Military beret

[1] The French Chasseurs alpins, created in the early 1880s, were the first regular unit to wear the military beret as a standard headgear.

[2] 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.

[6] German Panzertruppen also adopted a black beret or Schutzmütze in 1934, which included a rubber skull cap as head protection inside.

[15] The Austrian coat of arms is worn on the left side of the beret (officers in gold, NCOs in silver, enlisted personnel as well as conscripts in dark grey).

[28] After the war, in 1948, the newly established Czechoslovak Airborne forces adopted the maroon beret, inspired by those worn by the British Paras.

[32] 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 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.

Between the wars, special fortress units raised to garrison the Maginot Line wore khaki berets as did the 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion when it was created in 1940.

The beret in blue, red or green was a distinction respectively of the Metropolitan, Colonial and Legion paratrooper units during the Indochina and Algerian wars.

Also the military forces of the countries that have historical, colonial, or cooperative ties with France – such as Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sénégal, Togo, Tunisia – or have been trained by the French military wear their beret pulled left.

The Luftwaffe and the Marine issue dark blue berets only to their ground or land combat units (called Luftwaffensicherungstruppe and Marineschutzkräfte) respectively.

The berets of Hungarian forces were made first in "eastern-european style" (like worn by most Warsaw Pact armies), sewn together from 4 pieces.

According to the rules, all military berets are pushed to the right and displays a "Soyombo" symbol in middle of golden oak leaves in the right side.

The following were being worn at the time of the 1989 invasion: 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.

The dress code of the Polish armed forces states that when not worn on the head or kept in a locker the beret should be placed under the left shoulder loop.

Like most countries formerly associated with the British Empire, Berets were coloured according to unit or service branch, with a distinctive regimental cap badge pinned above the left eye.

In the Soviet Union berets were sewn together from three pieces of material (top, front, and rear) with four air holes, two at each side, worn with the service badge centered between the eyes and draped to the right in most circumstances.

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.

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 parachute units in the western world.

The colours used are:[54] The beret was used in the now disbanded (2024) Syrian Arab Armed Forces as a standard patrol cap headgear in all branches of the military.

The situation changed radically after the beginning of the hybrid war against Russia starting in 2014, when the society, and in particular the Ukrainian servicemen, fundamentally revised their attitude towards the eastern neighbour and their recent past.

The Chasseurs alpins wore a distinctive large beret 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

In 2019, the army proposed the creation of a grey beret for USASOC soldiers qualified in Psychological operations, but it did not receive official approval.

[77] 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.

A Ukrainian military cadet in a light blue beret, formerly for Ukrainian VDV .
Spanish General Tomás de Zumalacárregui , with his red beret in 1845
A French chasseur alpin in World War I, with his distinctive large beret
Afghan Generals Honor Newly-Graduated Commandos
Armenian Airborne Forces
Australian and US paratroopers exchange wings during Talisman Sabre 2011
Austrian green beret with silver coat of arms
Members of the Azerbaijani Special Forces during a military parade in Baku 2011
Bangladesh Army Commandos
A detachment of the 2nd/4th Regiment Mounted Rifles at the 2007 Bastille Day Military Parade
Defense minister visits the Army Command of Special Operations in Goiania.
911st Para Comando on USS Essex
A Canadian jumpmaster of the Royal Canadian Regiment with a maroon beret
Special Operations Forces, Chile
Colombian army counter-narcotics brigade honors U.S. Special Forces 161207-A-KD443-030.
Czech soldiers with a selection of different berets during an Oath swearing ceremony, March 2023.
The current style of military berets as well as the new khaki variant are references to the British uniforms worn by the Czechoslovak soldiers during the World War II as part of the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade ).
Czech soldiers wearing discontinued berets (Light green formerly for all ground forces, in 2023 replaced by khaki berets; Orange worn by Rescue and Civil defence troops, since disbanded). June 2017.
Members of the Ecuadorian Army
Utti JaegerRegiment, Flag Day Parade 2014
Chasseurs Alpins' s distinct wide beret
First Sergeant of the Panzerjäger with black beret, 1989
Greece 71st Airmobile Brigade
Kaibil special forces during training mission
Indian Army Parachute Regiment soldier
An Indonesian Army soldier wearing a green beret with the Army insignia
Sailors of the Indonesian naval training ship KRI Dewaruci at the Naval Station Pearl Harbor
Kopasgat commandos in formation wearing their distinctive orange beret
Personnel of the Search and Rescue unit, Mobile Brigade Corps of the Indonesian National Police wearing their dark blue beret
Commandos of 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade of Iran exercising
Iraqi Maroon Beret
Irish Army berets in different colours
Examples of the UN blue beret and Naval Service beret worn by Irish Defence Forces officers
Israel Defense Forces – Paratrooper Brigade welcomes newest members.
Italian Carabinieri parachutists in a military parade
A female soldier of the Italian Folgore Brigade
Italian 1st Grenadier Regiment
JGSDF officers at Camp Courtney, Okinawa in 2014 with previously green berets
A general of the JGSDF (left) with a US Army general (right), 2019, with black beret
A JGSDF pathfinder of the 1st Airborne Brigade during an exercise, 2023, with black beret
Founder and first commander of Lithuanian SOF Col. Saulius Guzevičius wearing Special Purpose Service grey beret.
Malaysian Armed Forces General Tan Sri Haji Zulkifeli bin Mohd Zin with maroon beret during CARAT 2011 ceremony
Malian security forces during a coup d'état in 2012. Foreground: a soldier of the National Guard. Right: a soldier of the Army (green béret). Second from the right: a police officer.
Mexican Army Paratrroopers during the 2015 September 16 military parade in the Zócalo
Mongolian army soldiers in dark green beret
Mozambique Marines practice tactical movements during exercise Cutlass Express 2017.
The Chief of Indian Army Staff, General Bikram Singh and the Nepalese Army Chief, General Gaurav Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana witnessing the combined training exercise, in Pithoragarh District of Uttarakhand on September 30, 2013.
Veterans Day 2014, Netherlands
Colonel Jelte Groen, commander of the Korps Commandotroepen
Norwegian soldiers from Telemark Battalion, Task Force Viking, march to their staging position for the Latvia Day Parade in Riga, Latvia, on November 18, 2014.
HM the Sultan of Oman congratulating SSF personnel
Palestinian Civil and Military policemen wearing navy blue and red berets.
Soldier of the Maltese Armed Forces and the Polish Honor Guard
Polish Military Police officers wearing scarlet red berets
Acting Lieutenant Nigel John Theron of 2 Commando, Rhodesian Light Infantry , receives the Bronze Cross of Rhodesia in 1976.
Romanian special forces soldiers send commands to the a Raven unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during a Raven UAV familiarization flight at the Romanian Land Forces facility in Buzau, Romania, June 2, 2011.
Russian Naval Infantry with their three-piece berets pulled left for a pass-in-review during the 2008 Moscow Victory Day Parade
Saudi military police
Paratroopers from the 63rd Parachute Brigade wearing antique ruby berets
A lieutenant from the Singapore Army , wearing the Dark Green Infantry beret as part of an older uniform standard
Brigadier General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh wearing the Khaki Infantry Beret and rank slide
Spain's Crown Prince Felipe de Borbon (in blue beret of the Royal Guard) speaks with a Spanish engineer soldier about the capabilities of a bomb disposal robot during a visit to Spain's San Gregorio training area to meet with participants in exercise Interdict 12, Oct. 30.
Swedish Amphibious Corps soldier with green beret
General Hafez al-Assad in uniform wearing the dark blue beret of the Syrian Arab Air Force .
Ukrainian paratrooper wearing maroon beret
Marines in black berets, 2003
Tankman in black beret, 2017
Ukrainian national guard, 2020
Royal Bermuda Regiment recruits wear generic dark blue berets.
Royal Military Police, 1984
RAMC Lieutenant General Martin Bricknell wearing a dark-blue beret with ACDS insignia.
A soldier of the Parachute Regiment wearing the maroon beret
The pale "Cambridge blue" berets of the Army Air Corps in London, 2006
An officer of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (on the right), showing the coloured backing patch behind the regimental cap badge
Royal Air Force airman wearing that service's blue-grey beret
A member of the Pontifical Swiss Guard with beret and halberd
Rear Admiral Abdul Karim Yahya Muharram, Former Chief of Staff of the Yemeni Navy , wearing his black beret
Bangladesh officer (Major Tasawar) wearing UN blue beret
A Canadian Army officer and U.S. Army soldier wearing the MFO beret
Officers wearing the African Union beret
Multinational Corps Northeast
Multinational Corps Northeast
Polish officer serving in an EUROGENDFOR beret
A U.S. Navy SEAL in Vietnam with a camouflage beret
Students of the Polish high school in Casarano, Italy wearing the Cap, General Service