# What do these Military terms mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-military-terms-mean/388498 "2007-01-18T20:07:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-military-terms-mean/388498/21 "2007-01-21T03:59:58Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] Time out. The original black beret was worn by _tankers_ not Rangers. The black beret was worn by British tankers. Their American counterparts started wearing them at the latest by the early 70s. It was the uniform for tankers at Fort Knox and Germany for a while. The Rangers later started whining that they didn’t have a beret like the SF so they started wearing a black beret too. When too many local commanders were changing the uniform (which was within the rules at the time) the army put their foot down and changed the rules by about 1980. SF got the green, Airborne the maroon, Rangers the black. They only had the black beret for about 20 years before it was taken away from them and given back to the regular soldier. [/QUOTE] And Shinseki, I believe, was an Armor Officer at the time. He swore he’d bring the black beret back to his brothers. And he did. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-military-terms-mean/388498/22 "2007-01-21T04:02:25Z")
[QUOTE=Dominic Mulligan] The SAS (Special Air Service) is the British equivalent of the American Delta Force (kind of, they also have a SWAT-like role, for instance, the Iranian Embassy siege in the 80’s). The SBS are an elite unit in the Royal Marines (who are already considered an elite unit). [/QUOTE] Heck, if we’re going international, I’d like to shout out to Canada’s own Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2). They’re so tough, they killed and ate JTF1. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-military-terms-mean/388498/23 "2007-01-21T04:05:59Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal] A teacher I worked with made it through the Q (qualification) course for SF, and he told me they all had to have a medical field specialty, and had to operate on a goat as a test. [/quote] You may have misunderstood him a little. Not all SF Operators have a medical specialty. Team members have specific tasks and are highly trained in their specialty. The team _medics_ receive some of the most advanced trauma care training in the world, and yes, there are goats involved. But the other team members, are not so skilled in medical tasks. > [@](#): > > Nowadays, you have to be passable in another language, too. That is true. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-military-terms-mean/388498/24 "2007-01-21T15:03:29Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > SF doesn’t have any officers below captain, because if you’re not at least captain, you don’t have enough experience as an officer to be trusted commanding SF units. If you’re not at least Captain, you don’t have enough experience to be trusted commanding just about anything. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-military-terms-mean/388498/25 "2007-01-21T19:05:56Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] Time out. The original black beret was worn by _tankers_ not Rangers. The black beret was worn by British tankers. Their American counterparts started wearing them at the latest by the early 70s. It was the uniform for tankers at Fort Knox and Germany for a while. The Rangers later started whining that they didn’t have a beret like the SF so they started wearing a black beret too. When too many local commanders were changing the uniform (which was within the rules at the time) the army put their foot down and changed the rules by about 1980. SF got the green, Airborne the maroon, Rangers the black. They only had the black beret for about 20 years before it was taken away from them and given back to the regular soldier. [/QUOTE] When I was first assigned to H Co. 2/2 ACR in Bamberg in '86, I was told by some of the “old hands” that at one time, we wore black berets with the Cav flash and the regimental pin on it, a yellow aiguilette, tanker boots (real ones, not those crappy Corcoran tanker/jump boot hybrids!), and that our BDU’s said “U. S. Cavalry” instead of “U.S. Army.” That was typical garrison wear, of course, not field uniform. From what I hear, the black beret isn’t all that popular among regular troops, especially in warmer climes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-military-terms-mean/388498.md?page=1)