ORIGINS OF THE GREEN BERET

I was recently asked:  

Which is "proper" or preferred by these men when referring to them, "Green Beret" or "Special Forces"?

It is a very insightful question, and the answer is long & complex. Each one of the following paragraphs is the subject of at least a chapter-long essay; but it is my tribe, and I am the teller of the tale, so here goes:

As I recall, the "Green Berets" label became popular during the sixties, with the song, the book and the movie:






The green beret itself, as a piece of headgear for elite forces, dates to WWII and the French Underground. The Royal Marine Commandos were already wearing it, and it was picked up by the OSS Jedburghs (direct predecessors of modern day US Army Special Forces).




45 Royal Marine Commando, WWII


I don’t know exactly when French Foreign Legion paratroopers started wearing green berets - sometime after WWII when they acquired Airborne capability within the French forces, and before Dien Bien Phu - where they wore the green beret in combat.




Foreign Legion Soldiers in Algiers, 1957




Beret of the 2° Regt Etrangere Parachutiste (French Foreign Legion)


Early U.S. Army Special Forces in Europe adopted the beret as an unofficial headgear, worn only in the field. By the time of General William Yarborough’s famous First Formation in front of John F. Kennedy the beret was being worn openly (and unofficially) on post at Fort Bragg by Special Forces personnel.




President Kennedy granted official recognition & Presidential award of the headgear.


Then came the song, the book, and the movie, and from that point we were designated “Green Berets” in the popular lexicon.





Then something happened in the late 70s / early 80s. Everyone knows the Army can ruin a wet dream. The beret was officially sanctioned by no less than Presidential Executive Order, and so the Army, in it’s wisdom, determined that EVERYONE assigned to a Special Forces unit should wear the uniform (to include distinctive headgear) of that unit. Hence the phenomenon of pregnant female office clerks seen walking around Fort Bragg wearing green berets.

This sacrilege was finally put to rest when Special Forces became it’s own branch, MOS; 18-series Career Management Field. Nowadays only Special Forces qualified personnel wear the green beret; non-SF qual’d personnel assigned to Special Forces wear maroon berets (indicating airborne unit status).

For the longest time during the 70s and 80s it was almost taboo amongst Special Forces soldiers to refer to ourselves as “Green Berets”. This was how Hollywood described us, and of course there was that whole thing about the pregnant personnel clerk walking around the PX at Bragg wearing a green beret. We were and ARE Special Forces soldiers. Likewise, there is no such thing as “Navy Special Forces” or “Air Force Special Forces”. These units are designated “Special Operations Forces” (SEALs are Navy SOF, Para-Rescue are AF SOF, etc) to differentiate from the “Special Forces” designation, which has belonged to the Army since World War II.




World War II-era jump wings of the OSS (Office of Special Services)
"Special Forces"


Nowadays however a certain pride and ownership has come of the label “Green Beret” and we once again refer to ourselves as “The Green Berets”. You will see it on web sites, chatrooms, certain YouTube clips, etc. We are still not quite yet comfortable with the monicker, given the Hollywood over-usage in the past, but I have heard the term used even in Tactical Operations Centers (TOCs) and Joint Operations Centers (JOCs) by Special Forces soldiers, when discussing order of battle, to differentiate between Special Forces soldiers out there on the battlefield and other Special Operations Soldiers (Rangers are Army SOF, Marine Force Recon are MARSOF, etc).






Of course, I am (semi) retired now – I refer to myself as EX-Special Forces (“ex;” being Latin for “out of”) but NEVER “former” Special Forces; on the grounds that there is no such thing as a “former” Special Forces soldier (with the possible exception of the guys drummed out in disgrace – I’ve seen a few of those). I work and hang out with a number of colleagues from my former life, and recently a retired Sergeant Major said to me (in front of everyone), “You’re a Green Beret, Linnane – get yerself out there and KICK SOME ASS ! ! !”


Hope this answers your question for now . . . SEAN LINNANE SENDS



Today's Bird HERE


.Source URL: https://brownlowpictures.blogspot.com/search/label/Royal%20Marine%20Commandos
Visit brownlow pictures for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

GUESS WHO?

When this actor died in Switzerland, the largest wreath was sent by London's Heathrow airport staff along with a card that read: "To the finest gentleman who ever walked these halls. He made a porter feel like a king."

A graduate of Sandhurst, he returned to Britain in 1939 and was turned down by the RN, the RAF, and the Scots Guards. He got into the Rifle Brigade, later joined the Royal Marine Commandos, then commanded A Squadron of the "Phantom" reconnaissance regiment.

He told his troops that they only left their butcher shops and factories, but he "could've been with Ginger Rogers right now . . . "

After the war he was made a Legionnaire of the Order of Merit (the highest American order that can be earned by an alien). This was presented to Lt Col David Niven by General Dwight D. Eisenhower.




Lt Col David Niven, Royal Marine Commando, Normandy 1944


Although Niven had a reputation for telling old stories over and over, he was totally silent about his war experience. He said "I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would. but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war."

Niven also had special scorn for the newspaper columnists covering the war who typed out self-glorifying and excessively florid prose about their meager wartime experiences.




David Niven, 1910-1983



Wednesday Bird HERE


.Source URL: https://brownlowpictures.blogspot.com/search/label/Royal%20Marine%20Commandos
Visit brownlow pictures for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

. . . HUNG UP TO DRY

Sergeant Mark Leader, 18 years honorable service in the Royal Marine Commandos, says he acted in self-defense against a ‘dangerous and violent prisoner’.



A Court Martial heard how Sergeant Leader and his company commander Captain Wheelhouse burst into a tent where 48-year-old Ekhlas was being held and struck him around the head with a rubber boot, causing a cut lip, two loosened teeth and facial bruising.

The court rejected SGT Leader’s defense that he was trying to stop the man from escaping.

Sergeant Leader's character references speak of ‘calm maturity’ and described by colleagues as ‘a man of integrity’; his exemplary and unblemished record counted for nothing when set against a regrettable but relatively minor assault on an Afghan prisoner.

The Afghan was caught red-handed planting IEDs, and soon after the incident he was released by the Afghan police. A known terrorist is free to go back to what he’s doing - planting IED's and claiming the lives of NATO troops. Meanwhile, a good man's career of 18 years has come to an end.



Leader's own words:

"It was a split-second judgment call and the whole thing lasted about two or three seconds. I may have drawn the wrong conclusion but, given the same circumstances, seeing what I saw, I’d do the same again without hesitation."


Read the whole story here and judge for yourself.



.Source URL: https://brownlowpictures.blogspot.com/search/label/Royal%20Marine%20Commandos
Visit brownlow pictures for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection