 2011, wear olive green berets (formerly wearing red berets).[18][19][20]
Czech soldiers with a selection of different berets during an Oath swearing ceremony, March 2023.The current style of military berets as well as the new khaki variant are references to the British uniforms worn by the Czechoslovak soldiers during the World War II as part of the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade).Czech soldiers wearing discontinued berets (Light green formerly for all ground forces, in 2023 replaced by khaki berets; Orange worn by Rescue and Civil defence troops, since disbanded). June 2017.
The Armed Forces of the Czech Republic use berets for both battledress and display uniform. The colour of the beret signifies the branch of the armed forces. The beret displays the Czech Army badge (silver for NCOs and enlisted, gold for officers, gold with linden branchlets for generals) and the rank of the individual.[24]
The history of the military berets in the Czech military dates back at least to the World War I, when the Czechoslovak legionaires in France wore the standard field blue military berets as part of their uniforms.[25] After the war and foundation of the First Czechoslovak Republic, the whole uniform continued to be used for ceremonial purposes by the Prague Castle guard. During the World War Two, the Czechoslovak soldiers serving in the 1st Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade wore the standard British combat uniforms, including the black beret for armoured corps, with Czechoslovak insignia.[26]
After the war, in 1948, the newly established Czechoslovak Airborne forces adopted the maroon beret, inspired by those worn by the British Paras. After a brief discontinuation by the Communist leadership on ideological basis it was re-established in 1960s and continues to be used until this day.[27] After the Velvet revolution berets were selected as the new standard head cover for the newly democratic Armed Forces, with several colour variants to distinguish the type of Forces or Corps being developed.
In 2023 the Czech Armed Forces updated the colours of their berets, completely discontinuing the orange beret for the Rescue and Civil defence forces (disbanded) and adopting two new colours: blue for the Prague Castle Guard and khaki for the Ground forces (including the 4th Rapid reaction brigade, formerly wearing the maroon berets), both replacing the previous and broadly unpopular light green beret.[28]
The Royal Danish Army first introduced the black berets for its armour personnel in 1958.[29] In 1968 it was extended to the whole army, Homeguard and parts of the Navy and Airforce, replacing the standard issue Side cap.[30]
The Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic general issue beret is dark blue with this being standard across all services, however some units use different colours. Paratroopers wear maroon, green is worn by commandos, black by armoured corps.[32]
Colour
Wearer
Dark blue
General issued beret for all services.
Maroon (Amaranto)
Worn by paratroopers.
Green
Worn by commandos.
Black
Worn by armoured corps.
Tan
Worn by mountain infantry.
Blue
Worn by engineer units and army aviation personnel.
The military beret originated in the French Army, in the form of the wide and floppy headdress worn by the Chasseurs Alpins (mountain light infantry) from their foundation in the early 1880s.[33]
The practical uses of the beret were soon recognised and the Marine Infantry forming part of the Expeditionary Force sent in China in 1900 used berets as headwear[34] A tight-fitting version was subsequently adopted by French armoured troops towards the end of World War I. Between the wars, special fortress units raised to garrison the Maginot Line wore khaki berets as did the 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion when it was created in 1940. The Vichy Milice of the War period wore a blue beret.
The beret in blue, red or green was a distinction respectively of the Metropolitan, Colonial and Legion paratrooper units during the Indochina and Algerian wars. In 1962 the beret in either light khaki or the colours specified above became the standard French Army headdress for ordinary use.[35]
With the exception of the Commandos Marine and the Fusiliers Marins, whose berets are worn pulled to the right, all other French military berets (army, air force and Gendarmerie) are pulled to the left with the badge worn over the right eye or temple. Also the military forces of the countries that have historical, colonial, or cooperative ties with France– such as Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sénégal, Togo, Tunisia– or have been trained by the French military wear their beret pulled left.
Gendarmerie personnel serving with the European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR)– an EU crisis response and intervention force– wear the standard EUROGENDFOR royal blue beret and badge when so assigned.
Colour
Wearer
Wide beret, dark blue
Chasseurs Alpins (the wide beret's nickname is the tarte (pie); it is also worn with a white cover (winter dress)).
An Indonesian Army soldier wearing a green beret with the Army insignia
The beret is the standard headgear of armed forces and police personnel in Indonesia. It is also worn by paramilitary and other uniformed services in the country such as the Fire Brigade, Search and Rescue, Scouts, civil militias (such as Banser) and civil paramilitary organizations. In the Military Services (Army, Navy and Air Force), the berets are dragged to the right (the insignia are worn on the left side), while in the Indonesian National Police force and Military Police Corps, the berets are dragged to the left (the insignia are worn on the right side). Both having its own meaning, dragged to the right meaning "ready for combat and defense" and dragged to the left meaning "ready for law enforcement and order".
Military and Police services according to their beret colours which represent different units within the force are as shown below:
Navy blue – Standard berets for the Navy, worn by all personnel such as Naval seamen and naval sailors in duty of ships' company, or on the Naval bases.
Black – Submarine forces
Dark Blue – Naval Aviation, Underwater Rescue Service, Naval Hydro-Oceanography Center
All members in the Ground Self-Defense Force are authorized to wear wool berets– referred to as the "ベレー帽" (ベレーボウ or bereebou)– as an optional head covering for dress, working, and camouflage uniforms since 1992. However, it is normally considered a special dress item, worn for public relations events or parades. An embroidered goldwork JGSDF cap badge identical to the one used on the service dress peaked cap is affixed to the beret. Berets were previously rifle green, but with the introduction of the Type 18 service uniform, the color has been changed to black. Buglers and bandsmen from the 1st Division wear red berets with an embroidered JGSDF cap badge.[41]1st Airborne Brigade paratroopers wear maroon berets with an enamel version of the brigade insignia instead of an embroidered JGSDF badge.[42]
Students on the JGSDF High Technical School drill team wear black berets with a metal version of the school's emblem.
JGSDF personnel on United Nations missions wear UN blue berets with the United Nations emblem pinned to the front.[43]
JGSDF officers at Camp Courtney, Okinawa in 2014 with previously green beretsA general of the JGSDF (left) with a US Army general (right), 2019, with black beretA JGSDF pathfinder of the 1st Airborne Brigade during an exercise, 2023, with black beret
Black berets were introduced before World War II for tank and armoured car crews. During World War II, berets were widely adopted in the Polish Army on the Western Front, armored troops – black, airborne – grey, commando – green. After the war in the communist era, berets were worn only by armoured units (black), navy for field and work uniform (black), paratroopers (maroon), and marines (light blue). After 1990, the beret became the standard headgear in the Armed Forces of Republic of Poland. Around the year 2000 the design of the Polish Army Beret changed, the beret sewn together from three pieces of material with four air holes, two at each side was changed to a smaller beret molded from one piece of material with no air holes.
The following colours are in use:
Soldier of the Maltese Armed Forces and the Polish Honor GuardPolish Military Police officers wearing scarlet red berets
The black beret is also the distinctive headgear of World War II veterans, particularly Armia Krajowa veterans.
The dress code of the Polish armed forces states that when not worn on the head or kept in a locker the beret should be placed under the left shoulder loop. This practice was discontinued due to introducing new field uniform (wz. 2010) with rank insignia placed on chest.
Spain's Crown Prince Felipe de Borbon (in blue beret of the Royal Guard) speaks with a Spanish engineer soldier about the capabilities of a bomb disposal robot during a visit to Spain's San Gregorio training area to meet with participants in exercise Interdict 12, Oct. 30.
Generals in the army and amphibious corps, personnel in the organizational unit that have not assigned another beret color except the navy's naval unit (fleet)
Since 1995, when it replaced the grey side cap, the beret is worn with the dress uniform and with the personally issued battle dress uniform by all Swiss soldiers. In training, a black beret (without insignia) is worn by mechanised units, otherwise a camouflage-coloured field cap is worn instead.
Black — armoured and mechanised units; signals and headquarters troops; rescue troops; NBC specialists; intelligence, military justice and general staff personnel
Ukrainian paratrooper wearing maroon beretMarines in black berets, 2003Tankman in black beret, 2017Ukrainian national guard, 2020
The Ukrainian Armed Forces continued Soviet beret traditions even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with paratroopers and marines respectively wearing blue and black berets. The start of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014 made the Ukrainian military distance itself from Russian and Soviet traditions. Starting in 2016, Ukrainian special operations personnel began wearing light grey berets, and the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces switched to western-style maroon headgear in 2017.
Since 2017, the Armed Forces have worn berets of the following colours:[61]
The Armed Forces of the UAE and National Service use berets with distinct colours to display the specific branch of the armed forces. All berets displays the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces emblem.[62]
Emirati military personnel may also choose to wear military camo coloured ghutra in a turban fashion in keeping with traditional Arabic attire.
The British Army beret dates back to 1918 when the French 70th Chasseurs alpins were training with the British Tank Corps. The Chasseurs alpins wore a distinctive large beret and Major-General Sir Hugh Elles, the TC's Colonel, realised this style of headdress would be a practical option for his tank crews, forced to work in a reduced space. He thought, however, that the Chasseur beret was "too sloppy" and the Basque-style beret of the French tank crews was "too skimpy", so a compromise based on the Scottish tam o'shanter was designed and submitted for the approval of King George V in November 1923. It was adopted in March 1924.
During the Second World War, the use of the black beret was extended to all the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1940. The maroon beret was adopted by British airborne forces in 1941 (the Special Air Service had adopted a sand coloured beret, was subsequently compelled to change to maroon in common with other airborne units, but resumed wear of the sand beret after the Second World War) and the green beret by the Commandos in late 1942. A khaki beret was worn by the Reconnaissance Corps from 1941 until 1944,[63] and the Royal Air Force Regiment adopted a blue-grey beret in 1943.[64] Later in the war, a rather baggier beret-like hat, called the General Service Cap, was issued to all ranks of the British Army (with RAC, parachute, commando, Scottish and Irish units excepted), to replace the earlier Field Service Cap.[65] The GS Cap was not popular, and after the war was replaced with a true beret.[66][67]
Today most units of the British Army wear a beret, however the Tam o' shanter is worn by the Royal Regiment of Scotland as well as Scottish UOTC units.[68] The caubeen is worn by the Royal Irish Regiment as well as by Queens UOTC, (the Scots Guards and Irish Guards, however, wear berets inline with the rest of the Field Army). Many of these berets are in distinctive colours and all are worn with the cap badge of the service, regiment or corps. The cap badge for all services in the UK is usually worn directly over the left eye, Units who wear the Tam o’ shanter have different rules for the Tam with the cap badge worn on the left side of the head.
Royal Military Police, 1984RAMCLieutenant GeneralMartin Bricknell wearing a dark-blue beret with ACDS insignia.A soldier of the Parachute Regiment wearing the maroon beretThe pale "Cambridge blue" berets of the Army Air Corps in London, 2006
Royal Marine berets; blue berets with red cap badge backing are worn by personnel who are not commando-qualified, while green berets without any cap badge backing are worn by personnel with commando qualification.
An officer of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (on the right), showing the coloured backing patch behind the regimental cap badgeRoyal Air Force airman wearing that service's blue-grey beret
Special Air Service including attached troops who are not SAS-qualified (a white beret was briefly worn on formation of the regiment in 1942 and a maroon beret from 1944 to 1956)
Generic: worn by all other Army units (except Scottish and Irish line infantry regiments), Royal Navy, Royal Marines who are not commando-qualified who include recruits in training, musicians and instructors of the affiliated cadet organisations.[73] (and who wear the Royal Marines cap badge with red backing).
Also worn by Sea Cadets, including Royal Marines Cadets.
Royal Air Force: Officer cadets wear a white disc behind their cap badge.
Members of the Royal Tank Regiment, 4/73 (Sphinx) Special OP Battery Royal Artillery,[75] Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Army Air Corps, Parachute Regiment, SAS and Intelligence Corps wear berets in Nos 1, 2, 3 and 6, Dress. Other English and Welsh Regiments and Corps wear peaked caps in these orders of dress.[76] Troops from other services, regiments or corps on attachment to units with distinctive coloured berets often wear those berets (with their own cap badge). Colonels, brigadiers and generals usually continue to wear the beret of the regiment or corps to which they used to belong with the cap badge distinctive to their rank.
An Air Force SOWT—redesignated Special Reconnaissance—wearing grey beret
Berets were originally worn by select forces in the United States Army. The first were worn during World War II, when a battalion of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment were presented maroon berets by their British counterparts.[77] Though unofficial at first, the green beret of the US Army Special Forces was formally adopted in 1961. Maroon airborne and black US Army Ranger berets were formally authorized in the 1970s.
"D" Troop 17th Cavalry were authorized a maroon beret in Vietnam.[78]
After the Vietnam War, morale in the US Army waned. In response, from 1973 through 1979 HQDA permitted local commanders to encourage morale-enhancing uniform distinctions; however, these distinctions were allowed to be worn only on the post. Consequently, many units embraced various colored berets, for example armor and armored cavalry units often adopted the black beret. Similarly many other units embraced various colored berets in an attempt to improve dwindling morale. In particular, the First Cavalry Division assigned various colored berets to its three-pronged TRICAP approach. In this implementation, armored cavalry, airmobile infantry units, air cavalry units, division artillery units, and division support units all wore different colored berets, including black, light blue, Kelly green, and red. The 101st Airborne Division was authorised a dark-blue beret.
In 1975 all female soldiers of the Women's Army Corps were authorized to wear a black beret variant as standard headgear for the service uniform.[79]
In 1975 the 172nd Light Infantry Brigade at Fort Richardson and Fort Wainwright, Alaska, wore olive-drab berets.
In 2001, Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki ordered the black beret worn as standard headgear army-wide, a controversial decision because it was previously reserved for the rangers. The rangers were then authorized to wear a tan beret, exclusive to them. The decision was implemented in hopes of boosting morale among conventional units. However, many soldiers began complaining that the new black beret was not practical with the utility uniform. In June 2011, Army Secretary John McHugh, acting on the recommendations made by Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey and Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler, once again chose the traditional patrol cap to be worn with the utility uniform. The black beret may be authorized with utility uniforms at commander's discretion for special ceremonies. The beret remains part of the Army's dress uniform for all units.
United States Army berets now use the following distinctive colors:
Worn by all soldiers with the Army Service Uniform as standard headgear (The patrol cap is the standard headgear with utility uniforms such as the ACUs; however, the black beret may be authorized with utility uniforms at commander discretions.[80])
Special forces, ranger, and airborne unit berets sport distinctive organizational flashes. All other units use a standard pale blue flash bordered with 13 white stars. Officers wear their rank insignia within the flash, while enlisted ranks wear their distinctive unit insignia.
In 2019, the army proposed the creation of a grey beret for USASOC soldiers qualified in Psychological operations, but it did not receive official approval.[81]
CNO and COMRIVPATFOR wearing black berets with River Patrol Force TF-116 patch (1969)
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy created special boat teams, unofficially dubbed the brown-water navy, to patrol coastlines, estuaries and rivers. Naval personnel assigned to these teams wore black berets as part of their uniform, as portrayed in the movie Apocalypse Now.[83] U.S. Navy SEAL teams serving in Vietnam wore camouflage berets in the field, the only beret somewhat standardized in the SEALs.
Starting in the 1970s, a special female beret was authorized for wear as alternate headgear for the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps with various service uniforms.[84][85][86][87] The Navy was the last service to remove the female beret from their uniform regulations in 2015.[88] These black (Army and Navy), dark-blue (Air Force), and dark-green (Marine Corps) female berets were of similar design and worn on the crown of the head.[84][85][86][87][89] These service members wore their traditional cap devices on these female berets but unlike today's Army and Air Force beret flashes, these devices were worn center-forward on the beret with the exception being the Navy who wore their devices centered over the left eye.[84][85][86][87][89]
How the former female service uniform berets and cap devices were worn
An Army officer wearing black female beret with Officer Cap Device (c.1975)[90]
An airman wearing dark-blue female beret with Enlisted Cap Device centered with her face (1974)[85]
A sailor wearing black female beret with Enlisted Cap Device aligned over her left eye (c.1998)
A Marine wearing dark-green female beret with subdued Enlisted Eagle, Globe, and Anchor Emblem (c.1978)[86]
Berets are worn by some units in the Venezuelan National Armed Forces, with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colours are as follows:
Military personnel of any country serving with the African Union peacekeeping forces.[93] AU forces in Mali and Darfur have since been turned over to UN administration and swapped their berets for UN light blue ones.[94][95]
↑Hallett, Edward (24 November 2014). "General Service Cap". Tales from the Supply Depot - Collecting British Empire Militaria. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
↑Gordon, David. Uniforms of the World War II Tommy (Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Missoula, MT, 2005). ISBN1-57510-122-X
↑Hallett, Edward (26 February 2016). "Post War Blue Beret". Tales from the Supply Depot - Collecting British Empire Militaria. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
↑"Yorkshire Gunners honoured for Service in Iraq and Afghanistan". Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 2012-09-29. Earlier in the day, in what marks a historic change in the history of one of the Batteries from the Regiment - 4/73 (Sphinx) Battery, the traditional dark blue beret of the Royal Artillery was replaced with a khaki-coloured beret. The change came about as a result of the Battery working closely, in times of war, with the Honourable Artillery Company
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