Return of the Army Forage Cap?

[Journeyman]

I say bring them back!!

And that's how the Good Idea Fairy would work.

The troops get stuck with the dumb idea (Blackadder, Baldrick, and George wearing forage cap), while the HQ responsible for said dumb idea do not (Darling and Melchett, sans chapeaux).

      ;D

 

[dapaterson]

And that's how the Good Idea Fairy would work.

The troops get stuck with the dumb idea (Blackadder, Baldrick, and George wearing forage cap), while the HQ responsible for said dumb idea do not (Darling and Melchett, sans chapeaux).

      ;D

I fully agree that those responsible for such an initiative should be marched around sans headdress.

 

[Staff Weenie]

Ah, but Baldrick could get his revenge just serving up his famed coffee to the Good Idea Fairy....

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

I fully agree that those responsible for such an initiative should be marched around sans headdress.

Better yet:

Bring em in front of a whole parade (in berets, thank you): Remove their headdress, strip ranks, strip regimental badges, strip decorations, all as the charge of "filing in the "lead change" box incorrectly" is read,  then about turn them and quick march them off to the order "march out the guilty bastard".

Oh, wait! Dang, we can't do that anymore because of the Trudeau Charter.

 

[George Wallace]

We are cursed. We don't learn from our mistakes as an institution. Forage caps......Garrison Dress, Work Dress, just to name a few.

Army Rick, recall the days of the 0530 hrs inspections? I REALLY thought that was a morale booster! 

Morale?  Boost?  Time for a "Change Parade".    >

 

[medicineman]

Why don't we just wear Baseball caps in all orders of dress - I look cool doing it in CADPAT down here at Shang ri La sometimes (I'd NEVER leave the immediate confines of the unit like that BTW, just since my dolphins aren't cool enough to wear my coveralls as walking out dress, I wear combats on occasions when I might leave).  Wonder how much brain matter would fly out of the Fleet Chief's ears and nose if I showed up on a 3B or 3A/1A parade with my unit ball cap on instead of my beret...now THAT sounds like a good idea  ;D.

MM

 

[Pusser]

I remember the fur hat. Our CO in ordered us to wear it for the winter. Clothing stores was busy with all the troops purchasing them.

This hat is properly called an "astrakhan," after the Astrakhan region of Russia where it first appeared.  Astrakhan is famous for its fleeces (from which the hat is properly made).  They were actually quite fashionable in some circles (notably amongst academics) in the 60s and 70s (my father, an academic, used to wear one).  RMC cadets still wear them in winter and call them "astro-cans."  I believe they tend to think it's a joke and don't realize its actually a proper name for this type of hat.

I've never liked it and thought it looked foolish.  The CF version did, however make a good tea cozy and a decent duster.  I always thought it was interesting that the men got a fake fur astrakhan, while the women were issued with a real muskrat hat - looked like a furry combat helmet with a ridiculous integral scarf.  The yukon hat is a HUGE improvement.

 

[Kat Stevens]

hat tangent;  The best hat we were ever issued was the work dress green winter hat, the hybrid trapper/ball cap dealy. Anyone else remember it?  never wore it in uniform, but it was a good winter hat.

 

[Pusser]

hat tangent;  The best hat we were ever issued was the work dress green winter hat, the hybrid trapper/ball cap dealy. Anyone else remember it?  never wore it in uniform, but it was a good winter hat.

I knew one guy who wore one.  Other than that, I only ever saw them in surplus stores.  I was certainly never issued one.

 

[OldSolduer]

hat tangent;  The best hat we were ever issued was the work dress green winter hat, the hybrid trapper/ball cap dealy. Anyone else remember it?  never wore it in uniform, but it was a good winter hat.

Yes, I wemember. I wanted to go hunting wabbits........ ;D

 

[my72jeep]

hat tangent;  The best hat we were ever issued was the work dress green winter hat, the hybrid trapper/ball cap dealy. Anyone else remember it?  never wore it in uniform, but it was a good winter hat.
[/quote/]
Didn't they stop issuing it in the 70's?

 

[Kat Stevens]

I was issued one in '80.

 

[Blackadder1916]

hat tangent;  The best hat we were ever issued was the work dress green winter hat, the hybrid trapper/ball cap dealy. Anyone else remember it?  never wore it in uniform, but it was a good winter hat.

Elmer Fudd jokes aside, it was a good piece of kit for the time.  On my TQ3 course, we wore it (and with the flaps down) often during the winter.  That year, the weather was miserable (more than usual) in Borden and marching to/from the school and barracks without ear protection would probably have resulted in some frostbite.  We were also bundled up in horse blankets greatcoats.  The piece of issued headwear that I wore the least was the "baseball cap" (well maybe the same amount as the Hat, Fur, Stupid - teacozy, for the use of) .  It was phasing out when I went through Cornwallis; I was issued one but we never wore it there.  The only time I ever wore it was, years later, with flying kit while doing an airevac.

 

[Old Sweat]

When the CF Green first came into use, we were issued both the forage hat and the tea cozy. We also wore berets with combat in lieu of the combat hat, aka the Robin Hood hat. The beret was also worn with work dress and could be worn with the green suit. About 1972 some fool convinced Jadex to ban the beret for wear with Greens for the regular force, while making it the only approved head dress for the reserves. One of the lines used was that this would call into use the well known ingenuity of the Canadian service member. This resulted in all sorts of forage caps being mangled when travelling on TD. Eventually, maybe after I retired, the forage cap was sent wherever old unwanted bits of uniform go, and I don't mean the barrack box with my Canadian army service number stencilled on it in our garage along with my bush hat, 51 pattern web belt and mess tin carrier and the like.

 

[eurowing]

QL3 Shilo in early 76. "Get rid of that snib (Cap, Forage) ! We'll get one from supply if you need one for your coffin!"

Ubique

 

[OldSolduer]

Let's hope the good idea fairies are sleeping as we type our thoughts out. All we need is some bright young whiz kid to convince others we need to re-adopt a useless peice of headgear.

 

[Old Sweat]

QL3 Shilo in early 76. "Get rid of that snib (Cap, Forage) ! We'll get one from supply if you need one for your coffin!"

Ubique

Side issue: I have not heard "snib" used for decades. It used to be in common use in 4 RCHA for just about anything. For example, "let's go to the canteen for a couple of snibs" or "go on over to the BQ and get some snibs so we can scrim this cam net."

 

[OldSolduer]

Side issue: I have not heard "snib" used for decades. It used to be in common use in 4 RCHA for just about anything. For example, "let's go to the canteen for a couple of snibs" or "go on over to the BQ and get some snibs so we can scrim this cam net."

Snib - is that like a thing a ma dooey? or a whatchamacallit?

Or maybe Harveykooby?

 

[mariomike]

Six more pages, and a poll:
Topic: "Bring Back the army Forage / Peak Caps ... ?":
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/34700.0

Lots more, if interested:
http://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=site%3Aarmy.ca+&btnG=Search#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=site:army.ca+forage&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=a91b69f6bd0a7737&biw=1360&bih=594

 

[medicineman]

Mario - GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

That is all I have to say about that.

MM