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Army peeps (active/former)

T

tcsenter

Lifer
Ok, question for you Army peoples about this Army Special Forces shoulder patch. Does this patch always mean a Green Beret, or are there different units within the Army Special Forces that might also wear this? What units might those be?

The link is Geocities, so you may need to drag/drop the link into your browser.
 
Not Green Beret related AFAIK. The special forces tag is just the patch to show completion of the special forces course. Same goes for the Airborne patch.

There are several different special forces groups out there.

If you need more specific info I can find the guys or site that'll know more about exactly what everything means.

 
http://www.groups.sfahq.com/command/index.htm

I think the new PC (politically correct :|) Army has green berets issued to all troops? All SF are green berets, but not all green berets are SF.

Edit- After research, it was the black beret that was to be issued to regular army troops to look good. What BS :|:|:|
That patch means green beret.

When I was in:
Green Beret = Special Forces
Black Beret = Ranger
Red Beret = Airborne
 
Originally posted by: KMurphy
http://www.groups.sfahq.com/command/index.htm

I think the new PC (politically correct :|) Army has green berets issued to all troops? All SF are green berets, but not all green berets are SF.

Edit- After research, it was the black beret that was to be issued to regular army troops to look good. What BS :|:|:|
That patch means green beret.

When I was in:
Green Beret = Special Forces
Black Beret = Ranger
Red Beret = Airborne
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I remember the days when soldiers in some armor battalions wore black berets. Also remember when the 101st had blue ones.

Black berets, Army-wide, were just coming in when I retired. Personally, I thought the concept was sort of BS also.
 
Originally posted by: tcsenter
Just asking because I got a photo of my nephew and his wife with a Christmas card. My nephew is in Army uniform and that is the shoulder sleeve insignia he is wearing. In fact, the beret he is wearing is identical to those worn in this picture.

I knew he was in the Army but I thought he was a Cavalry Scout. Guess I was wrong?
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Well the scout explains it. The arrowhead is symbolic of the Indian's skills, scouting being one of them.
 
Well the scout explains it. The arrowhead is symbolic of the Indian's skills, scouting being one of them.
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Nope, I'm pretty sure Special Forces and Cavalry are two entirely different things. 😛

Ok, I just found some info. That patch is synonymous with Green Berets, nobody else gets to wear it but US Army Special Forces members (also known as "Green Berets").

Cool! I didn't know that. haha
 
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Originally posted by: tcsenter
Well the scout explains it. The arrowhead is symbolic of the Indian's skills, scouting being one of them.
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Nope, I'm pretty sure Special Forces and Cavalry are two entirely different things. 😛

Ok, I just found some info. That patch is synonymous with Green Berets, nobody else gets to wear it but US Army Special Forces members (also known as "Green Berets"). According to his beret flash and another patch, he is with the 5th Special Forces Group.

Cool! I didn't know that. haha
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I'm kinda confused as to which patch you are talking about 😱 There are 3 different patches there, which one does he have? All 3? I thought we wuz talking about the Special Forces one 🙁
 
I'm kinda confused as to which patch you are talking about There are 3 different patches there, which one does he have? All 3? I thought we wuz talking about the Special Forces one
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Oh, ok, I see what you mean. No, I was referring to all three, as they appear in the picture. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Army Special Forces are Airborne, so I don't think you just get one or the other. The Airborne patch can be earned/awarded by others, because there are other non-special forces Airborne combat groups, but I don't think you'll ever see either of those Special Forces insignia without an Airborne patch with them. The arrow-head shaped blue patch on the bottom is exclusive to the US Army Special Forces.
 
Originally posted by: tcsenter
I'm kinda confused as to which patch you are talking about There are 3 different patches there, which one does he have? All 3? I thought we wuz talking about the Special Forces one
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Oh, ok, I see what you mean. No, I was referring to all three, as they appear in the picture. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Army Special Forces are Airborne, so I don't think you just get one or the other. The Airborne patch can be earned/awarded by others, because there are other non-special forces Airborne combat groups, but I don't think you'll ever see either of those Special Forces insignia without an Airborne patch with them. The arrow-head shaped blue patch on the bottom is exclusive to the US Army Special Forces.
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Yup that's all correct.

If you want the full heraldry of that exact patch I found this

 
Page is showing as being not available.

But here's the scoop on the SF patch....

The "Airborne" tab goes along with the unit patch... the Airborne tab becomes part of the unit patch for units on jump status. Since Special Forces groups are by definition jump-qualified units, everyone assigned to a Special Forces Group wears the arrow patch with the Airborne tab, regardless of whether they're airborne or Special Forces qualified. You could be a "leg" (non-parachutist qualified person) with a job like clerk or a cook for a SF unit, and you still wear the arrowhead and Airborne tab.

Only those who have been through the Q course and are thus Special Forces qualified get to wear the SF tab. like this, in blue with yellow lettering Once you earn your SF tab, you keep it forever, regardless of where you're assigned. You'll occassionally also see a "triple tabber" (someone who has completed both Ranger and SF school and is currently assigned to an SF unit) who will have the Airborne tab, with the Ranger tab above that, and the SF tab above that.

Now, as for berets. Regardless of the color, every beret will have a flash and crest. The flash is the cloth patch, most units which wore berets in the days before everyone in the Army was issued one have a distinct unit flash. This is what the 5th Special Forces Group flash with the Special Forces crest looks like... 5th SFG flash and crest

Now, as for beret color. The generic beret color for anyone in the army is black. That used to be the color the 75th Ranger Regiment used to wear, now the Rangers wear tan berets. To earn a different colored beret, you both need to complete certain qualification courses AND be assigned to a unit which that qualification refers to. Everyone who serves in a unit designated as airborne is entitled to wear the maroon beret, regardless of jump status. Those who are serving in SF or Ranger units but are have not earned their SF/Ranger tabs also wear maroon berets. Only those who have completed SF training AND are serving in a SF unit get to wear green berets. To wear the tan beret, one must have both completed Ranger school AND be assigned to a Ranger unit.

Like i said, once you earn the tab it's yours to keep forever, but the beret is premised on maintaining your qualification status and serving in a unit designated as belonging to either a SF Group or 75th Ranger Regiment.
 
Page is showing as being not available.
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You have to drag the link to your URL window and drop it. But if you can't access it that way, then an identical representation can be found at the top of this page. He has all three just as it appears on that page; the Special Forces tab, the Airborne tab, and the blue arrow head patch with three lightening bolts and fighting dagger.




 
He has all three just as it appears on that page; the Special Forces tab, the Airborne tab, and the blue arrow head patch with three lightening bolts and fighting dagger.
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Then he's currently serving in a Special Forces unit and bears MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) code 18, Special Forces sergeant. If you knew what letter was after the 18, i'd be able to tell you what his job on the team was. 18B is weapons sergeant, 18C is demolitions, 18D is medical, 18E is communications, and 18F is intelligence. If he's an officer, then his MOS would be 18A.

I knew he was in the Army but I thought he was a Cavalry Scout. Guess I was wrong?
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He may have began his military career as a cavalry scout. You can't enlist straight into the Special Forces, you have to already be serving in another MOS, have a certain amount of time in service and some promotions under your belt, and be recommended by your commanding officer and a selection board. Those two standards wash out the majority of candidates. If you make it through that, then you're allowed to volunteer for the Special Forces selection course, which is a painful process that washes out another 75% or so of the people that try out. If after that you're selected for training, you go to the Q course which is your actual special forces training. If you make it through the Q course, then you get awarded the 18 series identifier, your SF tab and beret.
 
He may have began his military career as a cavalry scout. You can't enlist straight into the Special Forces, you have to already be serving in another MOS, have a certain amount of time in service and some promotions under your belt, and be recommended by your commanding officer and a selection board.
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I thought I read somewhere that the Army HAS brought back the Special Forces 'fast track' that was eliminated in the 1980's? It is supposed to shave off up to one year between enlistment and Special Forces Qualification Course graduation.
 
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To wear the tan beret, one must have both completed Ranger school AND be assigned to a Ranger unit.
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Unless things have changed substantially, once you have graduated from RIP (Ranger Indoctrination Program) and go to Battalion, you are entitled to wear the Khaki Beret... You can be at Battalion for quite some time before you are actually sent to Ranger School.

Dave
 
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