Bring Back the army Forage / Peak Caps ... ?

[Pencil Tech]

The green bus driver hat was indeed awful. But the the Guards look is really great. Usually, most of us only wear DEU these days for ceremonial parades and such. I don't think it would be a big hardship to look after a smart-looking hat that you only had to take out on special occasions. I find that our DEU looks a little shabby. Re. top hats being out of style, good point  but when you look at our DEUs you have to admit that 19" flared trouser cuffs and tight skirted jackets with mile-long vents in the back kind of went out with Deep Purple and Foghat.  ;D

 

[Kat Stevens]

What did I miss? Was there a memo? When did Foghat and Deep Purple become uncool?

 

[KevinB]

Do they even issue them to new troops today -- all pictures I've seen of St Jean has recruits in berets?

Anyone who's gone thru SJ confirm?


The only worse piece of clothing was the Lint Trap Hat (whatever its called) it was good for dusting but I've seen one person wear it (in Ottawa - NDHQ)

Bus Driver suit - you know I hated that jacket but we usually worse the CF Sweater, or just the workdress shirt.
I still have a WD Shirt Name Tag and an old set of slipons -  



As for dress - a simple appointement to a tailor and DEU's can look decent.  The material is ASS though.

 

[grayman]

A serious retooling of the CF's is in order, what I would like to see, although totally impractical, seriously expensive and a logistical nightmare would be do like the brits do and each unit has their own type of dress uniform, some of those uniforms are seriosly sharp looking.  Having said that though if the troop wearing it is a bag of hammers it doesnt matter what the uniform looks like.  At the bare minimum I wouldnt mind having a summer CF uniform something lightweight,like the tans, but keep it green the tans looked like a leisure suit out of the 70's. There is nothing worse than trooping the colours for three hours in the middle of june wearing wool from head to toe.

 

[Pencil Tech]

What did I miss? Was there a memo? When did Foghat and Deep Purple become uncool?

Well spoken K(C)at Stevens. ;D

 

[Michael Dorosh]

A serious retooling of the CF's is in order, what I would like to see, although totally impractical, seriously expensive and a logistical nightmare would be do like the brits do and each unit has their own type of dress uniform, some of those uniforms are seriosly sharp looking.  Having said that though if the troop wearing it is a bag of hammers it doesnt matter what the uniform looks like.  At the bare minimum I wouldnt mind having a summer CF uniform something lightweight,like the tans, but keep it green the tans looked like a leisure suit out of the 70's. There is nothing worse than trooping the colours for three hours in the middle of june wearing wool from head to toe.

Most units in Canada DO have ceremonial dress approved, most just can't afford to buy them.

The DEU is a soldierly looking uniform, and the style is keeping with our traditions.  It's a good uniform when kept up properly, and tailored to the individual.  Some would complain that it isn't brown like the old Khaki service dress or the British Army uniforms, but CF Green is tradition now.  I think it suits us.

I liked the tans, but then we only wore the top half; looked good with a kilt.  That pants were pretty flimsy looking, and especially unflattering for the females who had to wear them.

 

[Pencil Tech]

As for dress - a simple appointement to a tailor and DEU's can look decent.

Well, I agree with you there, but how many people would actually do that? You mean "a tailor" - not "the base tailor", right?   But you look at any parade and there's guys with big flapping flaring floodpants right up at the top of their ankle boots, tunics so short their arse is sticking out a mile, and so tight the buttons are potential deadly projectiles.

 

[Pencil Tech]

I wish officers had their ranks on the shoulder straps of the tunic, having it as gold braid on the cuff makes them look like they work for WestJet.

 

[George Wallace]

Well, I agree with you there, but how many people would actually do that? You mean "a tailor" - not "the base tailor", right?   But you look at any parade and there's guys with big flapping flaring floodpants right up at the top of their ankle boots, tunics so short their arse is sticking out a mile, and so tight the buttons are potential deadly projectiles.

Now that we are off topic and onto the DEU; I have had arguments over the last twenty odd years about the boots.   I argued with my CO in Germany, that the whole CF (L) should wear SSF boots (Not Garrison Boots) instead of ankle boots and blouse the pants.   In the SSF we looked sharp.   The rest of the CF looked like Bus Drivers with their forage caps.   The Boots really did dress up the uniform and made one look more like a Soldier.   It in turn showed a little more pride in dress.   I felt pleased some twenty years later when he finally agreed with me.

 

[reccecrewman]

While George brought up the subject of SSF boots, I'll add this....................... Never mind just the boots, BRING BACK THE SSF! On the actual topic of hats, I'm against the forage caps.  I take much more pride in the fact that I wear a black beret.  It's distinct, looks sharp and no other Army unit has it.  The RCAC has a much deeper traditional tie to the black beret than that god awful looking green forage cap.

 

[Neill McKay]

Peak caps are a thing of the past, you might as well bring back the old bus driver jackets or battle dress for that matter, peak caps just plain suck!! you can look just as sharp and professional while wearing a beret.

Perhaps, but at least a peaked cap keeps the rain off your head.  A beret just seems to absorb more and more of it.

 

[Rick Delaney 1]

As someone who wore the forage cap many times,I didn't mind it one bit.Even in windy downtown Winnipeg or riding the transit bus I Didn't even mind being asked for directions while waiting for someone at the airport, that was until one day while talking to a very pretty RCMP officer at the Winnipeg airport some lady interupted to ask me to carry her bags to her car.The response she received was blunt and not what she expected but I'll bet she'll never again mistake a military uniform  for a bus driver's or baggage porter's ;D.

 

[TCBF]

"But I dont think the Green Beret is the only colour of beret"

- Why, Kevin, thanks for thinking of me!  ;D

Shock of all shocks, was being posted to CFRS Cornwallis and being told on GMTI Crse that the CF Svc dress included the Forage cap.  What a scramble  to find it.  I had to borrow one.  I think I still have it, it has 'Dumas' written in it. ;D

- Then, in 1985 or so, they changed the Dress regs so Armour could wear the Black Beret with all orders of dress (minus some ceremonial ones, of course).

Tom

 

[ChopperHead]

I like the forage cap It looks sharp however I have never wore one so I cant say anything about how practical or comfortable it is.

http://www.williamscully.ca/gallery/Royal-Canadian-Hussars/Hussar_s_Changing_of_the_Guidon


now you can't tell me that doesnt look sharp. and they as you can see dont have to be green.
lots of other pics on that website of former canadian military dress.

Kyle.

 

[STA Gunner]

I like em on AIGs and IGs.. other than that.... blecch

If we are ever allowed to wear them again.

As for the green beret, the MPs and Armour are not the only ones with a history of colour in their beret.  Unfortunately, Arty council keeps rejecting the Midnight Blue beret for gunners due to the cost of issuing every gunner a new beret.

 

[redleafjumper]

I liked wearing my forage cap; it kept the rain off my glasses.  Besides that I think forage caps  look cool, at least as officer's kit, and as I understand it, general officers still get to wear them.  I agree that berets and wedges are very practical kit, but berets in particular do show their age and the particularly well-loved ones tend to look pretty shabby in full dress.  I believe the decision to dump the forage cap was purely a cost one - berets are just plain cheaper than forage caps and they fit in a duffle bag better.

 

[pbi]

No, DON'T!  At least not as an item of daily dress. Full ceremonial DEU parades-well...OK-maybe. It was a pain the ass to keep on your head on a windy parade square, it was almost impossible to ship it without distorting it, and it sucked up lint from its surroundings. A beret, properly sized and worn, can look just as sharp for daily dress and is much more practical..

Cheers.

 

[ArmyRick]

No forge caps. NO FOREG CAPS ! OF ALL THE BLOODY THINGS WE NEED IN THE CF, FORGE CAPS ARE NOT IT !!! 

It would be a waste of money, time and resources. The DEU are fine as they are now and we are a cash strapped army.

I remember when we had forge caps and most units never wore them. I wore mine in Cornwallis and that was it.

This thought shouldn't even be entertained.

 

[garb811]

It was a pain the *** to keep on your head on a windy parade square...

You mean some enterprising soul didn't order you to use the chin strap to hold it on?  >

 

[TCBF]

"I never got a peaked cap, the navy still gets them but apart from that, nope, just berets. Heck, we only wore DEU's once and that was just for one morning inspection near the end of my course."

- Piper, you mean your grad parade, marching past in column and column of route, in slow and quick time, open and close order march on the march in slow time, etc, was not done in DEUs?

I think the tans was the best uniform ever issued, and we only got rid of it because if a person was fat, it was impossible to hide.

Tom