02-16-2006, 07:31
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#1
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Kia ora, bro
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 931
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The Green Beret and Ops
Just a quick question if you gents don't mind.
Is the beret worn on ops at all? I'm thinking mainly of the FID mission when instructing or in camp.
I recall seeing a lot of photos in the field from the 80s with the beret on rather than some form of camo headgear, but I gather those were staged photos rather than actual ops.
Cheers
RH
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Huey14 is offline
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02-16-2006, 07:57
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#2
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Quiet Professional
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Location: Vermont
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The beret is not a good item for field wear, however there are times when it is the article of choice for many reasons: some good and some rediculous. Here are a couple of personal examples:
Because of what the beret symbolizes it becomes a pretty good psyop tool when you want to send a msg to someone that SF is alive and well in their back yard. We managed to get a Russian "trawler" siezed, bordered, and its cargo (which wasn't fish) removed by a host nation by passing the appropriate amount of information to the HN security folks in the port. To make sure that they (Russkies) understood who was behind it we casually strolled by the embarrassed crew and resident diplomatic mission that was on sight when all this was going down. It wasn't hard to spot the political officer who went ballistic and ran to get the ships captain.
Training missions that have high visibility where we want to make sure that US presence is noted is another area, but this is normally in a "garrison" environment. It also has been the article of choice when you are dealing with counterparts and they also are wearing their equivalent item when in uniform. In the field, it is definitely not the hear gear of choice-especially in a semi-permissive environment. Not only because it becomes a bullet magnet, but it is too damn hot, doesn't do anything to keep the sun out of your eyes, and as the leather band shrinks after it starts to dry out from all the sweat that has soaked it, it sort of brings your head to a point. This in itself is not a bad thing, because it allows you to easily sort out the real troopers from the others as those with pointy heads were the ones that were more concerned with profiling their head gear than with getting the job done 
Now we always have had folks and units under which we have been placed in various command relationships that figure that unless you have spit shinned boots, haircuts, shaves, starched fatiques, and a beret on that you just are an undisciplined mob. These commanders under which we have fallen from time to time are of the "Weasely" Clark ilk that figure that if you look like a duck then you are therefore a duck dispite the fact that you can neither walk nor talk like a duck. The game plan here was normally to put the folks that looked like prize ducks in plain view while the real ganders did what they had come to do out of sight.
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Jack Moroney (RIP) is offline
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02-16-2006, 08:01
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#3
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Kia ora, bro
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 931
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Thanks very much for the reply, Mr. Moroney, it's appreciated a lot.
Rhys
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Huey14 is offline
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02-16-2006, 11:24
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#4
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Reaper used to like to wear a "special" PC when he was operating... 
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Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
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NousDefionsDoc is offline
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02-16-2006, 11:48
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#5
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Wore them down range for Graduation Ceremonies and occasionally on Site Surveys in Garrison.
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Warrior-Mentor is offline
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02-18-2006, 12:55
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#6
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Jack is all over it. Generally if we are wearing a beret while conducting operations it is for psyops reasons, or for ceremony. I have never seen anyone wear a beret in a tacticle environment other than for photo ops.
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Bumpden is offline
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02-18-2006, 13:21
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#7
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Warrior-Mentor
Wore them down range for Graduation Ceremonies and occasionally on Site Surveys in Garrison.
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That about says it all. As for combat ops, WTF good is it?
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QRQ 30 is offline
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02-18-2006, 16:22
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#8
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bumpden
Jack is all over it. Generally if we are wearing a beret while conducting operations it is for psyops reasons, or for ceremony. I have never seen anyone wear a beret in a tacticle environment other than for photo ops.
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Hi. Please go to the Intro thread and post an Introduction, then PM the Team Sergeant with your bona fides.
Have a nice day.
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Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.
Still want to quit?
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NousDefionsDoc is offline
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02-18-2006, 17:24
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#9
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc
Reaper used to like to wear a "special" PC when he was operating... |
No, Thack is the one who actually wore it in front of the bosses and had no spare.
Good memory though!
TR
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