Around the world, the beret is recognized as the official headgear of elite forces. The British SAS, the French Foreign Legion, and the United States Army Special Operations communities all wear the particular piece of head gear. Take a trip through various African rebel organizations and that scrap of felt with the leather band becomes an even bigger statement of pride.
A fine group of Sergeants Major
Yes, that floppy piece of felt which fails to keep the sun out of your eyes and the rain from your face is largely seen as a testament to a warrior’s level of skill. The selective nature of these units, the particularly high washout rates of the entry courses, meant that those who wore the berets took a measure of pride in how they did so. After all, it is the warrior’s skill that made the particular piece type of cover bad ass, not the other way around.
That all changed in 2001 when General Eric Shinseki took the bold move to swap out the standard BDU cap for an Army-wide black beret. The Rangers, the previous (and rightful) owners of the black beret were outraged. Veteran’s groups were as well. And those of us who had to give up our much beloved patrol caps for those floppy felt things? Most of us didn’t want them either.
With that single decision, the quality control over the wearing of the beret was dashed. Why? Because the beret is not an easy hat to wear. At least, it’s not easy to wear correctly. The modern military beret must be shaped, which requires wearing a wet piece of felt and leather until it dries, all the while forcing the hat into shape. And more so, the modern military beret must be shaved. Yes, with a razer.
Shaping, fitting, and shaving a beret is a time consuming process, but when completed, the end result is a properly fitting cover that shows attention to detail and pride in uniform. It looks both professional and rugged at the same time. And maybe, just maybe, doing it right allows some of that warrior image to seep back into the soldier.
However, from the time John Wayne pulled on a green beret for the film of the same name, big name actors have been improperly wearing the headgear. Numerous movies and nearly every television show which attempted to visual signify a soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine as being “elite” by slapping a beret onto the uniform has usually done the exact opposite – often leaving that actor what we the army so politely calls “ate the #$%@ up.”
Of course, the movie that sparked this little lesson in Hollywood correction is the upcoming summer explogasm “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” And yes, I am perfectly willing to suspend belief for the film, to swallow a secret terrorist organization with bleeding edge technology that blends asymmetric warfare with traditional 3rd Generation weaponry and tactics. I am completely able to suspend the ideas of teamwork and tactics for fancy “amplification suits” which turn elite forces into elite quasi-cyborg soldiers. Hell, I’m totally okay with a terrorist mastermind who wears a hood with eye holes and associates a little too much with reptiles. 
But what I can’t suspend is the respect for wearing a beret the right way. Quaid, playing the G.I. Joe leader “Hawk” might look like a tough guy with his scowl and leather jacket. His eyes might just be shooting daggers. However, wearing his beret like that, the reason he’s angry probably stems from someone tugging his hat onto his head. Yes, wearing a beret is hard work, Hollywood, but if you wear it wrong you don’t look tough, you look foppish. And how the hell are we going to defeat Cobra if our esteemed commander is a fop?
Bradley Robb likes TV and books, and has an intense dislike for cinnamon. Once, Bradley stopped a Soviet T-60 with his middle finger. Bradley writes speculative fiction and edits Fiction Matters, and never really got the hang of talking about himself in the third person.