# Beret badge now wearing on side?



## dan514 (21 Jul 2011)

I've seen this on CTV News, high brass in Afghanistan wearing his beret badge, not above his left eye, but farther left like the brits do.

Is that correct?

Has there been  a change recently?


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## dangerboy (21 Jul 2011)

The regulations on wearing berets has not changed, some pers that are high in rank put the own interpretation on the dress regulations thus you see some strange wearing of headress


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## lethalLemon (21 Jul 2011)

UK military forces don't have an existing dress regulation on berets, so it's no wonder.

I think the whole "further left" thing is a "look-cool factor." Because, I'll be honest, some British troops with their berets worn like that... look friggin' hardcore, hahaha.

Edit: nevermind - removed my "P.S."


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## 57Chevy (21 Jul 2011)

I think it looks ridiculous.  Hahahaha ;D


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## Hurricane (21 Jul 2011)

Ive seen a few officers wear it like this, I think its so they can have a "CUSTOM" look. Soon people will want to put chrome trim around their combat boots.


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## OldSolduer (21 Jul 2011)

This picture is precisely why a TF Comd has a TF CWO - Dress, Deportment, Drill, Duties and Discipline.

If the CFCWO can keep the CDS in check dress wise.....


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## Rheostatic (21 Jul 2011)

The dead-centre-of-the-forehead look is just as silly.


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## PuckChaser (21 Jul 2011)

I'm not a big fan of the sideways look either. Its centered above the left eye, but at a 45 degree or greater angle because someone didn't want to form their beret properly.

Anything other than centered on left eye and straight up and down just looks dumb IMO.


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## buzgo (21 Jul 2011)

This seems to be a 5 Bde thing....


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## ballz (21 Jul 2011)

Rheostatic said:
			
		

> The dead-centre-of-the-forehead look is just as silly.



:+1:


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## X Royal (21 Jul 2011)

I tended to wear mine a little closer to the centre. 
When your proud of your badge you want everyone to see it coming toward them.
To the side almost seems like you trying to hide it.


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## medicineman (21 Jul 2011)

signalsguy said:
			
		

> This seems to be a 5 Bde thing....



In their defence, the Vandoo hat badge takes up alot of room, however it's funny how their NCO's manage to look right despite that.  I'm really not one to talk, since mine tends to be a bit farther left than it should, especially when I need a haircut  ;D.

MM


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## Haggis (21 Jul 2011)

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> This picture is precisely why a TF Comd has a TF CWO - Dress, Deportment, Drill, Duties and Discipline.



So, where was the TF CWO when that photo was taken?

I'm just askin......


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## jollyjacktar (21 Jul 2011)

dangerboy said:
			
		

> The regulations on wearing berets has not changed, some pers that are high in rank put the own interpretation on the dress regulations thus you see some strange wearing of headress



Well just look at how his tour ended up...


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## The Bread Guy (21 Jul 2011)

It seems to be a "since at least Colonel" thing.....


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## PMedMoe (21 Jul 2011)

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> It seems to be a "since at least Colonel" thing.....



Or just a "Menard" thing:


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## Hammer Sandwich (21 Jul 2011)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Or just a "Menard" thing:



Oh, c'mon folks....he had a lot of other things on his mind......

_(Maybe the "sideways badge"  is like the "detergent on the windowsill")_
 ;D


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## The Bread Guy (21 Jul 2011)

Hammer Sandwich said:
			
		

> _(Maybe the "sideways badge"  is like the "detergent on the windowsill")_
> ;D


OMO rules!
 :rofl:


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## OldSolduer (21 Jul 2011)

Hammer Sandwich said:
			
		

> Oh, c'mon folks....he had a lot of other things on his mind......
> 
> _(Maybe the "sideways badge"  is like the "detergent on the windowsill")_
> ;D




OOOhhh LOL good one!! another big smile happening here!!


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## Hammer Sandwich (21 Jul 2011)

....One could also assume there would be a distinct lack of mirrors when dressing in a dark CONEX container behind the IMP crates.....

(sorry, I'll stop now)


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## CountDC (21 Jul 2011)

now I don't feel so bad for not having mine proper all the time.  No more self inflicted lashings!!


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## 211RadOp (21 Jul 2011)

signalsguy said:
			
		

> This seems to be a 5 Bde thing....



Most of the ones I have seen have been Combat Arms Officers.  I always bug my brother when I see his that way.


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## Jungle (21 Jul 2011)

This has been discussed before somewhere on the forums here; Menard was posted an exchange officer with the British Army, that is where he picked up the beret style. Not saying it's OK, but that's the origin; and he did like to "stand out".

As for the RSM at the time, I know him and I have no doubt he did everything he was expected to do; if the Gen decides to ignore the advice, he's on his own... 
That lesson goes for all Officers from Platoon Comd on up: pay attention to your WO/Sgt-Maj's advice.


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## dapaterson (21 Jul 2011)

Jungle said:
			
		

> That lesson goes for all Officers from Platoon Comd on up: pay attention to your WO/Sgt-Maj's advice.



More important: Build a relationship of trust and respect with your WO/Sgt-Maj, so there is open and frank communication.


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## Danjanou (21 Jul 2011)

Hammer Sandwich said:
			
		

> Oh, c'mon folks....he had a lot of other things on his mind......
> 
> _(Maybe the "sideways badge"  is like the "detergent on the windowsill")_
> ;D



right you now owe my employer a new keyboard and a monitor and me a new coffee. 8)


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## Pencil Tech (21 Jul 2011)

Gen. Vance does that on the side thing too. The reason Brits do it, and they don't all do it either, is they like to form their berets so they look like "flat caps".


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## Danjanou (21 Jul 2011)

Pencil Tech said:
			
		

> Gen. Vance does that on the side thing too.



Oh you meant the capbadge placment beret thing......



nevermind then  8)


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## Towards_the_gap (21 Jul 2011)

The 'flat cap' look has traditionally been a Parachute Regt thing, with supporting units (9 Para Sqn RE, 7 RHA et al) copying them.

Basically Menard is a para groupie.


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## Gunner98 (21 Jul 2011)

http://www.afghanistan.gc.ca/canada-afghanistan/stories-reportages/2011_01_28.aspx?lang=eng

And where did this MGen learn to wear his beret? ???  Soon to be Comd CEFCOM.  

Same issue - Current Comd CEF COM - see here: http://www.nato.int/isaf/media/photo/2008/080420a/pages/080420a.html

Edit: Grammar only.


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## cupper (21 Jul 2011)

See, it's bad examples like this that caused the US Army to scrap the beret and go back to the ball cap. :nana:


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## dimsum (21 Jul 2011)

cupper said:
			
		

> See, it's bad examples like this that caused the US Army to scrap the beret and go back to the ball cap. :nana:



I'm pretty sure it's the fact that they used the same amount of wool in a beret as a fire blanket that caused them to scrap it  ;D


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## Hurricane (21 Jul 2011)

cupper said:
			
		

> See, it's bad examples like this that caused the US Army to scrap the beret and go back to the ball cap. :nana:



Except they still wear the beret as well. :S


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## Zoomie (21 Jul 2011)

What do you malcontents believe to be the "proper" beret look?  Apart from cap badge placement - do you think a trench is required?  I personally think the trench and/or forward leaning capbadge (like in ST second example) is silly looking.  I prefer the smaller, rearward swept beret with a slight preponderance towards the badge being past the eye and towards the ear (a la Gen Menard).  A CWO would have a hard time explaining to me the finer points of how to wear a beret when the 265 doesn't provide 100% guidance.


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## MikeL (21 Jul 2011)

Yea the US Army is retaining the beret, but instead of everyday wear it's only for wear with dress uniform or a parade in ACUs.


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## chrisf (21 Jul 2011)

Zoomie said:
			
		

> What do you malcontents believe to be the "proper" beret look?



Undersized, shrunk, and trimmed to the size of a dwarf's yarmulke, perched delicately over the left eye-brow.



> Apart from cap badge placement - do you think a trench is required?



On a marginally more serious note, in my opinion, what a silly style... I've seen people with such deep "trenches" their beret sticks out an inch or more on the left side...


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## McG (21 Jul 2011)

Zoomie said:
			
		

> A CWO would have a hard time explaining to me the finer points of how to wear a beret when the 265 doesn't provide 100% guidance.


You mean this does not say it all?


> Beret. The beret shall be worn evenly on
> the head, with the sweatband 2.5 cm (1 in.)
> above the eyebrows, the badge centred
> over the left eye, and the crown pulled
> ...


... even with the stunning graphic to clarify things?


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## OldSolduer (21 Jul 2011)

Zoomie said:
			
		

> A CWO would have a hard time explaining to me the finer points of how to wear a beret when the 265 doesn't provide 100% guidance.



No he wouldn't. He'd tell you and your Niner would back him. In any unit I've been, CWOs carry a lot of weight.


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## brihard (21 Jul 2011)

MCG said:
			
		

> You mean this does not say it all?... even with the stunning graphic to clarify things?



Berets are sized for head size, not eye separation spacing. A beret may be spaced with the cap badge above the left eye, or the break in the sweat band center in the rear, or possibly, but less likely both in exactitude.

If the physical dimensions of one's head and eyeballs dictate that the sweatband break cannot be in the exact rear of the head simultaneous with the capbadge immediately above the left eye, and neither is stated to take precedence, some ambiguity exists. I'm not quibbling, simply stating that such is the case.

Anyone not wearing a Balmorral is a lesser man anyway.


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## OldSolduer (21 Jul 2011)

Brihard said:
			
		

> Berets are sized for head size, not eye separation spacing. A beret may be spaced with the cap badge above the left eye, or the break in the sweat band center in the rear, or possibly, but less likely both in exactitude.
> 
> If the physical dimensions of one's head and eyeballs dictate that the sweatband break cannot be in the exact rear of the head simultaneous with the capbadge immediately above the left eye, and neither is stated to take precedence, some ambiguity exists. I'm not quibbling, simply stating that such is the case.
> 
> Anyone not wearing a Balmorral is a lesser man anyway.



And I agree with your premise about the beret....one size/style does not fit all and some people just look goofy in them, no matter what you do or tell them.

Now....about the Balmoral....... >


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## brihard (21 Jul 2011)

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> And I agree with your premise about the beret....one size/style does not fit all and some people just look goofy in them, no matter what you do or tell them.
> 
> Now....about the Balmoral....... >



I'm holding my ground and calling FPF on this one til Haggis shows up.  ;D


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## medicineman (21 Jul 2011)

I see this going the way of the pants blousing thread...if the issue beret doesn't meet your criteria, do what everyone else used to do and spend a little money on one that is nice and looks the way you feel it should within dress regs (Kiwi, Belgique or Pakistani).

MM


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## Zoomie (21 Jul 2011)

I can't wait for my muskrat lined winter cap - the CWO down here is going to flip when he sees us wearing it.


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## OldSolduer (21 Jul 2011)

Zoomie said:
			
		

> I can't wait for my muskrat lined winter cap - the CWO down here is going to flip when he sees us wearing it.



No doubt !  :facepalm: Pilots.......


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## dimsum (22 Jul 2011)

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> No doubt !  :facepalm: Pilots.......



I can see a bunch of us in Comox ordering them for the hell of it.  At least I am.   ;D


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## Rheostatic (22 Jul 2011)

It's going to be a stylish winter.


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## Michael OLeary (22 Jul 2011)

medicineman said:
			
		

> (Kiwi, Belgique or Pakistani)



Ou artiste parisien, peut-être?







Just tell the Sergeant Major you've changed your religion to Dada, which would be fitting in so many ways.



> Its purpose was to ridicule what its participants considered to be the meaninglessness of the modern world. In addition to being anti-war, dada was also anti-bourgeois and anarchist in nature.


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## gun runner (22 Jul 2011)

:nod:  Oh yeah!!


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## Hammer Sandwich (22 Jul 2011)

Danjanou said:
			
		

> Oh you meant the capbadge placment beret thing......



That was friggin' _on point_.
Lol....
Lol to the extreme...
Lol until "near-prolapse".

(I'd assess, but you already got yours for today)


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## Infanteer (25 Jul 2011)

Jungle said:
			
		

> That lesson goes for all Officers from Platoon Comd on up: pay attention to your WO/Sgt-Maj's advice.



Like "General, you really shouldn't be banging that Master Corporal...."


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## PuckChaser (25 Jul 2011)

Infanteer said:
			
		

> Like "General, you really shouldn't be banging that Master Corporal...."



 ;D Too soon? Nahhh.


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## Danjanou (25 Jul 2011)

Infanteer said:
			
		

> Like "General, you really shouldn't be banging that Master Corporal...."



Oh yeah and I can just imagine how that conversation went 8)


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## klink1983 (29 Sep 2011)

lethalLemon said:
			
		

> UK military forces don't have an existing dress regulation on berets, so it's no wonder.
> 
> I think the whole "further left" thing is a "look-cool factor." Because, I'll be honest, some British troops with their berets worn like that... look friggin' hardcore, hahaha.
> 
> Edit: nevermind - removed my "P.S."



My capbadge has pieces which dig into my forehead no matter how I set it up, wearing a tiny bit more to the left would be all the more comfortable... Different rules for different people I suppose. Regs are Regs however, every one should be the same, or everyone should receive the same flexibility. I can complain about this all day long, but its a game with rules...play the rules and you get to pass go and collect your $200


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