Berets have been a component of the uniforms of many armed forces throughout the world since the mid-20th century. Military berets are usually pushed to the right to free the shoulder that bears the rifle on most soldiers, but the armies of some European countries (including France) have influenced the push to the left.
Berets are in some countries particularly associated with elite units, who often wear berets in more unusual colours. Examples include the maroon of Commonwealth parachute troops and the Danish Jægerkorpset, the green of the Royal Marines Commandos, Finnish Marine Commandos (Coastal Jaegers), French Commandos (Bérets verts), French Foreign Legion, Irish Army Ranger Wing, Rhodesian Light Infantry and United States Army's Special Forces (Green Berets); the scarlet of the elite Soviet Internal Troops (Spetsnaz); the beige or tan of Commonwealth special forces units (SAS) and United States Army Rangers; the grey of the new Polish GROM; or the wide black of French Chasseurs alpins, the first military unit to have worn berets.
Given its practicality, the informal use of berets by the military of Europe dates back millennia, one example being the Blue Bonnet, that became a defacto symbol of Scottish forces in the 16th and 17th centuries. As an officially required military headdress, its use dates back to the Carlist Wars of Succession for the Spanish Crown in the 1830s by order of General Tomás de Zumalacárregui who wanted a local and non-costly way to make headgear that was resistant to the mountain weather and easy to care for and be used on formal occasions. Other countries followed suit after the creation of the French Chasseurs alpins in the early 1880s. 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. 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."[1]
Berets have features that make them very attractive to the military: they are cheap, easy to make in large numbers, can be manufactured in a wide range of colors, can be rolled up and stuffed into a pocket or beneath the shirt epaulette without damage, and can be worn with headphones (this is one of the reasons why tank crews adopted the beret). The beret is not so useful in field conditions for the modern infantryman, who requires protective helmets, and is usually not seen worn by infantry on operations.
The beret was found particularly useful as a uniform for armored-vehicle crews, and the British Tank Corps (later Royal Tank Corps) adopted the headdress as early as 1918, despite complaints that the beret was "too foreign and feminine".
German AFV crews in the late 1930s also adopted a beret with the addition of a padded crash helmet inside. The color black became popular as a tank-crew headdress, since it did not show oil stains picked up inside the interior of a vehicle. Black berets continue to be worn by armoured regiments throughout the Commonwealth.
Berets have become the default military headdress of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, just as the morion, tricorne, shako, kepi, and peaked cap were each common headgear in their own respective eras. The beret is now worn by many military personnel of the majority of nations across the world.
Most berets are used by senior enlisted personnel and officers.
In the Angola Armed Forces, the following berets are in use:
Berets are worn by some units in the Argentine Armed Forces, with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colours are as follows:
Berets were worn by all corps in the Australian Army, with distinctive colors for some units:.[2] From September 2010 all berets were banned for wear by the army for daily wear, except for Special Forces. However some units will be permitted to retain them for ceremonial occasions[3]
Navy Blue Berets are issued head-dress in the Royal Australian Navy; however, they are most commonly worn by Clearance Divers and qualified Submariners - that said, they are still a regulation uniform item for any naval personnel. Blue berets in the Royal Australian Air Force, but only by qualified Airfield Defence Guards and Ground Defence Officers. Terracotta berets are worn by Multinational Force and Observers contingents. In all cases, the beret is pushed over to the right, and a badge (a.k.a. "flash" insignia) worn above the left eye.
Berets are common in most parts of the Army, and are usually worn for special occasions, but also regularly by certain forces.
Berets have been worn by Belgian military personnel since World War II. Berets vary in colour according to the regiment, and carry a crest pin (sometimes on a coloured background patch) which is of gold colour for officers, silver for noncommissioned officers and bronze for troops. Members of cavalry units all wear silver crest pins.
Berets in Bolivian Army:
Berets have been worn by Bulgarian military personnel since 1991. Berets vary in colour according to the military branch, and carry a crest pin (sometimes on a coloured background patch) resembling the unit's insignia.
The colour of the beret is determined by the wearer's environment, branch, or mission. The beret colours listed below are the current standard:
| Colour | Wearer | |
|---|---|---|
| Air Force blue | Royal Canadian Air Force | |
| black | Armoured | |
| black | Royal Canadian Navy | |
| CF green | all other Army units | |
| UN blue | personnel serving with the United Nations on peacekeeping missions | |
| scarlet | Military Police | |
| maroon | Airborne paratroopers | |
| blaze orange | Search-and-rescue technicians | |
| terracotta | personnel serving with the Multinational Force and Observers | |
| tan | Special Forces | |
Berets in Chilean Army:
Berets in Chilean Navy:
Berets in Chilean Air Force:
Since May 5, 2000, the People's Liberation Army has adopted woolen berets for all its personnel,[4] along with the traditional peaked caps. Type 99 beret
Berets were not officially adopted by the CAPF, but some of the forces issued their own types NOT OFFICIAL:
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.
Berets are worn by all personnel of the Colombian Army (Ejército) and certain members of the Navy (Armada), with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colors are:
In the Croatian Army berets are used in special forces and guard brigades.
During Croatian War of Independence, Croatian Army consisted of seven professional brigades—guard brigades, each having its beret colour. During the army reforms number of guard brigades was cut to two, but the battalions kept the names and insignia (colour of beret also) of ex brigades.
Joint staff:
Guard brigades:
Also dark blue beret is used in Croatian Navy.
The Armed Forces of the Czech Republic use berets for both battledress and display uniform. The colour of the beret is defined by the branch of the armed forces. The beret displays the small state coat of arms and the badge of rank of the individual.[5]
The Royal Danish Army uses berets for all its personnel. The Navy and Air Force also use berets.
Berets are worn by all personnel of the Ecuadorian Army (Ejército) and certain members of the Navy (Armada) and Air Force (Fuerza Aérea), with distinctive colours for some units or functions. The beret colours are:
All personnel of the EDF or Eritrean Defense Forces wear Berets.
All personnel in the Estonian Military used to wear Berets in the beginning on 90's. Nowadays there is no Berets in Estonian Defence Forces although, it is taken to consideration to reinstate Berets again.
The Finnish Defence Force uses berets with cap badges for the Army, Navy and the Air Force. The berets are worn in "clean" garrison duties such as roll calls and with the walking-out uniform, but not with the battle dress. Until the mid-1990s, the beret was reserved for troops with special status, such as the armoured troops, coastal jägers and the parachute jägers, but is nowadays used by all units. In the winter, berets are replaced by winter headgear.
Berets are also used by the Finnish Frontier Guard, which is a military organization under the aegis of Ministry of Interior during peacetime.
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. 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 DBLE of the French Foreign Legion when it was created in 1940. The Vichy Milice of the War period wore a blue beret.
The beret in red, blue or green was a distinction of the Metropolitan, Colonial and Foreign Legion paratroop regiments during the Indochina and Algerian wars. After 1962 the beret in either khaki or the colours specified above became the standard French Army headdress for ordinary use.
With the exception of the Naval Commandos whose beret emulates the British Commando beret and is worn pulled to the right with the badge worn over the left ear and the Naval Fusiliers commandos also part of the French Navy, all other French berets (Army, airforce and gendarmerie GIGN) are pulled to the left with the badge worn on the right side over the eye or the temple.
Berets in Gabonese Army:
The German Heer uses berets with cap badges for every branch of service. The Luftwaffe and the Marine issue navy blue berets only to their ground or land combat units (called Luftwaffensicherungstruppe and Marineschutzkräfte). Berets are usually worn at special ceremonies and roll calls, although units with a special esprit de corps, especially armoured and mechanized infantry (Panzergrenadiere) battalions, wear their berets all the time. German berets are always pulled to the right, with the badge visible over the left temple.
military bands wear the beret colour of their respective division (e.g. black in the 1. Panzerdivision)
Note: The Panzerjäger started off with black berets but were moved into the Panzergrenadier branch. The last Panzerjägers wore green berets.
The beret colours worn by the Ghana Army are as follows:
The beret colours worn by the Hellenic Army are as follows:
When in fatigue tigerstripes the camouflaged cap is worn instead of the dark blue beret. The beret colours worn by the Hellenic Air Force are:
Berets currently in Hungarian military:
Icelandic armed services commonly use berets.
The beret is the standard headgear for the Indian Army. Berets are worn by officers and other ranks, apart from Sikhs, who wear turbans. The beret colours worn by the Indian Army are as follows:
The beret is the headgear of ground forces and military police in the Indonesian Armed Forces. In Military Services (Army, Navy and Air Force), the berets are dragged to the right (the insignia are worn on the left side), while in National Police Service and Military Police units, the berets are dragged to the left (the insignia are worn on the right side).
Military Services:
National Police Corps
The beret colours worn by Óglaigh na hÉireann (The Irish Defence Forces) are as follows:
All personnel (except navy) wear a common capbadge, a sunburst insignia with the letters "FF" inscribed above the left eye of the beret; this is the ancient symbol of the Fianna, the Irish special forces.
Israeli Defense Forces soldiers wear berets only on formal occasions, such as ceremonies and roll calls, and in disciplinary situations such as courts martial and imprisonments. The beret is placed beneath the left epaulette. The beret colors are as follows:
Italian Army personnel used to wear a garrison cap alongside the combination cap, until the early 1970s when the garrison cap was replaced by the beret. Until the early 1980s the general Army colour for the beret was khaki, the black being reserved to armoured units. The colours presently used are:
All members in the Ground Self-Defense Force are authorized to wear wool rifle green 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 cap badge representing the JGSDF logo identical to the one used on the service dress peaked cap is required by regulation to be affixed to the beret.
The beret colours worn by the Jordanian Army are as follows:
The beret colours worn by the Kenya Army are as follows;
The beret colours worn by the Latvian Army are as follows:
All units, in the Lebanese Armed Forces wear berets when not in combat mode (Helmet), training camp (cap) or formal uniform (formal hat).
The Lebanese Army, unlike most militaries, wears the beret slanted (pulled down) on the left side as the Army embelm is positioned to the right alligned with the right eye brow.
Berets are worn by some units of the Malaysian Armed Forces. The colours presently used are:
The beret colours worn by the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) are as follows:
The beret colours worn by the Malian Armed Forces are as follows:
In the Mexican Army, the beret is worn by:
In the Mexican Navy:
In 2002, new army uniforms were introduced to the Mongolian armed forces and along with new uniform design, dark green berets were issued to all personnel. According to the rules, all military berets are pushed to the right and displays "Soyombo" symbol in middle of golden oak leafs in the right side. Berets are worn by Mongolian Police since 1994. Police berets are deferent from the army beret in color and in shape, while it is pushed to the left while army berets are pushed to the right.
When the Royal Netherlands Armed Forces acquired new modernised uniforms (designed by the Dutch couturier Frans Molenaar) in 2000, the berets changed as well. Since 2004, soldiers of the Royal Netherlands Army have worn a petrol (blue-green) beret, whereas previously they wore brown.
The following colours are also used (before and after the modernisation): Navy:
Army:
Note: The only Dutch military unit that do not wear a beret are the Gele Rijders (Horse Artillery), who wear a blue garrison cap with yellow trimming.
Air Force:
Military Police:
Other:
All regiments and services have their own distinctive colours. There are quite a lot, but the number of colours in the logistic services was reduced in 2001. This colour is shown in a patch of cloth behind the beret flash. The intendance (maroon), transport troops (blue), — ' military administration (pink; hence the nickname 'Pink Mafia'), technical service (black), and medical troops and service (green) lost their colours and all now wear yellow patches. (In 2010, the components recovered their color. except the administration they got the crimson color)
All Battalions in the New Zealand Army wear rifle green berets, except for the Special Air Service, who wear a sand colour. Personnel of the Royal New Zealand Navy wear black. Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel do not wear berets.
The Norwegian armed forces use the beret as a garrison cap, but some units (mostly armored vehicle personnel) also use it in the field. The Norwegian beret and all other headwear except those of the Navy and His Majesty The King's Guard always have the current king's cipher as a badge in gold (most of the army) or silver (the air force); currently this is a numeral 5 inside an H, for "Harald V". The navy has a crowned gold anchor for their enlisted personnel, a crowned gold anchor surrounded by a circle of rope for their petty officers, and a crowned golden anchor surrounded by leaved branches for officers. The colours used are:
The special operations units of the Navy wear the same berets as the rest of the navy. However they have a coloured patch behind the cap badge, the colour of which determines the unit:
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:
Berets in other units
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 than when not worn on the head or kept in a locker the beret should be placed under the left shoulder loop.
In the Portuguese Armed Forces, the following berets are in use:
Until 1975, the following berets were also in use:
Until the creation of Zimbabwe ended its existence in 1980, the Rhodesian Security Forces wore the beret as the primary working dress and service dress headgear. Berets were coloured according to unit or service branch, with a distinctive regimental cap badge pinned above the left eye.
The Serbian Armed Forces wear berets in the following colours:
The Singapore Armed and Police Forces adopts the beret as their standard headgear. The different color divisions are as follows:
The berets are all adorned with the Singapore Armed Forces coat of arms, with the exception of the Air Force beret, Military Police beret, navy beret and police beret which are adorned with their respective cap-badge. Officers in the navy have a different cap-badge from the enlisted men. Officers of the rank of colonel and above have a different cap-badge.
All berets have the National Cadet Corps or National Police Cadet Corps crest on the front.
The South African Army wears the beret as its standard headgear. The different color divisions are as follows:
The berets are all adorned with the unit's insignia. Some of the traditional units wear other headgear - for example, the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment and the band of the South African Military Health Service.
Outside of Army, the South African Military Health Service wear red berets. The South African Special Forces Brigade which is a separate entity, not part of the army, also wear the Maroon beret which is traditional for elite units in the western world.
Berets are mostly limited to the elite units of the South Korean Military, including:
Other than these units, several secret commando units (mostly disbanded in the mid-1990s, among them the "Unit 684" which became infamous for its mutiny) formed to infiltrate North Korea during the Cold War days wore black berets and adorned them with the badges of individual units. Korean liaison soldiers serving in the U.S. Eighth Army (KATUSA) have also been wearing black berets along with American uniforms since that beret became a standard headgear of the U.S. Army in 2001.
As of 2006, there have been several proposals within the Korean Ministry of Defense to replace the current field cap with a dark-coloured beret as the standard army headgear.
American advisers assigned to these units wore the berets.[6]
The beret is used in the various armed forces of Sweden. The colours used are:
The beret is worn by all police and military personal.
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 camouflage-colored field cap is worn instead.
The colours used are:[7]
The beret is used in the various armed forces of Thailand. The colours used are:
The black beret is also worn by ordinary police in certain situations.
The beret colours worn by the Togolese Army are as follows:
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 (see above) 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 George V in November 1923. It was adopted in March 1924.
During the Second World War the beret was also adopted by the Commandos and Parachute Regiment. Later in the war, a rather baggier beret-like hat, called a 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. The GS Cap was not popular, and after the war was replaced with a true beret.[8]
Today, every British military unit wears a beret, with the exception of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Royal Irish Regiment, who wear the tam o'shanter and the caubeen respectively (the Scots Guards and Irish Guards, however, wear berets, as frequently do the Royal Irish Regiment on operations). 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 however no regulation about the shape or wearing of the head dress exists.
The colours are as follows:
Some Regiments and Corps wear a coloured backing behind the capbadge. These include:
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, the only remaining independent fusilier regiment, wears a feather hackle on the beret. Other ranks of the Royal Welsh also wear hackles.
Members of the Royal Tank Regiment, 4/73 (Sphinx) Special OP Battery Royal Artillery,[12] 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.[13] 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.
Former regiments and corps, now amalgamated, that did not wear navy blue berets included:
The Pontifical Swiss Guard wears large black berets.
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.[14] 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 authorised a maroon beret in Vietnam.[15]
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.[16]
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.[17] 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 from feedback they received from soldiers, restored the patrol cap as the official headgear for the Army Combat Uniform, but also gave local commanders the option of ordering wear of the beret with the ACU when they see fit (e.g. ceremonial events.[18] The beret remains standard with the Army Service Uniform.
United States Army berets now use the following distinctive colors:
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 the United States Navy, female servicemembers may wear a black beret (of a different style than most military berets) instead of a combination hat or garrison cap while in service uniforms.
During the Vietnam War, the US Navy created special boat teams, unofficially dubbed the brown-water navy, to patrol coastlines and rivers. Naval personnel assigned to these teams wore distinctive black berets as part of their uniform, which was memorialized in the movie "Apocalypse Now".[19]
Berets used by Vietnam Marine Police, Blue Berets are the troops used in military uniform field. Black Berets was the commanding officer to use the military uniform.
