Guys,

If anyone wants to read the entire SF history to date, you may want to pick up (if you don't alreay have) a copy of , "Special Forces, The First Fifty Years." Is was pubished in 2002 for the Special Forces Association by Faircourt LLC.

Contact the SFA and ask them if they still have copies. The SFA address is : SFAHQ@aol.com

My questions about the beret - I have the ans is you're interested..

1. How many of you know how to select the right size and then shape it correctly so that it doesn't hang over your ear and face?

This is the biggest gripe I have about the newbies, esp now with the Black Beret given to all of the troops by SHITneski.
Also -

2. How many have ripped out the liner to make it cooler..and the 100% prize for beers -

3. How many have replaced the liners with parachute silk with an embroidered design..?

4. where do you stow it when in the field, wearing your Boonie Hat? And why?

De Oppresso Liber,

1. I never had a problem with the Fleur d'lis. Shrinking can help.

2. No.

3. No.

4. Wall locker.

I always felt that 2 & 3 was for cherries trying to be "cool".:D

The new ones have no liners.

TR

1. Yes
2. Yes, not the one I have left though. I know about the prize as well.
3. No
4. We got away from taking them to the field. But left cargo pocket. I know why as well.


How'd I do?

CRS struck again. I have to admit that at one time we were issued berets with a thick plastic liner. That had to go!!!

OK guys,

Here are my answers -

1. How many of you know how to select the right size and then shape it correctly so that it doesn't hang over your ear and face?

Ans - I was taught to get a beret that was 1-2 sizes smaller and stretch if to fit. That way, it wouldn't have the damn overhang that you see on some troopers - both SF, Ranger, and Airborne don't seem to have not passed this trick along.

This is the biggest gripe I have about the newbies, esp now with the Black Beret given to all of the troops by SHITneski.
Also -

2. How many have ripped out the liner to make it cooler..and the 100% prize for beers -

Like Tery indicated, the old style had either a plastic liner or something that looked like quilted insulation. Too damn hot in the sub or tropical areas if you were in garrsion.

3. How many have replaced the liners with parachute silk with an embroidered design..?

I lot of the guys on Oki did that simply because they could. We had a bunch of people that catered to SF, makng Tigers, plaques, special gear that couldn't be bought or procured thru the S-4. I guess we felt that it made the beret unique. I have a dragon in mine along with my name and SSAN.

4. where do you stow it when in the field, wearing your Boonie Hat? And why?

I usually stowed it in my right leg pocket, only because I'm right handed. It was to provide instant recognition to the friendly FACs or other airborne dudes looking of the bad guys. If all you had was your boonie hat, you could easily be mistaken for the bad guys. SAMO SAMO in Iraq and Afghanland I would imagine.

Perhaps Terry had it easier and left his in the locker because he was a commo dude and had instant commo withthe flyboys. HEH HEH.

Actually, I spent most of my time in RVN as a RT Team leader. We were easy to recognize from the air. We were usually the guys in the middle and the bad guys were all around us.:eek:

Recognition Fieldcraft (was Beret)
 

Terry,

Understand. At Camp Hardy, we trained the guys going South to carry the beret along with penflares and other unique signalling devices. Anything that would give us an edge over the VC and NVA was provided as Lesson Learned input for those deploying.

It seesm that even thought the Groups often shared info, some of the fieldcraft was still uinique to a particluar Group.

Any comments on that from the 5th, 7th and 10th Gp guys?

Is there a good instruction manual on wearing the Beret anywhere online? I've seen several, but I'm not sure how up-to-speed they are. It seems many people make mistakes, I'd love to see how to wear them properly, with the honor and dignity they deserve.

Thank you,

Solid

Do you have a beret, Solid?

TR

I'm afraid they might issue me one, yes.

Solid

They are worn differently over there.

I would prefer to earn one, rather than having it issued, but then again, that is just me.

TR

TR,
No doubt about that, whatsoever.

Thank you,

Solid

Solid,

A quick primer in wearing any Beret:

1. Get one that is a size smaller - this prevents a lot of the overhang that you see on some troops.

2. Learn to position it on your head so that the Flash is over your left eye. Use your hand to verify its location.

3. The leather head band should be horizontal, about a half inch - give or take from your eyebrow.

Good Luck, and as TK said - It's far better if you earned it!

De Oppresso Liber

In addition to the sound advice already given.

What i did with mine was to get it wet and then shape all the dents and so forth, smooth and to fit it to your own head size/shape. So when worn, it did not look like you were baking a pizza....