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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, March 26, 2001



Army hopes beret brings unity

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Despite internal criticisms and a political backlash resulting from deadline-oriented orders to manufacture the gear outside the United States, a regulation black beret, once a symbol of membership in an elite force, will be issued to all Army soldiers in mid-June.

The Army plans to issue a regulation black beret to all soldiers later this year. The berets have been presented as a complement to functional headgear and other hats and caps used for specific purposes.

U.S. Army

The new headgear was designed to symbolize unity and mark the Army's transition into a millennium, as June also marks the Army's birthday. But since the Army chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki, announced the change in October, controversy has been the most noticeable reaction.

"I like it, but I think it is going to (upset some people),'' Pfc. Troy Matthew Kopke said as he and a group of soldiers discussed the beret over lunch at Fort Shafter.

Those most likely to be offended, Kopke predicted, were soldiers assigned to units already authorized to wear berets, units that traditionally consist of solders who willingly and consistently are deployed for the most dangerous assignments.

Beret-wearing Army units have included special forces troops who wear green berets, airborne troops who wear maroon berets and the Army Rangers, who have worn the black beret for decades.

"Those guys have really accomplished something,'' said Pvt. B.J. Pederson, Kopke's lunch companion. "They've had to earn their berets."

Some soldiers from the elite units were offended and thought the berets they had earned were being cheapened. The fact that the standard-issue beret would be black, distinguished from the Ranger beret only by its "flash" — an insignia worn on the front of the beret, was a particularly contentious point.

Ranger and Airborne veterans marched on the Pentagon in protest of the new Army headgear on March 10, and retired and former rangers from across the country used the Web to circulate petitions against the use of the beret.

"A few Rangers might feel that some in the Army don't deserve to wear dog tags, much less the coveted beret'' one writer dryly remarked on one Army-related site.

Col. P.K. Keen, commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga., helped to diffuse the situation by requesting that Rangers be authorized to wear a new beret. Shinseki approved that request on March 15. The Rangers will wear tan.

Shinseki's goal in authorizing the black beret was to increase esprit de corps in the ranks as the Army works to keep up with multiple deployments and adjust to an era of changing military focus. The heavily equipped, massive army of the Cold War wasn't seen as adapting well to the multifaceted missions of the 21st century. Shinseki is working to make it faster and lighter.

When he announced the change late last year, Shinseki said the idea for the beret was inspired by the qualities of the special operations units that wear them, specifically the ability to deploy quickly and adapt to challenging environments.

"It is time for the entire Army to accept the challenge of excellence that has so long been a hallmark of our special operations and airborne units," Shinseki said.

Lt. Col. John Daugirda of Schofield Barracks wore an Airborne beret on a previous assignment. He said he was glad soldiers of all ranks would share the same honor.

"I think it is a great idea,'' Daugirda said. "It demonstrates unity of effort."