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Berets have been a component of the uniforms of many armed forces throughout the world since the mid-20th century. Military berets are usually pushed to the right to free the shoulder that bears the rifle on most soldiers, but the armies of some countries, mostly Europe, South America and Iran have influenced the push to the left.

Berets are in some countries particularly associated with elite units, who often wear berets in more unusual colours.

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History

The use of beret-like headgear by the military of Europe dates back hundreds of years, the first example being the Scottish Blue Bonnet, that became a de facto symbol of Scottish Jacobite forces in the 16th and 17th centuries. As an officially required military headdress, its use dates back to the Carlist Wars of Succession for the Spanish Crown in the 1830s by order of Carlist General Tomás de Zumalacárregui who wanted a local and non-costly way to make headgear that was resistant to the mountain weather, easy to care for and could be used on formal occasions.

The French Chasseurs alpins, created in the early 1880s, were the first regular unit to wear the military beret as a standard headgear. These mountain troops were issued with a uniform which included several features which were innovative for the time, notably the large and floppy blue beret which they still retain. This was so unfamiliar a fashion outside France that it had to be described in the Encyclopædia Britannica of 1911 as "a soft cap or tam o'shanter".

Berets have features that make them attractive to the military: they are cheap, easy to make in large numbers, can be manufactured in a wide range of colors, can be rolled up and stuffed into a pocket or beneath the shirt epaulette without damage, and can be worn with headphones (this is one of the reasons why early tank crews adopted the beret). The beret is not so useful in field conditions for the modern infantryman, who requires protective helmets, and non-camouflage versions are seldom seen on operations.

The beret was found particularly useful as a uniform for armored-vehicle crews, and the British Tank Corps (later Royal Tank Corps) adopted the headdress as early as 1918.

German AFV crews in the late 1930s also adopted a beret with the addition of a padded crash helmet inside. The color black became popular as a tank-crew headdress, since it did not show oil stains picked up inside the interior of a vehicle. Black berets continue to be worn by armored regiments in many armies (see details below).

An unusual form of beret is the camo beret, mostly issued to special forces. Countries that have issued camouflage berets include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, PRC, Denmark, Ecuador, Israel, Paraguay, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, and Thailand.

Berets have become the default military headdress of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, just as the morion, tricorne, shako, kepi, and peaked cap were each common headgear in their own respective eras. As recorded below the beret is now worn by many military personnel of the majority of nations around the globe.

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Military berets by country

Afghanistan

Most berets are used by senior enlisted personnel and officers.

Algeria

light green beret used by para-commandos units

Angola

In the Angola Armed Forces, the following berets are in use:

Argentina

Berets are worn by some units in the Argentine Armed Forces, with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colours are as follows:

Armenia

The Armed Forces continue to wear Soviet-style (pieced fabric) berets, which are draped to the right in most circumstances. When appearing in public on parade, the berets are draped to the left side so that the insignia shows to observing dignitaries and the public.

• Light blue - Airborne Forces, Peacekeeping Forces
• Black - Interior Ministry Troops
• Wine red - Interior Ministry Special Troops
• Bright Green - Border Guards

Australia

In the Royal Australian Navy, dark blue berets are an optional uniform item available to all members, with distinguishing badges to identify the ranks of Sailors and Officers.

Berets are worn by all corps in the Australian Army, with distinctive colours for some units:

• Black -- Royal Australian Armoured Corps
• Sand -- Special Air Service Regiment
• Light blue -- Australian Army Aviation
• Scarlet -- Royal Australian Corps of Military Police
• Dull cherry -- 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Parachute Riggers (RAAOC)
• Rifle green -- Royal Australian Regiment
• Sherwood green -- 1st Commando Regiment and 2nd Commando Regiment
• Slate grey -- Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps
• Dark blue -- Royal Australian Navy Sailors, mainly Clearance Divers
• Terracotta berets are worn by Multinational Force and Observers contingents.

Blue berets are worn in the Royal Australian Air Force, but only if you are attached to a security forces squadron.

In all cases, the beret is 'bashed' to the right, and a badge or insignia is worn above the left eye.

Austria

Berets are common in most parts of the Army, and are usually worn for special occasions, but also regularly by certain forces.

• Grass green -- Infantry, all troops that do not wear another color
• Olive green -- Jagdkommandos (formerly maroon)
• Black -- Mechanized troops, anti-tank troops, artillery, reconnaissance, combat engineers
• Wine red -- Jägerbataillon 25 (paratroopers)
• Scarlet red -- Guard of Honour
• Coral red -- Military Police
• Yellow green -- Sports Center of the Army
• Pike grey -- NBC Defence School
• Rust brown -- Signal School
• Navy blue -- Logistics School, Mission Support Command (Kdo Einsatzunterstützung)
• Blue -- UN

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

• Black - Royal Bahraini Army and Royal Bahraini Naval Force
• Blue - Royal Bahraini Air Force
• Red - Military Police
• Tan - Special Forces
• Green - Royal Guard
• Olive Green - National Guard
• Maroon - Public Security Forces
• Dark Blue - Coast Guard
• Dark Green- Harasat

Bangladesh

• Black -- Armoured corps, Signals
• Bangladesh Green -- Infantry
• Dull Cherry -- Army Medical corps
• Scarlet -- Military police
• Maroon -- Commandos
• Royal Blue -- Engineers, Service corps
• Dark Blue -- Education corps, Electrical and mechanical engineers, Ordnance, Artillery, Army Dental corps, Naval Service
• Any color with feathers-Cadet

Belgium

Initially, the only unit of the Belgian military to wear berets were the Chasseurs Ardennais from the 1930s. Since World War II they have been adopted by all units. Berets vary in colour according to the regiment, and carry a badge (sometimes on a coloured shield-shaped patch) which is of gilt for officers, silver for non-commissioned officers and bronze for other ranks. Members of cavalry units all wear silver coloured badges.

Benin

Bolivia

Berets in Bolivian Army:

• Black -- Paratroopers
• Maroon -- Armoured Corps
• Green -- Special Operations Forces, Commandos
• Camouflage -- Special Forces "Bolivian Condors"
• Tan -- Mountain Infantry (Satinadores de Montaña)
• Blue -- Engineer units

Berets in Bolivian Air Force:

• Royal Blue - Air Force Infantry personnel

Brazil

Bulgaria

Berets have been worn by Bulgarian military personnel since 1991. Berets vary in colour according to the military branch, and carry a crest pin (sometimes on a coloured background patch) resembling the unit's insignia.

• Red -- Bulgarian Land Forces
• Red - SOBT
• Light blue -- Bulgarian Air Force
• Light blue - 68th Special Forces Brigade (Bulgaria)
• Black - Navy SOF, Gandarmery
• Green - Military Police

Cambodia

• Dark red - 911 Special Forces Regiment
• Royal Purple - Military Police

Cameroon

• Bataillon des Troupes Aéroportées (Airborne Battalion) - dark red/maroon
• Bataillon Spécial Amphibie (Special Amphibious Battalion) - light green
• Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide (Rapid Intervention Battalion) - light green
• Fusiliers de l'Air (Air Force Infantry) - royal blue
• Fusiliers Marins (Marine Infantry) - black
• Garde Presidentielle (Presidential Guard) - royal purple

Canada

The colour of the beret is determined by the wearer's environment, branch, or mission. The beret colours listed below are the current standard:

Chile

Berets in Chilean Army:

• Black -- Special Operations Forces (Fuerzas Especiales), Comandos and Paratroopers (Paracaidistas)
• Maroon -- Armoured Corps
• Green -- Mountain troops (Tropas de Montaña)

Berets in Chilean Navy:

• Black -- Missile Craft, Submarines and SSK's crew
• Green -- Combat Diver (Navy) and Comandos Anfibio (Marine Corps Special Operations)

Berets in Chilean Air Force:

• Dark blue -- Ground troops
• Black -- Commandos and Paratroopers

China

Since May 5, 2000, the People's Liberation Army has adopted woolen berets for all its personnel, along with the traditional peaked caps. Type 99 beret

• Olive green -- Ground Force and Second artillery force
• Dark blue -- Navy
• Black - Marine corps
• Blue-grey -- Air Force (including Airborne troops)

Berets were not officially adopted by the CAPF, but some of the forces issued their own types NOT OFFICIAL:

• Red--CAPF Provincial Women Special Police Corps
• Dark blue--Public Security Police SWAT

During the 80s, camo berets were issued to some of the recon forces of PLA. It has no badge on it.

Type 07 uniform is being issued to both PLA and CAPF on August 1, 2007. Colours of 07 berets are changed to the same colours with the service uniform. And several changes in designs were made from type 99 beret. The berets were not being issued until summer of 2009 to most of the troops.

Other than colours of the berets, the most significant difference between type 99 and type 07 is the type 99 beret badge is cloth, while type 07 is plastic.

Colombia

Berets are worn by all personnel of the National Army of Colombia (Ejército), certain members of the Navy (Armada) and National Police (Policía Nacional), with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colors are:

Croatia

In the Croatian Army berets are used in special forces and guard brigades, as well as in cadet battalion.
During Croatian War of Independence, Croatian Army consisted of seven professional brigades--guard brigades, each having its beret colour. During the army reforms number of guard brigades was cut to two, but the battalions kept the names and insignia (colour of beret also) of ex brigades.

Joint staff:

• Green with golden cap badge -- Joint staff
• Red -- presidential guard on their battledress uniforms
• Green (badge on the right) -- Special Operations Battalion
• Black -- Military police

Guard brigades:

• Armored Mechanized Guard Brigade
  • Black -- 1st Mechanized Battalion "Sokolovi"
  • Brown -- 2nd Mechanized Battalion "Pume"
  • Black -- Tank Battalion "Kune"
• Motorized Guard Brigade
  • Black -- 1st Mechanized Battalion "Tigrovi"
  • Green -- 2nd Mechanized Battalion "Gromovi"
  • Black -- 1st Motorized Battalion "Vukovi"
  • Red -- 2nd Motorized Battalion "Pauci"

Black beret is also used in Cadet battalion. Also dark blue beret is used in Croatian Navy.

Czech Republic

The Armed Forces of the Czech Republic use berets for both battledress and display uniform. The colour of the beret is defined by the branch of the armed forces. The beret displays the state coat of arms with two swords crossed underneath and the badge of rank of the individual.

Denmark

The Royal Danish Army first introduced berets for its armour personnel in 1958. It was later extended to the whole army, Homeguard and parts of the Navy and Airforce, replacing the standard issue Side cap.

Ecuador

Berets are worn by all personnel of the Ecuadorian Army (Ejército) and certain members of the Navy (Armada) and Air Force (Fuerza Aérea), with distinctive colours for some units or functions. The beret colours are:

Egypt

• Maroon -- Paratroopers
• Forest green -- Armour
• Dark blue -- Infantry
• Dark blue with red band -- Presidential Guard
• Black -- Artillery
• Red -- Military Police
• Green -- Engineers

Eritrea

All personnel of the EDF or Eritrean Defense Forces wear Berets.

• Red -- Air Force Units
• Green -- Army Units
• Blue -- Naval Units
• Purple -- Border Guard

Estonia

All personnel in the Estonian Military used to wear Berets in the beginning on 90's. In 2013, berets were reinstated.

• Green -- Ground Forces
• Black -- Armoured Corps, Naval Units
• Red -- Military police
• White - Military Bands Service when not in parade dress uniform

Finland

The Finnish Defence Force uses berets with cap badges for the Army, Navy and the Air Force. The berets are worn in "clean" garrison duties such as roll calls and with the walking-out uniform, but not with the battle dress. Until the mid-1990s, the beret was reserved for troops with special status, such as the armoured troops, coastal jägers and the parachute jägers, but is nowadays used by all units. In the winter, berets are replaced by winter headgear.

Berets are also used by the Finnish Border Guard, which is a military organization under the aegis of Ministry of Interior during peacetime.

• Olive drab (Badge: Silver lion's head) -- Army
• Olive drab (Badge: Golden lion's head with a crown) -- Finnish Rapid Deployment Force and units abroad (except for UN peacekeepers who wear UN Blue berets with a UN badge)
• Blue (Badge: Air Force insignia) -- Air Force
• Blue (Badge: Silver griffin) -- Army aviation
• Blue (Badge: Harp and sword) -- Military bands
• Dark blue (Badge: Anchor and Lion) -- Navy, including coastal troops, but with the exception of coastal jägers
• Black (Badge: Gothic helmet) -- Armoured Brigade
• Dark green (Badge: Golden sea eagle's head) -- Coastal jägers
• Maroon (Badge: Arrow and parachute) -- Airborne Jägers and Special Jägers of Utti Jäger Regiment
• Olive drab (Badge: Golden bear's head, sword and fir tree twig) -- Border Jägers
• Brown (Badge: Golden bear's head, sword and fir tree twig) -- Special Border Jägers

France

The military beret originated in the French Army, in the form of the wide and floppy headdress worn by the Chasseurs Alpins (mountain light infantry) from their foundation in the early 1880s. The practical uses of the beret were soon known Army-wide: the entire Expeditionary Force sent in China in 1900 used berets as headwear A tight-fitting version was subsequently adopted by French armoured troops towards the end of World War I. Between the wars, special fortress units raised to garrison the Maginot Line wore khaki berets as did the 13th DBLE of the French Foreign Legion when it was created in 1940. The Vichy Milice of the War period wore a blue beret.

The beret in blue, red or green was a distinction respectively of the Metropolitan, Colonial and Foreign Legion paratroop units during the Indochina and Algerian wars. In 1962 the beret in either light khaki or the colours specified above became the standard French Army headdress for ordinary use.

With the exception of the Naval Commandos (Commandos Marine) and the Naval Infantry (Fusiliers Marins) whose berets are worn pulled to the right, all other French military berets (Army, Airforce & Gendarmerie) are pulled to the left with the badge worn over the right eye or temple. Gendarmerie personnel serving with the European Gendarmerie Force - an EU crisis response & intervention force - wear the standard EUROGENDFOR royal blue beret & badge when so assigned.

Gabon

Berets in Gabonese Army:

• Dark red/rouge-- Paratroopers
• Light grey -- Armoured troops
• Green -- Republican Guard
• Green -- Commandos Marine
• Dark red -- Army Medical Corps
• Dark blue -- other Army units

Germany

The German Heer uses berets with different badges for every branch of service. The Luftwaffe and the Marine issue dark blue berets only to their ground or land combat units (called Luftwaffensicherungstruppe and Marineschutzkräfte) respectively. Berets are usually worn at special ceremonies and roll calls, although units with a special esprit de corps, especially armoured and mechanized infantry (Panzergrenadiere) battalions, wear their berets all the time. German berets are always pulled to the right, with the badge visible over the left temple.

Military bands wear the beret colour of their respective division (e.g. black in the 1. Panzerdivision).

Note: The Panzerjäger started off with black berets but were moved into the Panzergrenadier branch. The last Panzerjägers wore green berets.

Ghana

The beret colours worn by the Ghana Army are as follows:

• Black -- Armoured Corps
• Dark Green -- Airborne Force (ABF)
• Red -- Military Police
• Dark Blue -- All other Arms and Corps

Greece

The beret colours worn by the Hellenic Army are as follows:

• Light blue -- Presidential Guard
• Black -- Armoured Corps
• Green -- Special Forces (including Commandos, Marines and Parachute despatchers/riggers)
• Dark red/maroon -- Army Aviation
• Bright red/scarlet -- Airmobile troops
• Dark Blue -- All other Arms and Corps when in 8a, 8b and 8c Service Dress.

When in camouflage fatigues, the camouflaged cap is worn instead of the dark blue beret. The beret colours worn by the Hellenic Air Force are:

• Blue-grey (same colours as RAF) -- Air Force Underwater Operations Squadron
• Dark red/Maroon -- Air Force Special Operations Squadron

Guatemala

• Black - Parachute Brigade (Brigada Paracaidista)
• Maroon - Kaibiles (Special Forces)

Hungary

History: the first beret-type cap (khaki colour, with black ribbon and "eagle" badge) was issued for Air Force enlisted personnel in 1930, but berets became popular in the 1970s, when reconnaissance troops (paratroopers) were issued with rifle green (or grass green) berets. Previously maroon beret was also experimented and even reversible (green to camo) "multi-purpose" berets were produced, but the standardization started on the 1975 military parade. In 1982 military secondary school students were issued with green berets too, while in 1987 River Force troopers received dark blue beret. After the collapse of the communism the beret as "mark of the elite trooper" received more and more popularity among soldiers.

Berets currently in Hungarian military:

• Black (with tank troops' badge) -- Armoured Units
• Black (with anchor badge) -- personnel of the river boats
• Scarlet (with MP badge) -- Military Police
• Scarlet(with artillery or AA badge) -- Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Artillery
• Grass Green (with paratroops badge)-- Paratroopers
• Grass Green (with engineer's badge)-- Engineers
• Grass Green (with infantry badge) -- Infantry (only in foreign missions)
• Dark brown (with infantry badge) - Guard Battalion Special Team (only in the 2000s)

Except these official versions different unofficial beret types, colours and badges are worn, for example Dark Blue berets by Signal Corps cadets etc.

Iceland

Icelandic armed services commonly use berets.

India

The beret is the standard headgear for the Indian Army. Berets are worn by officers and other ranks, apart from Sikhs, who wear turbans. The beret colours worn by the Indian Army are as follows:

• Light Green (shades vary considerably) -- Infantry regiments and Military Intelligence
• Dark (rifle) green -- Rifle Regiments, some Light Infantry regiments (including the Mechanised Infantry Regiment), COBRA jungle warfare Commandos, and the National Cadet Corps
• Maroon -- The Parachute Regiment, Special Forces, Special Frontier Force
• Black -- Armoured Corps, Border Security Force (BSF), the National Security Guards (NSG)
• Grey -- Army Aviation Corps and the Indian Air Force
• Scarlet -- Corps of Military Police
• Navy blue -- The Regiment of Artillery, Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals, Support Arms and Services, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force
• Sand -- Marine Commandos
• Light Blue -- All personnel serving with the United Nations forces irrespective of unit, arm or service

Indonesia

The beret is the standard headgear of armed forces and police personnel in Indonesia. It is also worn by paramilitary and other uniformed services in the country such as the Fire Brigade, Search and Rescue, Scouts, civil militias (such as Banser) and civil paramilitary organizations. In the Military Services (Army, Navy and Air Force), the berets are dragged to the right (the insignia are worn on the left side), while in the Indonesian National Police force and Military Police Corps, the berets are dragged to the left (the insignia are worn on the right side). Both having its own meaning, dragged to the right meaning "ready for combat and defense" and dragged to the left meaning "ready for law enforcement and order". Military and Police services according to their beret colours which represent different units within the force are as shown below:

• Indonesian Army (TNI AD)
  • Green - Army Headquarters, Territorial Army, regular Infantry and Army staff
  • Red - Army Special Forces Commandos ("Kopassus") including Para-Commandos
  • Dark Green - Raider Infantry air-mobile and special operations capable units, Mechanized Infantry and the Strategic Command Corps ("Kostrad") which itself includes infantry brigades, Airborne brigades, reconnaissance platoons, cavalry and artillery battalions.
  • Black - Cavalry and Armored Cavalry (Tank) Corps
  • Brown - Field Artillery corps and Air Defense Artillery corps
  • Steel Gray - Combat Engineers Corps (currently changed to green)
  • Maroon - Army Aviation Corps
  • Khaki - Signal Corps
  • Dark Blue - Supply and Transportation Corps
  • Light Blue (beret dragged to the left) - Military Police
• Indonesian Navy (TNI AL)
  • Navy Blue - Standard berets for the Navy, worn by all personnel such as Naval seamen and naval sailors in duty of ships' company, or on the Naval bases.
  • Reddish Purple (Magenta) - Marine Corps and Jala Mengkara Detachment Naval special forces
  • Maroon - Frogman Command
• Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU)
  • Blue - Standard berets for the Air Force, with Air Force insignia worn by Airmen and Air Force staff.
  • Orange - Air Force Infantry Special Operation Corps (Korps PasKhas).
• Inter-services
  • Light Blue - All personnel attached in United Nations' Peace Keeping Force, and the Presidential Security Force (Paspampres)
  • Dark Brown - Military Cadets
• Paramilitary units (not part of armed forces/TNI)
  • Dark Blue - Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob), beret dragged to the left
• Non-military
  • Dark Brown - Scouts
  • Light Brown - Ministry of Defence employees and Armed Forces Civil Servants (PNS), beret dragged to the left
  • Purple - College Students Regiment

Iran

• Dark Blue - Iranian Marines
• Black - Iranian Army Airborne Forces, IRGC Commandos, and Police
• Green - Iranian Army Special Forces (Rangers), Iranian Marines Special Forces, IRGC Special Forces
• Tan - Iranian Army Commandos
• Maroon - Iranian Army Tank Crew

Iraq

The beret color system used for the different branches of the Iraqi military and security forces changed after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Beret colors currently (and formerly) worn by Iraqi forces are as follows:

• Maroon -- Army (formerly Special Republican Guards, Paratroops and/or Special Forces)
• Khaki (olive green) -- no longer used (formerly Logistics and Transport personnel)
• Green -- Special Forces (formerly Commandos and Thunder Paratroops)
• Bright Red -- Military Police
• Black -- Police (formerly Republican Guards and regular Army)
• Blue -- Air Force
• Dark Blue - Iraqi Navy
• Blue-Grey - no longer worn (formerly Iraqi Air Force)

Ireland

All Army personnel wear a common capbadge, a sunburst insignia with the letters "FF" inscribed above the left eye of the beret. The Irish Defence Forces cap badge for Officers in the Army has a more subdued appearance. Air Corps and Naval Service personnel wear their own cap badge on berets.

Uii The beret colours worn by the Irish Defence Forces are as follows:

The beret colours worn by the Reserve Defence Forces are as follows:

Israel

Israeli Defense Forces soldiers wear berets only on formal occasions, such as ceremonies and roll calls, and in disciplinary situations such as courts martial and imprisonments. While they are not attending formal occasions, they must place the beret beneath the left epaulette. The Border Police, which are a unit of the civil police rather than the military IDF, wear their berets at most times. The beret colors are as follows:

Italy

Italian Army personnel used to wear a garrison cap alongside the combination cap, until the early 1970s when the garrison cap was replaced by the beret. Until the early 1980s the general Army colour for the beret was drab khaki, the black being reserved to armoured units. The colours presently used by the Italian Army are as follows:

• Maroon -- Paratroopers, Folgore Airborne Brigade; Army Incursori Special Operations Forces
• Light blue -- Army Aviation, 66th Airmobile Infantry Regiment
• Black -- all other Army units (the Bersaglieri light infantry have royal blue beret strings, instead of black ones like the rest of the Italian Military)
• Green - The Lagunari Serenissima amphibious infantry Regiment received 'Lagoon green' berets in 2011 after service in Afghanistan

The Italian Navy uses the following berets:

• Green -- Navy Commando frogmen Operational Raider Group (COMSUBIN GOI)
• Medium blue - Navy Rescue frogmen Operational Divers Group (COMSUBIN GOS)
• Navy blue - San Marco Marine Brigade of the Italian Navy
• Orange - Units part of the Multinational Force and Observers mission in Sinai

The Italian Air Force uses the following berets:

• Teal blue -- Air Force guards
• Tan -- Air Force Incursori (RIAM)

Other Italian services that use berets:

• Maroon -- Carabinieri Tuscania Airborne Regiment; Police di Stato Parachute units (Display Team and NOCS)
• Green -- Guardia di Finanza (GICO); Corpo Forestale dello Stato
• Light blue -- Prison Police
• Dark blue - Carabinieri (MP units)
• Red -- Carabinieri Cacciatori Hunter units
• Grey -- Guardia di Finanza
• Blue -- Polizia di Stato

Japan

All members in the Ground Self-Defense Force are authorized to wear wool rifle green berets - referred to as the "????" (????? or bereebou) - as an optional head covering for dress, working and camouflage uniforms since 1992. However, it is normally considered a special dress item, worn for public relations events or parades. An embroidered goldwork cap badge representing the JGSDF logo identical to the one used on the service dress peaked cap is required by regulation to be affixed to the beret.

Jordan

The beret colours worn by the Jordanian Army are as follows:

• Olive green - Infantry
• Maroon -- Special Forces
• Black -- Armoured Corps
• Green -- Royal Guards
• Dark Blue - Artillery
• Sky-blue - Engineers
• Red -- Military police
• Grey Blue - Air Force
• Dark Blue - Navy

Kenya

The beret colours worn by the Kenya Armed Forces are as follows:

• Black -- Armoured Corps
• Green -- Airborne Battalion
• Red -- Military police
• Dark Blue - All other Arms and Corps including naval service
• Blue Grey - Air Force

Kuwait

• Green -- National Guard
• Commando Green - Special Forces (formerly Commandos)
• Black -- Army Ground forces
• Red -- Military Police
• Maroon -- Emiri Guard
• Dark Blue - Air Force and Naval Forces

Latvia

The beret colours worn by the Latvian Army are as follows:

• Olive-green -- Special Tasks Unit
• Red -- Military police
• Black - Army, Navy
• Blue - Air Force

Lebanon

All units, in the Lebanese Armed Forces wear berets when not in combat mode (Helmet), training camp (cap) or formal uniform (formal hat).

The Lebanese Army, unlike most militaries, wears the beret slanted (pulled down) on the left side as the Army emblem is positioned to the right aligned with the right eyebrow.

• Green - The Fast Intervention Regiments (SF)(6 Regiments)
• Brown - Airborne Regiment (SF)
• Red - Military Police
• Black - Republican Guard Brigade (Presidential Guard), Anti-terrorism Unit MOKAFAHA (SF)
• Maroon beret - Commando Regiment Fawj al-Maghaweer (SF), Lebanese navy seals Magh?w?r al Ba?r (SF)
• Dark Blue -- The 11 Brigades, Cadets and the rest of the Army.

Lithuania

• Maroon -- National Defence Volunteer Forces
• Scarlet -- Military Police
• Green -- All other forces excluding the Air Force and the Navy
• Grey -- (SOP- Speciali?j? operacij? paj?gos) SOF- Special operations force

Malaysia

The beret is the headgear of ground forces, air aviations and special forces in the Malaysian Armed Forces. The colours presently used are:

Maldives

The beret colours worn by the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) are as follows:

• Maroon -- Special Forces
• Red -- Military Police
• Green -- Marines and other support units
• Black -- Parade Beret for Coast Guard

Mali

The beret colours worn by the Malian Armed Forces are as follows:

• Maroon -- Paratroopers.
• Brown -- Republican Guard.
• Green -- Infantry and other army units.
• Dark blue -- Air Force

Mexico

In the Mexican Army, the beret is worn by:

• Green - Special Forces
• Maroon -- Paratroopers (formerly purple, circa 1980s)
• Black -- Presidential Guards Corps
• Steel Grey -- Armor
• Brown - Airmobile Units

In the Mexican Navy:

• Black -- Paratroopers, Navy Special Forces.

Mongolia

In 2002, new army uniforms were introduced to the Mongolian armed forces and along with new uniform design, dark green berets were issued to all personnel. According to the rules, all military berets are pushed to the right and displays "Soyombo" symbol in middle of golden oak leaves in the right side.

Berets are worn by Mongolian Police since 1994. Police berets are deferent from the army beret in color and in shape, while it is pushed to the left while army berets are pushed to the right.

• Dark green - All branches of Armed forces
• Red - Internal troops.
• Dark blue - National emergency troops (rescuers)
• Black - Police unit (pushed to the left)
• Light blue - UN peacekeepers (pushed to the right)

Morocco

The Moroccan military Uniform is inspired from the French Uniform, the berets are usually pulled to the left with the badge worn over the right eye or temple.

• Lime Green - Armed Forces (Les Forces armees royales), including Paratroopers
• Red - Royal Guard (La garde royale)
• Blue - Royal Moroccan air force
• Dark BLue - The Air Force and Security Forces
• UN Blue - Moroccan-United Nations troops Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions
• Brown - Moroccan Auxiliary troops

Mozambique

Presently, the following berets are in use by the Defense Armed Forces of Mozambique:

• Brown -- Army general use
• Red -- Commandos
• Olive Green - Forcas Especiais (Special Forces)
• Navy blue -- Fuzileiros (Marines)

Nepal

• Deep Green: Nepalese Army
• Maroon: Nepal Police
• Grey: Armed Police Force

Netherlands

When the Royal Netherlands Armed Forces acquired new modernised uniforms (designed by the Dutch couturier Frans Molenaar) in 2000, the berets changed as well. Since 2004, soldiers of the Royal Netherlands Army have worn a petrol (blue-green) beret, whereas previously they wore brown.

The following colours are also used (before and after the modernisation):

Navy:

• Dark navy blue with a bronze metal crown & anchor on a red flash -- Royal Netherlands Marine Corps
• Dark navy blue with a gold color metal anchor on a black flash -- Royal Netherlands Navy
• Dark navy blue with a silver color metal anchor on a Blue flash -- (Civilian base security for the Royal Netherlands Navy)

Army:

• Green (The Green Beret) -- Commandos of the Korps Commandotroepen
• Maroon (The Red Beret) -- Airmobile troops of the 11 Air Manoeuvre Brigade "11 Luchtmobiele Brigade" (Air Assault)
• Black -- Armour and Cavalry
• Petrol (blue-green) -- Royal Netherlands Army

Note: The only Dutch military unit that do not wear a beret are the Gele Rijders (Horse Artillery), who wear a blue garrison cap with yellow trimming. Air Force:

• Grey-blue -- Royal Netherlands Air Force

Military Police:

• Bright blue -- with emblem Koninklijke Marechaussee (Royal Gendarmerie)

Other:

• UN blue -- All military members of the United Nations
• Brick red -- All military members of the Multinational Force and Observers
• Dark blue -- 1(GE/NL)Corps (Eerste Duits-Nederlandse Legerkorps)

All regiments and services have their own distinctive colours. There are quite a lot, but the number of colours in the logistic services was reduced in 2001. This colour is shown in a patch of cloth behind the beret flash. The intendance (maroon), transport troops (blue), military administration (pink; hence the nickname 'Pink Mafia'), technical service (black), and medical troops and service (green) lost their colours and all now wear yellow patches. In 2010, the `tecnical service and medical troops and services recovered their colors. The intendance and transport troops merched into one regiment with new colours (maroon with blue border) and the administration got the crimson color.

• Infantry -- Red, except:
  • Grenadier Guards -- Red with blue border
  • Rifle Guards -- Green with yellow border
  • Fusilier Guards -- Orange with blue border
  • Regiment van Heutsz -- Black with orange border
  • Limburg Rifles Regiment -- Green with maroon border
• Korps Commandotroepen -- Black with dark green border
• Cavalry (Armour) -- Blue with white, red or orange border
• Cavalry (Reconnaissance) -- Blue with black border
• Artillery -- Black with red border
• Engineers -- Brown
• Signals -- Blue with white border
• Logistics -- Yellow (obsolete since 2010)
• Legal Affairs -- Black with white border
• Psychological and Sociological Service -- Red
• Protestant Chaplains -- Black
• Catholic Chaplains -- Blue
• Jewish Chaplains -- Black
• Humanist Society Chaplains -- Bright green
• Hindu Chaplains -- Bright blue
• Troops in Initial Training -- Red
• Royal Military Academy Cadets -- Red with yellow border
• Physical Training Instructors -- Blue
• Technical Staff -- Maroon

New Zealand

Royal New Zealand Navy -

• Dark blue - Military police
• Dark blue/black - All other branches

New Zealand Army -

Pre 2002 beret colours -

• Khaki - Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery
• Green - Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
• Jet black - Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps
• Royal blue - Royal New Zealand Military Police
• Red - Regular Force Cadet School
• Rifle green - Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals
• Grey - Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps
• Cypress green - New Zealand Intelligence Corps
• Donkey brown - New Zealand Special Air Service
• Dark blue - All other corps

Post 2002 beret colours -

• Donkey brown - New Zealand Special Air Service
• Dark blue - Royal New Zealand Military Police
• Rifle green - All other corps

Royal New Zealand Air Force -

The RNZAF does not currently wear berets except for;

• Dark blue - Military police

Nicaragua

The Nicaraguan Armed Forces wear berets in the following colours:

Berets in Nicaraguan Army:

• Green -- Special Forces (COE)
• Black - Generals of Staff´s Protection VIP

Berets in Nicaraguan Navy:

• Dark Blue -- Special Naval Forces

Nigeria

• Dark Green -- Army

Norway

The Norwegian armed forces use the beret as a garrison cap, but some units (mostly armored vehicle personnel) also use it in the field. The Norwegian beret and all other headwear except those of the Navy and His Majesty The King's Guard always have the current king's cipher as a badge in gold (most of the army) or silver (the air force); currently this is a numeral 5 inside an H, for "Harald V". The navy has a crowned gold anchor for their enlisted personnel, a crowned gold anchor surrounded by a circle of rope for their petty officers, and a crowned golden anchor surrounded by leaved branches for officers. The colours used are:

• Royal blue -- Brigade Nord (except cavalry troops, intelligence troops and military police)
• Umbra green -- Border Guards
• Black -- Cavalry, armoured battalion and KESK
• Khaki -- Norwegian Army 2nd Battalion
• Emerald green -- Telemark Battalion
• Maroon -- Army Ranger Command
• Red -- Military police
• Olive green -- formerly used by other army units & Home Guard
• Grey -- Home Guard
• Olive green with silver badge -- recruits in His Majesty's The Kings Guards; Krigsskolen
• Dark blue -- Royal Norwegian Navy
• Air force blue -- Royal Norwegian Air Force Base Defence Units
• Air force light blue -- Royal Norwegian Air Force Air Defence Artillery Units

The special operations units of the Navy wear the same berets as the rest of the navy. However they have a coloured patch behind the cap badge, the colour of which determines the unit:

• Green -- Marinejegerkommandoen
• Blue -- Minedykkerkommandoen
• Maroon -- Kystjegerkommandoen
• Red - Military Police

Pakistan

• Rifle green -- Frontier Force Regiment, Defence Services Guards
• Rifle green with cherry color patch behind the badge - Baloch Regiment
• Green with Green Plume -- Punjab Regiment
• Cherry Pink with a red feather hackle -- Sindh Regiment
• Green with red patch behind badge -- Azad Kashmir Regiment
• Chitrali Style with White Feather -- Northern Light Infantry
• Black -- Regiments of Armored Corps
• Dark Blue -- Regiment of Artillery, Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Corps of Signals
• Maroon -- Army Air Defence, Army Aviation Corps
• Light Blue -- Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, Army Services Corps
• Red -- Pakistan Army Medical Corps, Military Police
• Dark Maroon - Special Service Group (SSG)
• Green with Red Plume - Pakistan Military Academy Cadets
• Dark Blue - Worn by the General Staff officers (rank of Colonel and above) irrespective of their Regimental association.

Paraguay

The Paraguayan Armed Forces wear berets in the following colours:

Berets in Paraguayan Army:

• Green -- Paratroopers
• Dark Blue - Presidential Guard

Berets in Paraguayan Navy:

• Camouflage -- Special Naval Forces

Berets in Paraguayan Air Force:

• Red - Air Force Infantry and Airborne personnel

Panama

Berets were widely worn by many units in the Panamanian Defense Force (PDF) under Manuel Noriega. The PDF was abolished in February 1990, and with it all of the old military units stood down. Unique beret insignia were never approved, so units authorized to wear berets wore a combination of the approved shoulder insignia, as well as rank and qualification insignia (e.g. parachutist wings) on the berets. The following were being worn at the time of the 1989 invasion:

• Black - 7th Infantry Company "Macho de Monte"; Comando Operacional de Fuerzas Expeciales (COFFEE - Special Forces Command)
• Maroon - Battalion 2000; 2nd Airborne Infantry Company "Puma"; 3rd Infantry Company "Diablo Rojo"
• Lime Green - 4th Infantry Company "Urraca"
• Camouflage - 7th Infantry Company "Macho de Monte"; Comando Operacional de Fuerzas Expeciales (Cadre)

Philippines

Poland

Black berets were introduced before World War II for tank and armoured car crews. During World War II, berets were widely adopted in the Polish Army on the Western Front, armored troops - black, airborne - grey, commando - green. After the war in the communist era, berets were worn only by armoured units (black), navy for field and work uniform (black), paratroopers (maroon), and marines (light blue). After 1990, the beret became the standard headgear in the Armed Forces of Republic of Poland. Around the year 2000 the design of the Polish Army Beret changed, the beret sewn together from three pieces of material with four air holes, two at each side was changed to a smaller beret molded from one piece of material with no air holes. The following colours are in use:

Berets in other ministries:

The black beret is also the distinctive headgear of World War II veterans, particularly Armia Krajowa veterans.

The dress code of the Polish armed forces states than when not worn on the head or kept in a locker the beret should be placed under the left shoulder loop. This practice was discontinued due to introducing new field uniform (wz. 2010) with rank insignia placed on chest.

Portugal

The beret was first introduced in the Portuguese Armed Forces in 1956, when the Air Force Paratroopers adopted the green beret. The Portuguese Army adopted the brown beret for its Caçadores Especiais special forces in 1960, generalizing its wear to all units in 1962.

The following colors of berets were or are still worn by the Portuguese Military and Paramilitary forces:

Rhodesia

Until the reconstitution Rhodesia as Zimbabwe ended their existence in 1980, the Rhodesian Security Forces wore the beret as the primary working dress and service dress headgear. Berets were coloured according to unit or service branch, with a distinctive regimental cap badge pinned above the left eye. The Rhodesian Security Forces were integrated into the new Zimbabwe Defence Forces in 1980.

• Dark Green -- Rhodesia Regiment, Rhodesian African Rifles
• Tartan Green -- Rhodesian Light Infantry (from 1964, when it became a commando battalion)
• Sand -- Rhodesian Special Air Service (SAS)
• Brown -- Selous Scouts
• Grey -- Grey's Scouts
• Black -- Rhodesian Armoured Corps
• Dark Blue -- those units without a distinctive beret
• Blue-gray -- Rhodesian Air Force
• Cherry Red -- Rhodesian Ministry of Internal Affairs (INTAF)
• Bright Blue -- Psychological Operations
• Maroon -- Medical Corps

Romania

Russian Federation

In the Soviet Union berets were worn only by:

In this period berets were worn also by Armed Forces female personnel for everyday and parade uniform - colour of beret corresponded with colour of the uniform (e.g. Army and Air Force everyday uniform - olive, Navy uniform - navy blue or white, Army parade uniform - sea green, Air Force parade uniform - dark blue). This colour scheme was preserved in post-1991 Russian Federation (except berets for female uniforms which were no longer used)

In 2011, the Russian Defence Ministry issued berets to all non-naval military personnel for field uniforms. Current beret colour scheme is:

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

• Tan/sand - Bataillon de Parachutistes (Army Parachute Battalion)
• Brown - Bataillon de Commandos (Army Commando Battalion)
• Black - Detachment Forces Speciales (Special Forces Detachment)
• Orange - Groupement Mobil d'Intervention (Mobile Intervention Group)
• Blue - Legion de Gendarmerie d'Intervention (Gendarmerie Intervention Unit)
• Green - Compagnie Fusilier de Marine Comandos (COFUMACO)(Navy Marine Commandos)

Serbia

The Serbian Armed Forces was wearing berets in the following colours:

• Green -- Army
• Black -- Military Police
• Maroon -- Special Forces
• Steel blue -- Air Force
• Navy blue -- Navy

With introduction of new M10 uniform and new regulations, berets are being replaced with garrison caps, remaining only with some branches worn in the following colours:

• Black -- Military Police and Counter-terrorist units
• Maroon -- Special Forces
• Light blue - Guard

Singapore

The Singapore Armed and Police Forces adopts the beret as their standard headgear. The different color divisions are as follows:

The berets are all adorned with the Singapore Armed Forces coat of arms, with the exception of the Air Force beret, Military Police beret, navy beret and police beret which are adorned with their respective cap-badge. Officers in the navy have a different cap-badge from the enlisted men. Officers of the rank of colonel and above have a different cap-badge.

• National Cadet Corps (Land)- Green
• National Cadet Corps (Air)- Blue
• National Cadet Corps (Sea)- Black
• National Police Cadet Corps- Dark Blue
• National Civil Defence Cadet Corps- Black

All berets have the National Cadet Corps, National Police Cadet Corps or National Civil Defence Cadet Corps crest on the front.

Slovakia

Slovenia

• Rifle Green - Special forces
• Green -- Military Police
• Olive green - Signal units
• Black - Armour units
• Maroon - motorised infantry/Paratroopers
• Dark blue -- Navy units
• Light blue -- Air force
• Grey - Mountain units
• Sand - NBC units
• Red - Guard unit

South Africa

The South African Army wears the beret as its standard headgear. The different color divisions are as follows:

• Dark Green -- infantry
• Black -- Armour, intelligence, technical services corps
• Orange -- Military police
• Dark Maroon (Plum) -- 44 Parachute Regiment, Special Forces Regiment
• Dark blue -- Artillery, engineers
• Light blue -- Logistical corps
• Light Orange -- Personnel, legal service
• Beige - SA Corps of Signals

The berets are all adorned with the unit's insignia. Some of the traditional units wear other headgear - for example, the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment and the band of the South African Military Health Service.

Outside of Army, the South African Military Health Service wear red berets. The South African Special Forces Brigade which is a separate entity, not part of the army, also wear the Maroon beret which is traditional for elite units in the western world.

South Korea

Berets are mostly limited to the elite units of the South Korean Military, including:

• Black -- Army Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command (adorned with the Airborne badge), Reserve Officer Training Corps, KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to the United States Army)
• Dark Green -- Army
• Dark Blue - Air Force Military Police
• Red -- Air Force Combat Control Team (CCT)
• Maroon -- Air Force Special Air Rescue Team (SART)
• Green -- Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance, Marine Corps armoured units
• Grey -- Navy UDT/SEAL Team (Naval Special Warfare Flotilla)
• Camouflage -- Army armoured units
• reddish brown - Army aviation
• UN Blue - Oversea deployment Group

Other than these units, several secret commando units (mostly disbanded in the mid-1990s, among them the "Unit 684" which became infamous for its mutiny) formed to infiltrate North Korea during the Cold War days wore black berets and adorned them with the badges of individual units. Korean liaison soldiers serving in the U.S. Eighth Army (KATUSA) have also been wearing black berets along with American uniforms since that beret became a standard headgear of the U.S. Army in 2001.

As of 2006, there have been several proposals within the Korean Ministry of Defense to replace the current field cap with a dark-coloured beret as the standard army headgear.

South Vietnam

American advisers assigned to these units wore the berets.

• Red -- Paratroopers
• Green -- Marines, LLDB
• Maroon -- Rangers
• Black -- Navy Junk Force
• Black -- Palace guards
• Tan -- political officers

Spain

The beret is used in the various armed forces of Spain. The colours used are:

• Maroon - 1st King's Immemorial Infantry Regiment of AHQ.
• Red - General Military Academy.
• Black - Airborne Brigade (BRIPAC), Mechanized Division "Brunete", Air Force Police.
• Dark Green - Special Operations units (MOE, UOE, EZAPAC).
• Green - Mountain Brigade (Jefatura de Tropas de Montaña).
• Olive - Spanish Army general issue berets.
• Brown - Military Police
• Mustard - Military Emergencies Unit (UME).
• Royal Blue - Royal Guard, Army Helicopters (FAMET).
• Grey - BRILAT (Brigada de Infantería Ligera Galicia VII).
• Tan - BRILCAN (Brigada de Infantería Ligera Canarias XVI)

Sri Lanka

• Maroon -- Army Commando Regiment
• Black -- Sri Lanka Armoured Corps, Army Special Forces Regiment, Navy Special Boat Squadron, Air Force Regiment Special Force
• Commando Green - , Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment, Mechanized Infantry Regiment, Military Intelligence Corps, Sri Lanka Army Women Corps, Sri Lanka Rifle Corps, Special Task Force
• Green - Gajaba Regiment (Infantry)
• Blue - Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment, The Gemunu Watch (Infantry) & All Other Ranks of Artillery, Engineers, Signals, Light Infantry & all Service Corps
• Khaki - All Officers of Sri Lanka Artillery, Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals, Light Infantry, Service Corps, Corps Engineer Services, General Service Corps, Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, Sri Lanka National Guard, Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps
• Red - Military Police
• Dark Blue - Sri Lanka Air Force

Sweden

The beret is used in the various armed forces of Sweden. The colours used are:

Sudan

The beret is worn by all police and military personal.

• Maroon - Paratroops
• Pink - special police

Switzerland

Since 1995, when it replaced the grey side cap, the beret is worn with the dress uniform and with the personally issued battle dress uniform by all Swiss soldiers. In training, a black beret (without insignia) is worn by mechanised units, otherwise a camouflage-coloured field cap is worn instead.

The colours used are:

• Black -- armoured and mechanised units; signals and headquarters troops; NBC specialists; intelligence, military justice and general staff personnel
• Green -- infantry, musicians
• Red -- artillery
• Deep blue -- Air Force (including paratroopers)
• Blue -- medical personnel
• Dark red -- logistics troops
• Grey -- military police
• Light blue -- troops on UN missions

Thailand

The beret is used in the various armed forces of Thailand. The colours used are:

• Maroon -- Airborne units, 1st Special Warfare Division, 31st Ranger Regiment
• Khaki green -- Army Reserve Force Students
• Black -- all other Army units, Air Force, Thahan Phran, Airborne Police units, Border Patrol Police (BPP)
• Camouflage -- Royal Thai Marine Corps and Navy SEALs

The black beret is also worn by ordinary police in certain situations.

Togo

The beret colours worn by the Togolese Army are as follows:

• Black -- Armoured Corps.
• Maroon -- Para-Commando Regiment.
• Green -- Presidential Guard Commando Regiment.
• Dark Blue - All other Arms and Corps

Turkey

The beret is used in the various armed forces of Turkey. The colours used are:

• Black: Armoured Corps of Turkish Land Forces.
• Blue: Elite units of Turkish Armed Forces.
  • Dark-Blue: Personnel of General Directorate of Security riot team and Police Counter Attack Team.
  • Navy-Blue: VIP guard team of the Turkish Air Force.
  • UN Blue: Personnel serving with the United Nations.
• Green: Personnel of Gendarmerie General Command and General Directorate of Security.
  • Bluish-Green: Personnel of Police Special Operation Department.
  • Dark-Green: Overseas deployment personnel of Turkish Armed Forces.
• Maroon: Personnel of Special Forces Command.
• Red: Personnel of National Intelligence Organization.
• Tan: CSAR units of the Turkish Air Force.

United Kingdom

The British Army beret dates back to 1918 when the French 70th Chasseurs alpins were training with the British Tank Corps. The Chasseurs alpins wore a distinctive large beret (see above) and Major-General Sir Hugh Elles, the TC's Colonel, realised this style of headdress would be a practical option for his tank crews, forced to work in a reduced space. He thought, however, that the Chasseur beret was "too sloppy" and the Basque-style beret of the French tank crews was "too skimpy", so a compromise based on the Scottish tam o'shanter was designed and submitted for the approval of George V in November 1923. It was adopted in March 1924.

During the Second World War, the use of the black beret was extended to all the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1940. The maroon beret was adopted by the Parachute Regiment in 1941 and the green beret by the Commandos in late 1942. A khaki beret was worn by the Reconnaissance Corps from 1941 until 1944, and the Royal Air Force Regiment adopted a blue-grey beret in 1943. Later in the war, a rather baggier beret-like hat, called a General Service Cap, was issued to all ranks of the British Army (with RAC, parachute, commando, Scottish and Irish units excepted), to replace the earlier Field Service Cap. The GS Cap was not popular, and after the war was replaced with a true beret.

Today, every British military unit wears a beret, with the exception of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Royal Irish Regiment, who wear the tam o'shanter and the caubeen respectively (the Scots Guards and Irish Guards, however, wear berets, as frequently do the Royal Irish Regiment on operations). Many of these berets are in distinctive colours and all are worn with the cap badge of the service, regiment or corps. The cap badge for all services in the UK is usually worn directly over the left eye.

Beret Colours

The colours are as follows:

General rule for wearing a British Army berets taught at training depots is to shape the head dress back and to the right for the material and to have the leather band level around the head with the cap badge two fingers above the left eye. Scottish Infantry have different rules for the Tamo'shanter with the cap badge worn on the left side of the head.

Other Adornments

Some Regiments and Corps wear a coloured backing behind the capbadge. These include:

• Foot Guards - Blue Red Blue patch (less the officers of the Scots Guards, who wear a patch of Royal Stewart tartan)
• Honourable Artillery Company - Black Circle
• Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment - Blue Yellow Blue Patch
• Royal Anglian Regiment - Small Black 'Tombstone'
• Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps -- Red Patch
• Royal Army Medical Corps - Dull Cherry Oval Patch
• Army Air Corps - Black Patch
• Army Physical Training Corps - Patch in Corps Colours
• Royal Marines 'Red Tombstone' (only on dark blue beret worn by those who are not commando-qualified)
• Royal Welsh Regiment and Mercian Regiment - Green badge outline and square respectively
• Queen's Royal Lancers - Red Patch
• Household Cavalry - Blue Red Blue patch
• Yorkshire Regiment - Brunswick (British Racing) Green.
• Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - Black patch (Worn in mourning for Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, who was their Colonel-in-Chief at the time of his murder)
• King's Royal Hussars - Red Patch
• Royal Wessex Yeomanry All ranks, from all 4 Squadrons wear a black patch behind the cap badge, as a 4 sqdns retain individual cap badges B (RWY) and D (RDY) wear a red flash between the black square and badge.

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, the only remaining independent fusilier regiment, wears a feather hackle on the beret. Other ranks of the Royal Welsh also wear hackles.

Members of the Royal Tank Regiment, 4/73 (Sphinx) Special OP Battery Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Army Air Corps, Parachute Regiment, SAS and Intelligence Corps wear berets in Nos 1, 2, 3 and 6, Dress. Other English and Welsh Regiments and Corps wear peaked caps in these orders of dress. Troops from other services, regiments or corps on attachment to units with distinctive coloured berets often wear those berets (with their own cap badge). Colonels, brigadiers and generals usually continue to wear the beret of the regiment or corps to which they used to belong with the cap badge distinctive to their rank.

Old Units

Former regiments and corps, now amalgamated:

• Dark Blue - Queens Regiment, Royal Hampshire Regiment
• Khaki -- Green Howards, King's Own Royal Border Regiment, Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps, infantry motor battalions in World War II
• Dark (Rifle) green -- Light Infantry, Royal Green Jackets, Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry, Rifle Brigade, King's Royal Rifle Corps, 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles), 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles
• Black -- all Royal Armoured Corps regiments in World War II (other than officers in Inns of Court Regiment), Royal Observer Corps, Westminster Dragoons, Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons
• Maroon -- Glider Pilot Regiment and glider-borne units
• Green -- Women's Royal Army Corps, women in Officers Training Corps (now wear dark blue), officers in Inns of Court Regiment
• Brown with a broad crimson headband and NO hat badge - 11th Hussars (PAO)

United States

Berets were originally worn by select forces in the United States Army. The first were worn during World War II, when a battalion of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment were presented maroon berets by their British counterparts. Though unofficial at first, the green beret of the US Army Special Forces was formally adopted in 1961. Maroon airborne and black US Army Ranger berets were formally authorized in the 1970s.

"D" Troop 17th Cavalry were authorized a maroon beret in Vietnam.

After the Vietnam War, morale in the US Army waned. In response, from 1973 through 1979 HQDA permitted local commanders to encourage morale-enhancing uniform distinctions, however these distinctions were only allowed to be worn on the post. Consequently, many units embraced various colored berets, for example Armor and Armored Cavalry units often adopted the black beret. Similarly many other units embraced various colored berets in an attempt to improve dwindling morale. In particular, the First Cavalry Division assigned various colored berets to its three pronged TRICAP approach. In this implementation, Armored Cavalry, Airmobile Infantry units, Air Cavalry units, Division Artillery units, and Division Support units all wore different colored berets, including black, light blue, kelly green, and red. The 101st Airborne Division was authorised a dark blue beret.

In 1975 all female soldiers of the Women's Army Corps were authorized to wear a black beret variant as standard headgear for the service uniform.

In 1975 the 172nd light Infantry Brg. out of Ft. Richarderson, Alaska was wearing the Olive Drab Berets.

In 2001, Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki ordered the black beret worn as standard headgear army-wide, a controversial decision because it was previously reserved for the Rangers. The Rangers were then authorized to wear a tan beret, exclusive to them. The decision was implemented in hopes of boosting morale among conventional units. However, many soldiers began complaining that the new black beret was not practical with the utility uniform. In June 2011, Army Secretary John McHugh, acting on the recommendations made by Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey and Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler, once again chose the traditional patrol cap to be worn with the utility uniform. The black beret may be authorized with utility uniforms at commander's discretion for special ceremonies. The beret remains part of the Army's dress uniform for all units.

United States Army berets now use the following distinctive colors:

US Army

Special Forces, Ranger, and Airborne unit berets sport distinctive organizational flashes. All other units use a standard pale blue flash bordered with 13 white stars. Officers wear their rank insignia within the flash, while enlisted ranks wear their distinctive unit insignia.

US Air Force

In the United States Navy, female officers and sailors were allowed to wear black berets instead of a combination hat or garrison cap while in service uniforms until 2016. The black berets were phased out in October of that year due to a lack of widespread use and a desire by the U.S. Navy to make its uniforms more unisex in appearance. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy created special boat teams, unofficially dubbed the brown-water navy, to patrol coastlines, estuaries and rivers. Naval personnel assigned to these teams wore black berets as part of their uniform, as portrayed in the movie Apocalypse Now. U.S. Navy SEAL teams serving in Vietnam wore camouflage berets in the field, the only beret somewhat standardized in the SEALs.

Uruguay

• Grey - Army 14th Parachute Battalion
• Black - Police Coraceros Regiment
• Green - Army 13th Armor Battalion (Combined Arms)

Vatican State

The Pontifical Swiss Guard wears large black berets.

Venezuela

Berets are worn by some units in the Venezuelan National Armed Forces, with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colours are as follows:

Note: Before the conversion to the red berets, the Caracas Battalion wore dark blue berets similar to those used by the O'Leary Battalion.

Vietnam

Berets used by the Vietnam Coast Guard and the Vietnam People's Navy are:

• Blue - Enlisted Seamen
• Black - Officers and NCOs
• Dark Blue - Marine Commandos and Naval Infantrymen

During the celebration of the 40th Reunification Day, the People's Army of Vietnam presented new models of berets:

• Green and camouflaged berets are worn by Infantry Reconnaissance troopers and Ground Commandos respectively.
• Red berets are worn by Airborne Forces.

Army's servicemen served within the United Nations will bear the UN blue beret

Zambia

• Black - Armoured troops
• Green - Zambia rifles (Infantry)
• Maroon - Paracommando
• Scarlet - Military police
• Dark Blue - worn by all other Army units
• Khaki - colonels and general officers with combat uniform
• Grey-blue - Air Force personnel
• Khaki-Black - Zambia National Service personnel

Zimbabwe

• Green -- Infantry
• Black -- Armoured Regiment
• Maroon -- Parachute Battalion
• Tartan Green - Commando Battalion
• Tan - Special Air Service
• Yellow -- Presidential Guard
• Cherry Red -- Military Police
• Blue-gray -- Zimbabwe Air Force
• Dark Blue -- All other units

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International forces

United Nations

• UN blue: United Nations peacekeeping forces wear a light blue beret (in lieu of a helmet or bush hat).

Multinational Force and Observers

• Terracotta: All military members of the Multinational Force and Observers wear a terracotta-colored beret or bush hat in lieu of their normal headgear.

African Union

• Lime or light green: African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces wear a lime or light green beret. AU troops were recently seen wearing the green berets in Sudan but only for a short while. The AU peacekeeping forces were later turned over to UN administration and swapped out their green berets for UN light blue ones.

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Camouflage berets

A camouflage beret is a beret intended for use in the battlefield when wearing combat fatigues. They are mostly issued to the likes of special forces, particularly in jungle warfare operations.

History

Camouflage berets possibly originate from the General Service cap "Cap, General Service" issued to the British Army in a Khaki material before the introduction of Berets. It was first introduced under "Army Council Instruction 1407" of September 1943. This cap was designed to replace the "Field Service cap" or "FS Cap" that had been worn since the outbreak of war. These caps were issued in priority to units serving overseas. UK based units got theirs later on. It was at first unpopular due to its over large appearance. This cap was not a beret. It was made from several pieces of drab cloth material, whereas a beret was a one piece item. It was based on the Scottish balmoral bonnet in design. First issues were made from the same gaberdine cloth as the old "FS" cap. Badges worn on it were the conventional Officers bronze, and OR's badges in both plastic and metal. Units which had special distinctions could still wear these on the "GS" cap. The General Service cap was worn by regulation one inch above the eyebrows, with badge over the left eye and the cap pulled down to the right. But many wartime photos will show it worn pushed back on the head, which seemed to be a fashion with many soldiers late in the War.

Officers could only obtain the cap upon repayment to the RAOC. They were not allowed to buy the cap until their unit had been issued with it wholesale. Higher ranking Officers often got away with wearing a Khaki beret, which was against regulations. Fashion conscious OR's would also risk punishment from NCO's/officers buying one of these for "walking out".

Not exactly camouflage but an early example is the Jungle Beret issued to the Australian Army during WW2.

Users

•  Argentina - Jungle Troops (Brigada de Monte XII "General Manuel Obligado")
•  Bolivia - Special Forces "Bolivian Condors"
•  Brazil - Jungle Troops
•  China - During the 80s, camo berets were issued to some of the recon forces of PLA. It has no cap badge on it.
•  Denmark - Naval Infantry, Armoured forces of Bornholm (Bornholms Værn's Marineinfantery) Disbanded
•  Ecuador - IWIA (indigenous tribal members unit) forces
•  Israel - Kfir Brigade (Urban Combat)
•  Paraguay - Special Naval Forces
•  Panama - 7th Infantry Company "Macho de Monte"; Comando Operacional de Fuerzas Expeciales (Cadre)
•  Philippines - Philippine Air Force pararescue
•  Portugal - "Flechas" and Guinea 3rd Commando Company
•  South Africa - 32 Buffalo Battalion
•  South Korea - Army armoured units
•  Thailand - Royal Thai Marine Corps and Navy SEALs

Source of the article : Wikipedia