Rue,
What LNO posted IS the reason. I can’t remember the exact words used by the General, but the paraphrasing is correct. It was to improve the morale of all soldiers by letting them look like the elite Rangers. No real reason other than that.
btw, Jarhead is because Marine heads look like jars (with the standard high and tight cut). Also, you can’t call us that anymore because they found out that you can actually put something in a jar 
Canadian airborne troopers (they’re still around) wear maroon. Black berets are Navy. Blue is Air Force - yes, there are Air Force berets.
Here is the direct quote:
"To symbolize The Army's commitment to transforming itself into the Objective Force, The Army will adopt the black beret for wear Army-wide. It is not about increasing recruiting; we achieved our recruiting target of 180,000 recruits last year--without a beret. It is not about retention; for the second year in a row, we exceeded our reenlistment goal by a wide
margin--without a beret. It is not about morale; Soldiers are ready today to go into harm's way. It is about our excellence as Soldiers, our unity as a
force, and our values as an institution."
Translation: The army is the army - one force, and as such, no one outfit is better than the other, and all soldiers are now equal to each other regardless of what volunteer training and special missions some units perform.
The real meaning: I want the basic flunkie to feel special about himself and the army, so screw the people that did the work to earn a distinction beyond the regular grunt because they just make the other people feel inadequate and I like a happy army.
How about something sensible and hardwearing? Good sun protection, too.
Some fairly pointless, (but to me, very funny) trivia: Those “folded napkin” dress hats are called “cunt caps”. BDUs are “salad suits”. (The old green fatigues were “pickle suits”.) And I’ve heard that the Army is changing back to kakhi colored dress uniforms, thank God.
Turbo Dog-
Yup, I missed something obvious, the right answer. Also thanks for the quote.
LNO-
Thanks to you too. In my defense, I was thinking “this sounds about right but, Dear God, let there be another answer. One that makes real sense.” Too bad the real world doesn’t have to make sense.
Thanks to all who took the time to post.
And Rodd Hill, that would be one bitchin’ hat.
Yeah… there ARE circumstances where merit-based elitism IS the right attitude.
I’m not too hot on the new “I’m an Army of one” ad campaign either. I think I can do much, much better working jointly with an entire division, thank you very much…
Then you’ll be glad to know they’re going back to distinct utilities. I still don’t see what’s the big hoopla on that…
IIRC the Dress Blues and the swords are “authorized” items, but not general issue – i.e. you gotta buy them. Am I right? And I suppose what really strikes a lot of people as odd is the dress blue tunic, with all that red accenting.
Another uniform I think is cool is the Navy/CG officers’ dress white tunic (w. the stand-up collars) : very “clean” lines, no excessive braiding or brass to it. (The “seagoing” services all have ceremonial dress tunics w. stand-up collars. The “landbased” services (Army and AF) just go for a fancier suit coat.)
Other recent “what were they thinking?” moments in US uniform design:
The 1970s: The Navy tries to phase out the enlisted personnel’s “CrackerJack” outfit (talk of retro design! ), but proposes putting everyone in polyester double-knit suits. Has to back off before the decade’s out.
The 1990’s Air Force: New service dress. Sorry, flyboys, but that jacket just looks like a cheap suit. And that “winged star” cap device is underwhelming. Had the good taste to back off CAF-style cuff rank braid.
Late-90s Army/AF: dropped the Brit-style “commando” pullover sweater and replaced it with a cardigan. Gee, that looks spiffy… Anyway, wasn’t Lord Cardigan one of the guys who got the Light Brigade massacred?
jrd
This was discussed before, in case you want some more info. That was before the Rangers got brown berets, though.
[rant]
Whoever thought up this whole ‘army of one’ crap is a sick advertising agent who has mated Martha Stewart with Rambo
The next batch of these commercials includes an ‘army of one’ making brekfast for a whole village, sweeping sidewalks, and folding napkins in decorative patterns. Of course i’m lying, but these commercials make me want to NOT join the Army… Lets see what we can condense from ol’ Websters…
Main Entry: ar·my ('är-mE, n.)
1 a : a large organized body of armed personnel trained for war especially on land b : a unit capable of independent action and consisting usually of a headquarters, two or more corps, and auxiliary troops c often capitalized : the complete military organization of a nation for land warfare
2 : a great multitude <an army of bicycles – Norm Fruchter>
3 : a body of persons organized to advance a cause
Army = More than one
army of one = semi-appealing idea for people with Superman complex’s who’ve seen too many action flicks.
[/rant]
And I think they should’ve left the Rangers in black, and let everyone else have tan (or whatever color).
Actually, in official Army parlance, the BDU is a Class “C” uniform. Class “A” denotes slacks, shirt, tie and coat. Class “B” is the same thing minus the coat and tie (sweater and/or tie optional). In summary:
Class “A” = Full Dress Uniform (May be green, blue, or white)
Class “B” = Daily office wear
Class “C” = Utility uniform (BDU, flight suit, mechanic’s coveralls, etc)
Class “D” = Unofficial use for PT clothes in some units.
As a former soldier, I’ll offer my thoughts on the matter. I was a military policeman and we supported a beret (white, like the MP version of the service cap worn with the Class A/B uniform, aka “saucer cap”) for LE duty wear as distinctive headdress to set us apart and make us more visible. At the time, we were wearing helmet liners (aka “Dick Domes”) that were uncomfortable, cumbersome, and a general pain in the ass. Finally, the powers that were allowed us to go to the BDU cap on LE duty and all was well. I also feel that in the US forces, a beret is a distinctive uniform item that denotes service in a specialized field. I really sympathize with the Rangers.
I can understand the desire to make everyone look the same, but this is the wrong way. They should have made the bdu cap (and that floppy jungle hat), and the ever popular kevelar the only hats to wear with the salad suit. Jeesh
You want to show a special unit designation? You should have to be in some sort of dress uniform.
BTW those damn cunt caps really suck. I always fely like a fast food employee in my Class A’s and B’s.
KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)