MovieChat Forums > The Green Berets (1968) Discussion > infentry patch

infentry patch

posted 11 years ago by MountainMan0518
7 replies | jump to latest

did anyone else notice the coller patch they wear is infentry not SF. Also, you would never wear a beret in combat, you would bearly wear a regular PC or boonie cap not to mention a beret.

[–] DrHerbertWest 11 years ago

not to mention tiger stripes..

[–] joed1667 8 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigerstripe

[–] libertarian45 8 years ago

Tiger stripes were worn by many groups in VN.

The unit in WW2 with crossed arrows on their collars was not SF (didn't exist yet). It was the joint Canadian-US First Special Service Force. Although often cited as unit that gave birth to SF, the OSS and UK SOE had more in common with what modern SF does.

Speaking as someone who has worn a beret in the army for over 30 years, it is a stupid piece of headgear to wear in the field. That said, some people did wear it in VN. I know someone who was a sniper in 75th Rangers and he and some of his buddies wore camo berets in the field.

[–] rb_mcgee 10 years ago

did anyone else notice the coller patch they wear is infentry not SF
That's because there was no "Special Forces Branch" in the U.S. Army in the late 1960s; that branch was only re-created in the late 1980s.
And I say "re"-created because I believe the 1st Special Service Force of WW2 wore the crossed arrows as a de facto branch insignia, which I guess you expected the SF guys in Vietnam to be wearing.

When I joined the Army in 1983, enlisted members joining for SF were directed to enlist for whatever existing branch / MOS the Army considered appropriate for the specialty they wanted to have in SF. I think that for officers, Infantry was considered the most appropriate branch for most guys wanting to go into SF.

[–] grendelkhan 10 years ago

Also, you would never wear a beret in combat,

Plenty of guys did. Most didn't wear it on patrol, but there were plenty of guys wearing them, in combat, when their camps were attacked. Some guys had their affectations. Some guys wore headscarves, instead of "boonies," because they felt the boonie gave them too recognizable of a silhouette.

"Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!"

[–] crazydave682000 9 years ago

OP, do you even Army bro!☺
Just screwing with you but seriously do some research before making a statement like you did. Google is you friend a simple search would have answered your question and help you spell infantry correctly.
A fun little fact: Before the creation of the Special Forces Tab, Special Forces status was indicated by wearing a full-size unit flash on the green beret. A support soldier (military intelligence soldiers, signal personnel, parachute riggers, clerical and administrative personnel, etc.) assigned to a Special Forces unit wore a 1/4" high bar (nicknamed a "Candy Stripe") below the Special Forces Crest on their green beret. The bar matched the colors of the unit's flash. This was not, however, the norm during the Vietnam war, when all soldiers assigned to 5th Special Forces wore identical unit flashes.

Dave

[–] duojet-44554 8 years ago

BOS (Branch Of Service) insignia for Special Forces was the National Emblem for officers and smaller National Emblem on a disc for enlisted. This BOS insignia is called "Unassigned". Look at a Barry Sadler record album and you'll see him wearing this collar brass.