Army backtracks on black berets after more than a decade of debate

[Renew Deal]

Washington (CNN) -- Ten years ago this week, under orders from Gen. Eric Shinseki, then Army Chief of Staff, the black beret became standard gear in the U.S. Army. It was the start of a pitched battle within the Army that would soon find itself fighting two hot wars.

Now, just shy of the anniversary, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the current Army chief of staff, has replaced the black beret with the patrol cap as the default headgear for soldiers wearing Army combat uniforms, what most of us would call their camouflage fatigues.

A patrol cap is like a camouflage baseball cap with a flat top rather than a rounded crown (think Pittsburgh Pirates circa 1979.)

"It's fantastic," one soldier at the Pentagon said when CNN asked about the change.

"Awesome," wrote a soldier on the Army's official Facebook page. "Sanity has prevailed."
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http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/13/army.beret/index.html

[eppur_se_muova]

1. I kind of wish the black berets had gone back to the Rangers --

they're sticking with the new tan ones.

Some traditions shouldn't be mucked around with.

[CRK7376]

2. This Soldier is

extremely happy to be wearing a PC again. I've worn berets for over 20 years and hated them all regardless of color. Wool hats that serve little use, hot, difficult to put on correctly one handed. The complaints go on for days... Driving onto post yesterday was amazing to see all the happy smiles on faces of Soldiers wearing PC instead of berets. Good, smart decision by Army leadership.