Berets of the United States Army

Since June 14, 2001, the black beret is worn by all United States Army troops unless the soldier is approved to wear a different distinctive beret. In the U.S. Army there are three approved distinctive berets: Maroon, tan, and green.

In 2011, the Army replaced the black wool beret with the patrol cap as the default headgear for the Army Combat Uniform.

The maroon beret has been adopted as official headdress by the Airborne forces as a symbol of their unique capabilities, the tan beret by the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the green beret by the Special Forces.

In the United States military, the beret was unofficially worn by a variety of special operations units during and following World War II. In the spring of 1951, the 10th and 11th Ranger Companies wore black berets during their training at Camp Carson, Colorado, before their deployment to Japan.

In the post-Vietnam era, morale in the U.S. Army waned. In response, from 1973 through 1979 Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA), permitted local commanders to encourage morale-enhancing uniform distinctions. Consequently, many units embraced various color berets, for example armor and armored cavalry units often adopted the black beret. Similarly, many other units embraced various colored berets in an attempt to improve dwindling morale. In particular, the First Cavalry Division assigned various colored berets to its three-pronged TRICAP approach. In this implementation, armored cavalry, airmobile infantry units, air cavalry units, division artillery units, and division support units all wore different colored berets, including black, light blue, kelly green, and red.

A black beret was authorized for wear by female soldiers in 1975, and is used also for mechanized units, troops, and guards. The black beret is worn by soldiers in the United Army.

On January 30, 1975, it was officially allowed to be worn by the newly created battalions of United States Army Rangers who had worn it unofficially during the Vietnam War. In 1978, Army Chief of Staff Bernard Rogers required all units to adhere to the uniform regulation AR 670-1, which had not been updated to authorize the black beret for Rangers. In 1979 the new Army chief of staff, GEN Edward C. Meyers, directed that the black beret be authorized wear by Ranger units only. AR 670-1 was updated in 1980 to include this provision.

...
Wikipedia