User:HafizWong/sandbox

Berets have been a component of the uniforms of many armed forces throughout the world since the mid-20th century. Military berets are usually pushed to the right to free the shoulder that bears the rifle on most soldiers, but the armies of some countries, mostly Europe, South America and Iran have influenced the push to the left.

Berets are in some countries particularly associated with elite units, who often wear berets in more unusual colours. Berets are also worn by non-military forces as part of the uniform which covered in a dedicated article, Uniform beret.

History

US Army Private wearing black beret with Distinctive Unit Insignia on the US Army beret flash

The use of beret-like headgear by the military of Europe dates back hundreds of years, the first example being the Scottish Blue Bonnet, that became a de facto symbol of Scottish Jacobite forces in the 16th and 17th centuries. As an officially required military headdress, its use dates back to the Carlist Wars of Succession for the Spanish Crown in the 1830s by order of Carlist General Tomás de Zumalacárregui who wanted a local and non-costly way to make headgear that was resistant to the mountain weather, easy to care for and could be used on formal occasions.

The French Chasseurs alpins, created in the early 1880s, were the first regular unit to wear the military beret as a standard headgear. These mountain troops were issued with a uniform which included several features which were innovative for the time, notably the large and floppy blue beret which they still retain. This was so unfamiliar a fashion outside France that it had to be described in the Encyclopædia Britannica of 1911 as "a soft cap or tam o'shanter".

Berets have features that make them attractive to the military: they are cheap, easy to make in large numbers, can be manufactured in a wide range of colors, can be rolled up and stuffed into a pocket or beneath the shirt epaulette without damage, and can be worn with headphones (this is one of the reasons why early tank crews adopted the beret). The beret is not so useful in field conditions for the modern infantryman, who requires protective helmets, and non-camouflage versions are seldom seen on operations.

The beret was found particularly useful as a uniform for armored-vehicle crews, and the British Tank Corps (later Royal Tank Corps) adopted the headdress as early as 1918.

German AFV crews in the late 1930s also adopted a beret with the addition of a padded crash helmet inside. The color black became popular as a tank-crew headdress, since it did not show oil stains picked up inside the interior of a vehicle. Black berets continue to be worn by armored regiments in many armies (see details below).

An unusual form of beret is the camo beret, mostly issued to special forces. Countries that have issued camouflage berets include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, PRC, Denmark, Ecuador, Israel, Paraguay, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, and Thailand.

Berets have become the default military headdress of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, just as the morion, tricorne, shako, kepi, and peaked cap were each common headgear in their own respective eras. As recorded below the beret is now worn by many military personnel of the majority of nations around the globe.

Military berets by country

Afghanistan

Most berets are used by senior enlisted personnel and officers.

Colour		Wearer
	Forest green	Generic beret for Afghan Armed Forces and Air Force personnel
	Maroon	Commandos
	Tan	Special Forces
	Cerulean	Afghan National Police

Algeria

People's National Army

Colour		Wearer
	Light green	Para-Commandos

Angola

In the Angolan Armed Forces, the following berets are in use:

Colour		Wearer
	Green	Paratroopers (Portuguese: Páraquedistas)
	Brown	Generic Army beret
	Black	Navy, Marines (Portuguese: Fuzileiros Navais)
	Red	Commandos
	Medium blue	Air Force

Argentina

Berets are worn by some units in the Argentine Armed Forces, with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colours are as follows:

Army

Colour		Wearer
	Dark Green	601 Commando Company, 602 Commando Company, Jungle troops
	Black	Armor & mechanized infantry troops
	Scarlett	4th Parachute Brigade
	Claret	601 Air Assault Regiment
	Tan	Mountain Troops
	Dark Blue	Army aviation
	Brown	Army tactical divers
	Olive green	Generic Army beret

Navy

Colour		Wearer
	Dark Green	Amphibious Commandos Group
	Black	Naval Infantry Command
	Brown	Tactical Divers Group

Air force, Gendermarie & Others

Colour		Wearer
	Dark Blue	Air Force Special Operations Group
	Dark Green	Gendermarie
	Orange	Argentine Antarctic Institute
	UN blue	United Nations operations

Armenia

The Armed Forces of Armenia continue to wear Soviet-style (pieced fabric) berets, which are draped to the right in most circumstances. When appearing in public on parade, the berets are draped to the left side so that the insignia shows to observing dignitaries and the public.

Colour		Wearer
	Light blue	Airborne Forces, UN Peacekeeping Forces
	Black	Interior Ministry Troops
	Wine red	Interior Ministry Special Troops
	Bright green	Border Guards

Australia

Berets are worn by all corps in the Australian Army, with distinctive colours for some units. In all cases, the beret is 'bashed' to the right, and a badge or insignia is worn above the left eye.

In the Royal Australian Navy, dark blue berets are an optional uniform item available to all members, with distinguishing badges to identify the ranks of Sailors and Officers.

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Armoured Corps
	Rifle green	Royal Australian Regiment
	Light blue	Army Aviation
	Scarlet	Military Police
	Dull cherry	Paratroopers attached to 176 Air Dispatch Squadron, Air Movements Training and Development Unit (AMTDU), Parachute Training School,Parachute Riggers of RAAOC
	Sherwood green	Commando-qualified soldier of 1st Commando Regiment, 2nd Commando Regiment
	Fawn	SAS-qualified soldier of Special Air Service Regiment
	Slate grey	Army Nursing Corps unless posted to a Armoured Corps or Army Aviation unit
	Dark blue	RAN Sailors, RAN Clearance Diving Branch, RAAF No 1 Security Forces Squadron, RAAF No 2 Security Forces Squadron
	Terracotta	Soldier who are posted to Multinational Force and Observers. Former members of the MFO may only wear the MFO beret with MFO hat badge at MFO commemorative ceremonies.

Austria

Austrian green beret.

Berets are common in most parts of the Army, and are usually worn for special occasions, but also regularly by certain forces.

Colour		Wearer
	Forest green	Infantry, All troops that do not wear another color
	Olive green	Jagdkommando (formerly maroon)
	Black	Mechanized Troops, Anti-tank Troops, Artillery, Reconnaissance, Combat Engineers
	Wine red	25th Infantry Battalion (Paratroopers)
	Scarlet	Guard of Honour
	Coral red	Military Police
	Yellow green	Sports Center of the Army
	Pike grey	NBC Defence School
	Rust brown	Signal School
	Navy blue	Logistics School, Mission Support Command

Azerbaijan

Colour		Wearer
	Forest green	Border Guard (DSX), Border Guard Special Forces (CHD)
	Black	National Guard, Marine Corps, Navy Special Forces
	Camouflage	Ministry of Defense Special Forces (XTQ)
	Maroon	Army Special Forces (SPS), Internal Troops Special Forces (DIN)
	Medium blue	Special Purpose Police Unit
	Red	Internal Troops
	Light blue	Paratroopers

Bahrain

Bahrain Defence Force

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Army, Navy
	Dark blue	Air Force
	Red	Military Police
	Tan	Army Special Forces
	Green	Royal Guard
	Olive green	National Guard
	Maroon	Public Security Forces
	Blue black	Coast Guard
	Dark green	Naval Special Forces

Bangladesh

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Armoured Corps, Corps of Signals
	Bangladesh green	Bangladesh Infantry Regiment, East Bengal Regiment
	Dull cherry	Army Medical Corps
	Scarlet	Corps of Military Police
	Maroon	Para-Commando Brigade
	Royal blue	Corps of Engineers, Army Services Corps
	Dark blue	Army Education Corps, Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Ordnance Corps, Regiment of Artillery, Army Dental Corps, Navy

• Any colour with hackle - Cadet

Belgium

Initially, the only unit of the Belgian military to wear berets were the Chasseurs Ardennais from the 1930s. Since World War II they have been adopted by all units. Berets vary in colour according to the regiment, and carry a badge (sometimes on a coloured shield-shaped patch) which is of gilt for officers, silver for non-commissioned officers and bronze for other ranks. Members of cavalry units all wear silver coloured badges.

A Belgian UN peacekeeper in Somalia, wearing a standard UN blue beret and badge, 1993.

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Armoured Unit, Scouts Regiment (Cavalry Unit; French: Guides), Light Cavalry Regiment (French: Chasseurs à Cheval), Some Engineer Units
	Dark Green	Medical Component
	Green	2 Commando, Para-Commando Field Artillery, Commando Training Centre
	Olive Green	Mechanised Infantry (French: Chasseurs Ardennais) (Large-brimmed, basque type with folded-in brim and wild boar's head badge )
	Dark Blue	Artillery Battalion, Royal Military Academy
	Navy Blue	Navy Component (No metal cap badge, but embroidered crest), Naval Infantry (Obsolete) (with metal badge)
	Cobalt Blue	Logistics Battalion, Soldier attached to Administration Unit
	Blue Grey	Air Component
	Light Blue	Land Component Light Aviation (now part of Air Component) (Disbanded)
	Maroon	Paracommando Immediate Reaction Cell Headquarter, 1 Para, 3 Para, Special Forces Group, Parachute Training Centre
	Red	Military Police Group
	Brown	Infantry Regiments, Light Infantry (French: Chasseurs à Pieds), Belgian United Nations Command (Obsolete) (during the Korean War)
	Khaki	"General service" beret with lion badge worn on training by all troops (Obsolete)
	Grey	Communication and Information Systems Group, Some Engineer Units
	UN Blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions

Benin

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Armoured corps
	Green	Generic Army beret
	Dark Blue	Gendarmerie
	Maroon	Paratroopers

Bolivia

Bolivian Army

Colour		Wearer
	Black	18th Parachute Infantry Regiment
	Maroon	Armoured Corps
	Green	Special Operations Forces, Commando
	Camouflage	16th Infantry Regiment (Bolivian Condors; Special Forces)
	Tan	Mountain Infantry (Spanish: Satinadores de Montaña) from 24th Ranger Regiment, 30th Infantry Regiment 1st AD, 21st Infantry Regiment 2nd AD, 25th Infantry Regiment 2nd AD
	Blue	Engineer units

Bolivian Air Force

Colour		Wearer
	Royal blue	Air Force Infantry

Brazil

Brazilian Army

Color		Wearer
	Olive green	Generic Army beret
	Brown	1st Special Forces Battalion (Obsolete) (As of 2016 is being replaced by Wine Red Berets and Black Caps)
	Black	Armored Cavalry Regiments, Armored Infantry Battalions
	Scarlet red	Students of Military College (Portuguese: Colégio Militar) (middle and high school)
	Grey	Mountain Units (Obsolete)
	Dark blue	Students of Military Formation Schools (Cadets, Officer Candidates, NCO Candidates)
	Royal blue	Army Aviation Command
	Wine red	Parachute Infantry Brigade, 1st Special Forces Battalion (Portuguese: 1º Batalhão de Forças Especiais; 1º B F Esp), 1st Commando Battalion
	Camouflage	Jungle Infantry Brigades (stopped being used in 2012 and will resume usage in early 2017)
	Tan	Air Assault Units (Obsolete)
	UN blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions

Bulgaria

Berets have been worn by Bulgarian military personnel since 1991. Berets vary in colour according to the military branch, and carry a crest pin (sometimes on a coloured background patch) resembling the unit's insignia.

Colour		Wearer
	Red	Land Forces, SOBT
	Light blue	Air Force, 68th Special Forces Brigade
	Black	Navy Special Operations Force, Gendarmerie
	Green	Military Police

Cambodia

Berets are only associated with Royal Cambodian Army and worn by specialised units.

Colour		Wearer
	Dark red	911 Special Forces Regiment
	Royal purple	Military Police

Cameroon

Colour		Wearer
	Dark red	Airborne Battalion (French: Bataillon des Troupes Aéroportées)
	Light green	Special Amphibious Battalion (French: Bataillon Spécial Amphibie), Rapid Intervention Battalion (French: Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide)
	Royal blue	Air Force Infantry (French: Fusiliers de l'Air)
	Black	Marine Infantry (French: Fusiliers Marins)
	Royal purple	Presidential Guard (French: Garde Presidentielle)
	Red	Gendarmerie
	Medium blue	Navy (French: Marine Nationale République)

Canada

Main article Uniforms of the Canadian Forces#Berets

The colour of the beret is determined by the wearer's environment, branch, or mission. The beret colours listed below are the current standard:

Colour		Wearer
	Air force blue	Air force
	Black	Armoured Corps, Navy
	CF Green	Generic Army beret
	Scarlet	Military police
	Maroon	Paratroopers serving in SkyHawks and Parachute Company of 3rd Bn RCR, 3rd Bn PPCLI, 3rd Bn R22R
	Blaze orange	Search and Rescue Technicians of CAFSAR
	Terracotta	Personnel serving with the Multinational Force and Observers
	Tan	Special Operations Forces Command (All operators wore their previous unit cap badge on their tan beret)
	UN Blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions

Chile

Chilean Army

Colour		Wearer
	Black	1st Parachute Battalion, 1st Commandos Company, 10th Commandos Company, 13th Commandos Company
	Maroon	Armoured Corps
	Dark green	3rd Mountain Division, Special Group Mountain (Spanish: Grupo Especial de Montaña)

Chilean Navy

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Missile Craft crew, Submarines crew, Marine Corps (Spanish: Infanteria de Marina)
	Dark green	Combat Diver (Spanish: Buzos Tácticos)
	Moss green	51st Marine Commando Group (Spanish: Agrupacion de Comandos de la Infanteria de Marina No. 51)

Chilean Air Force

Colour		Wearer
	Dark blue	Ground troops
	Black	Aviation Commandos (Spanish: Comandos de la Aviation), Parachute Search Rescue and Recovery (Spanish: Paracaidistas de Busqueda, Salvamento y Rescate; PARASAR)

China

Since May 5, 2000, the People's Liberation Army has adopted woolen berets for all its personnel, along with the traditional peaked caps.

Colour		Wearer
	Pine green	Ground Force, 2nd Artillery Division (both unit formerly use Olive green)
	Dark blue	Navy
	Black	Marine Corps
	Blue grey	Air Force, 15th Airborne Corps
	Camouflage	Reconnaissance Force (Obsolete in 80s)

Berets were not officially adopted by the Chinese People's Armed Police Force, but some of the unit (paramilitary) issued their own types:

Colour		Wearer
	Red	Provincial Women Special Police Corps
	Dark blue	Beijing SWAT Unit

Type 07 uniform is being issued to both PLA and CAPF on August 1, 2007. Colours of 07 berets are changed to the same colours with the service uniform. And several changes in designs were made from type 99 beret. The berets were not being issued until summer of 2009 to most of the troops.

Other than colours of the berets, the most significant difference between type 99 and type 07 is the type 99 beret badge is cloth, while type 07 is plastic.

Colombia

Berets are worn by all personnel of the National Army of Colombia (Ejército) and certain members of the Navy (Armada), with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colors are:

Color		Wearer
	Black	Lancero School Instructors, Naval Infantry (Spanish: Infantería de Marina)
	Green	26th Jungle Brigade, 27th Jungle Brigade
	Maroon	2nd Air Assault Aviation Battalion, Army Special Forces Brigade (Spanish: Brigada Fuerzas Especiales), Urban Counter-Terrorism Special Forces Group (AFEUR)
	Dark brown	Joint Special Operations Forces (Commando) (Spanish: Comando Conjunto de Operaciones Especiales de las Fuerzas Militares de Colombia)
	Sky blue	Airborne School Instructors
	Dark blue	Special Brigade Against Narcotrafficking (Spanish: Brigada Especial Contra el Narcotráfico; BRCNA), Marine Amphibious Commando

Croatia

In the Croatian Army berets are used in special forces and guard brigades, as well as in cadet battalion.

During Croatian War of Independence, Croatian Army consisted of seven professional brigades—guard brigades, each having its beret colour. During the army reforms number of guard brigades was cut to two, but the battalions kept the names and insignia (color of beret also) of the previous brigades.

Croatian General Staff, Navy and Cadet

Colour		Wearer
	Green	Joint staff (with Golden Cap badge)
	Dark red	Honour Guard Battalion
	Jewel green	Special Operations Battalion (with Cap badges over the right eye)
	Black	Military Police (Croatian: Vojna policija), Cadet Battalion of Croatian Defence Academy
	Dark blue	Navy

Guard brigades:

Armoured Guard Brigade

Colour		Wearer
	Black	1st Tank Battalion, 3rd Mechanised Battalion
	Brown	4th Mechanised Battalion

Mechanised Guard Brigade

Colour		Wearer
	Black	1st Mechanised Battalion, 1st Motorised Battalion
	Green	2nd Mechanised Battalion
	Red	3rd Mechanised Battalion

Czech Republic

The Armed Forces of the Czech Republic use berets for both battledress and display uniform. The colour of the beret is defined by the branch of the armed forces. The beret displays the state coat of arms with two swords crossed underneath and the badge of rank of the individual.

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Military Police
	Dark Green	102nd Reconnaissance Battalion
	Dark Blue	Air Force
	Maroon	4th Rapid Deployment Brigade, 601st Special Forces Group
	Orange	Civil Defence troops
	Grey	14th Logistic Support Regiment, Medical troops of Support Policy Division
	Light Green	Generic Ground Force beret (Mechanised Infantry, Armour, artillery, NBC protection, Engineering Brigades, etc.)

Denmark

The Royal Danish Army first introduced berets for its armour personnel in 1958. It was later extended to the whole army, Homeguard and parts of the Navy and Airforce, replacing the standard issue Side cap.

Colour		Wearer
	Black	All Army combat units: JDR, GHR, LG, HKIC, Garnisonskommandant Vordingborg and 1DAA
	Green	All Army non-combat units: Engineers, Logistics, Army Intelligence Center, Army Home Guard
	Blue	Signal troops
	Dark Blue	Royal Danish Navy; Naval Home Guard
	Light Blue Grey	Royal Danish Air Force; Air Force Home Guard
	Maroon	Jægerkorpset
	Red	Military Police
	Light Blue (or "Mouse Grey")	Army Air Service, Disbanded
	Dark brown	Danish Women's Voluntarily Corp (Dansk Lottekorps), Disbanded
	UN Blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions

Ecuador

Berets are worn by all personnel of the Ecuadorian Army (Ejército) and certain members of the Navy (Armada) and Air Force (Fuerza Aérea), with distinctive colours for some units or functions. The beret colours are:

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Military Police; Naval Infantry (Infantería de Marina)
	Dark Green	all other Army units; National Police GIR (Intervention & Rescue Unit)
	Dark Blue	Army Aviation (Aviación del Ejército); Air Force Aerial Infantry (Infantería Aérea)
	Royal blue	Air Force Security Police
	Red	Paratroopers and Special Operations Forces
	Grey	for use with the dress uniform (4-B) for those forces using the dark green beret
	Camouflage	IWIA (indigenous tribal members unit) forces

Egypt

• Maroon — Paratroopers
• Forest green — Armour
• Dark blue — Infantry
• Dark blue with red band — Presidential Guard
• Black — Artillery
• Red — Military Police
• Green — Engineers

Eritrea

All personnel of the EDF or Eritrean Defense Forces wear Berets.

• Red — Air Force Units
• Green — Army Units
• Blue — Naval Units
• Purple — Border Guard

Estonia

All personnel in the Estonian Military used to wear Berets in the beginning on 90's. In 2013, berets were reinstated.

• Green — Ground Forces
• Black — Armoured Corps, Naval Units
• Red — Military police
• White - Military Bands Service when not in parade dress uniform

Finland

The Finnish general Ensio Siilasvuo .

The Finnish Defence Force uses berets with cap badges for the Army, Navy and the Air Force. The berets are worn in "clean" garrison duties such as roll calls and with the walking-out uniform, but not with the battle dress. Until the mid-1990s, the beret was reserved for troops with special status, such as the armoured troops, coastal jägers and the parachute jägers, but is nowadays used by all units. In the winter, berets are replaced by winter headgear.

Berets are also used by the Finnish Border Guard, which is a military organization under the aegis of Ministry of Interior during peacetime.

• Olive drab (Badge: Silver lion's head) — Army
• Olive drab (Badge: Golden lion's head with a crown) — Finnish Rapid Deployment Force and units abroad (except for UN peacekeepers who wear UN Blue berets with a UN badge)
• Blue (Badge: Air Force insignia) — Air Force
• Blue (Badge: Silver griffin) — Army aviation
• Blue (Badge: Harp and sword) — Military bands
• Dark blue (Badge: Anchor and Lion) — Navy, including coastal troops, but with the exception of coastal jägers
• Black (Badge: Gothic helmet) — Armoured Brigade
• Dark green (Badge: Golden sea eagle's head) — Coastal jägers
• Maroon (Badge: Arrow and parachute) — Airborne Jägers and Special Jägers of Utti Jäger Regiment
• Olive drab (Badge: Golden bear's head, sword and fir tree twig) — Border Jägers
• Brown (Badge: Golden bear's head, sword and fir tree twig) — Special Border Jägers

France

French marines paratroopers in Rwanda.

The military beret originated in the French Army, in the form of the wide and floppy headdress worn by the Chasseurs Alpins (mountain light infantry) from their foundation in the early 1880s. The practical uses of the beret were soon known Army-wide : the entire Expeditionary Force sent in China in 1900 used beret as headwear A tight-fitting version was subsequently adopted by French armoured troops towards the end of World War I. Between the wars, special fortress units raised to garrison the Maginot Line wore khaki berets as did the 13th DBLE of the French Foreign Legion when it was created in 1940. The Vichy Milice of the War period wore a blue beret.

The beret in red, blue or green was a distinction of the Metropolitan, Colonial and Foreign Legion paratroop units during the Indochina and Algerian wars. After 1962 the beret in either light khaki or the colours specified above became the standard French Army headdress for ordinary use.

With the exception of the Naval Commandos (Commandos Marine) and the Naval Infantry (Fusiliers Marins) whose berets are worn pulled to the right, all other French military berets (Army, Airforce & Gendarmerie) are pulled to the left with the badge worn over the right eye or temple. Gendarmerie personnel serving with the European Gendarmerie Force - an EU crisis response & intervention force - wear the standard EUROGENDFOR royal blue beret & badge when so assigned.

Colour		Wearer
	Wide dark blue	Chasseurs Alpins (the wide beret's nickname is the tarte (pie)) also worn with a white cover (winter dress).
	Dark blue	Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air; Troupes de Marine & all other Army troops; Gendarmerie Provost; Naval Fusiliers (badge on left)
	Legion green	French Foreign Legion (badge on right)
	Sherwood green (Commando green)	Naval Commandos (badge on left)
	Red (called amarante)	Paratroopers wear red beret (except paratroopers of the Foreign Legion who wear Legion green)
	Azure blue	Army Light Aviation
	Black	Armoured regiments (Regiments de Chars de Combat); Gendarmerie GIGN anti-terrorist unit
	UN blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions

Gabon

Berets in Gabonese Army:

• Dark red/rouge— Paratroopers
• Light grey — Armoured troops
• Green — Republican Guard
• Green — Commandos Marine
• Dark red — Army Medical Corps
• Dark blue — other Army units

Germany

First Sergeant of the Panzerjäger with black beret 1989

The German Heer uses berets with different badges for every branch of service. The Luftwaffe and the Marine issue dark blue berets only to their ground or land combat units (called Luftwaffensicherungstruppe and Marineschutzkräfte) respectively. Berets are usually worn at special ceremonies and roll calls, although units with a special esprit de corps, especially armoured and mechanized infantry (Panzergrenadiere) battalions, wear their berets all the time. German berets are always pulled to the right, with the badge visible over the left temple.

Colour		Wearer
	Black	armoured units, including armoured reconnaissance
	Green	infantry units, including Jägertruppe (light infantry), Panzergrenadiere (armoured infantry), army ceremonial guards (Wachbataillon des Heeres) and the now disbanded Panzerjäger (armoured anti-tank);
	Dark blue	Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Marine (Navy) infantry and ceremonial guards; Offizieranwärterbataillon (Officer Candidate Battalions of the Army) multinational units (e.g. Eurocorps)
	Blue	medical units
	Maroon	airborne units (or units with substantial airborne components), including paratroopers, army aviation, Airmobile Operations Division (DLO; Division Luftbewegliche Operationen), and Division Special Operations (DSO; Division Spezielle Operationen), including the KSK (Kommando Spezialkräfte)
	Red	support units, including artillery, engineers, intelligence, psychological operations (Operative Information), anti-aircraft, supply, NBC protection, signals, electronic warfare, transport, topography, and military police (Feldjäger), 'Instandssetzung' Vehicle Maintenance
	UN Blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions

Military bands wear the beret colour of their respective division (e.g. black in the 1. Panzerdivision).

Note: The Panzerjäger started off with black berets but were moved into the Panzergrenadier branch. The last Panzerjägers wore green berets.

Ghana

The beret colours worn by the Ghana Army are as follows:

• Black — Armoured Corps
• Dark Green — Airborne Force (ABF)
• Red — Military Police
• Dark Blue — All other Arms and Corps

Greece

The beret colours worn by the Hellenic Army are as follows:

• Light blue — Presidential Guard
• Black — Armoured Corps
• Green — Special Forces (including Commandos, Marines and Parachute despatchers/riggers)
• Dark red/maroon — Army Aviation
• Bright red/scarlet — Airborne troops
• Dark Blue — All other Arms and Corps when in number 8a 8b and 8c Service Dress.

When in camouflage fatigues, the camouflaged cap is worn instead of the dark blue beret. The beret colours worn by the Hellenic Air Force are:

• Blue-grey (same colours as RAF) — Air Force Underwater Operations Squadron
• Dark red/Maroon — Air Force Special Operations Squadron

Guatemala

• Black - Parachute Brigade (Brigada Paracaidista)
• Maroon - Kaibiles (Special Forces)

Hungary

History: the first beret-type cap (khaki colour, with black ribbon and "eagle" badge) was issued for Air Force enlisted personnel in 1930, but berets became popular in the 1970s, when reconnaissance troops (paratroopers) were issued with rifle green (or grass green) berets. Previously maroon beret was also experimented and even reversible (green to camo) "multi-purpose" berets were produced, but the standardization started on the 1975 military parade. In 1982 military secondary school students were issued with green berets too, while in 1987 River Force troopers received dark blue beret. After the collapse of the communism the beret as "mark of the elite trooper" received more and more popularity among soldiers.

Berets currently in Hungarian military:

• Black (with tank troops' badge) — Armoured Units
• Black (with anchor badge) — personnel of the river boats
• Scarlet (with MP badge) — Military Police
• Scarlet(with artillery or AA badge) — Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Artillery
• Grass Green (with paratroops badge)— Paratroopers
• Grass Green (with engineer's badge)— Engineers
• Grass Green (with infantry badge) — Infantry (only in foreign missions)
• Dark brown (with infantry badge) - Guard Battalion Special Team (only in the 2000s)

Except these official versions different unofficial beret types, colours and badges are worn, for example Dark Blue berets by Signal Corps cadets etc.

Iceland

Icelandic armed services commonly use berets.

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Icelandic Coast Guard
	Dark Blue	Icelandic Crisis Response Unit

India

The beret is the standard headgear for the Indian Army. Berets are worn by officers and other ranks, apart from Sikhs, who wear turbans. The beret colours worn by the Indian Army are as follows:

• Light Green (shades vary considerably) — Infantry regiments and Military Intelligence
• Dark (rifle) green — Rifle Regiments, some Light Infantry regiments (including the Mechanised Infantry Regiment), COBRA jungle warfare Commandos, and the National Cadet Corps
• Maroon — The Parachute Regiment, Special Forces, Special Frontier Force
• Black — Armoured Corps, Border Security Force (BSF), the National Security Guards (NSG)
• Grey — Army Aviation Corps and the Indian Air Force
• Scarlet — Corps of Military Police
• Navy blue — The Regiment of Artillery, Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals, Support Arms and Services, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force
• Sand — Marine Commandos
• Light Blue — All personnel serving with the United Nations forces irrespective of unit, arm or service

Indonesia

The beret is the standard headgear of armed forces and police personnel in Indonesia. It is also worn by paramilitary and other uniformed services in the country such as the Fire Brigade, Search and Rescue, Scouts, civil militias (such as Banser) and civil paramilitary organizations (Ormas). In the Military Services (Army, Navy and Air Force), the berets are dragged to the right (the insignia are worn on the left side), while in the Indonesian National Police force and Military Police Corps, the berets are dragged to the left (the insignia are worn on the right side). Both having its own meaning, dragged to the right meaning "ready for combat and defense" and dragged to the left meaning "ready for law enforcement and order". Military and Police services according to their beret colours which represent different units within the force are as shown below:

• Indonesian Army (TNI AD)
  • Green - regular Infantry and Army staff
  • Red - Army Special Forces Commandos ("Kopassus") including Para-Commandos
  • Dark Green - Raider Infantry air-mobile and special operations capable units, Mechanized Infantry and the Strategic Command Corps ("Kostrad") which itself includes infantry brigades, Airborne brigades, reconnaissance platoons, cavalry and artillery battalions.
  • Black - Cavalry and Armored Cavalry (Tank) Corps
  • Light Brown - Field Artillery corps and Air Defense Artillery corps
  • Steel Gray - Combat Engineers Corps (currently changed to green)
  • Maroon - Army Aviation Corps
  • Khaki - Signal Corps
  • Dark Blue - Supply and Transportation Corps
  • Light Blue (beret dragged to the left) - Military Police
• Indonesian Navy (TNI AL)
  • Navy Blue - Standard berets for the Navy, worn by all personnel such as Naval seamen and naval sailors in duty of ships' company, or on the Naval bases.
  • Reddish Purple (Magenta) - Marine Corps and Jala Mengkara Detachment Naval special forces
  • Maroon - Frogman Command
• Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU)
  • Blue - Standard berets for the Air Force, with Air Force insignia worn by Airmen and Air Force staff.
  • Orange - Air Force Infantry Special Operation Corps (Korps PasKhas).
• Inter-services
  • Light Blue - All personnel attached in United Nations' Peace Keeping Force, and the Presidential Security Force (Paspampres)
  • Dark Brown - Military Cadets
• Indonesian National Police (POLRI) - (not part of Military) berets are dragged to the left
  • Red - Crime Investigation Unit ("Reserse") - do not wear berets during activity
  • Dark Blue - Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob)
  • Blackish Dark Brown - Patrol and Public Police unit ("Sabhara")
  • Light Blue - Internal Affairs Division (Police Provosts)
• Scouts: Dark Brown

Iran

• Dark Blue - Iranian Marines
• Black - Iranian Army Airborne Forces, IRGC Commandos, and Police
• Green - Iranian Army Special Forces (Rangers), Iranian Marines Special Forces, IRGC Special Forces
• Tan - Iranian Army Commandos
• Maroon - Iranian Army Tank Crew

Iraq

Iraqi Maroon Beret

The beret color system used for the different branches of the Iraqi military and security forces changed after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Beret colors currently (and formerly) worn by Iraqi forces are as follows:

• Maroon — Army (formerly Special Republican Guards, Paratroops and/or Special Forces)
• Khaki (olive green) — no longer used (formerly Logistics and Transport personnel)
• Green — Special Forces (formerly Commandos and Thunder Paratroops)
• Bright Red — Military Police
• Black — Police (formerly Republican Guards and regular Army)
• Blue — Air Force
• Dark Blue - Iraqi Navy
• Blue-Grey - no longer worn (formerly Iraqi Air Force)

Ireland

All Army personnel wear a common capbadge, a sunburst insignia with the letters "FF" inscribed above the left eye of the beret. The Irish Defence Forces cap badge for Officers in the Army has a more subdued appearance. Air Corps and Naval Service personnel wear their own cap badge on berets.

Irish troops wear UN blue berets while serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon.

Uii The beret colours worn by the Irish Defence Forces are as follows:

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Army, Air Corps and Naval Service - Army personnel wear red patch behind cap badge
	Red	Military Police
	Dark green	Army Ranger Wing (special forces)
	UN blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions

The beret colours worn by the Reserve Defence Forces are as follows:

Colour		Wearer
	Light green	Army Reserve - worn with dark green patch behind cap badge
	Red	Reserve Military Police - worn with dark green patch behind cap badge
	Black	Naval Service Reserve

Israel

Main article: Israel Defense Forces insignia

Israeli Defense Forces soldiers wear berets only on formal occasions, such as ceremonies and roll calls, and in disciplinary situations such as courts martial and imprisonments. While they are not attending formal occasions, they must place the beret beneath the left epaulette. The Border Police, which are a unit of the civil police rather than the military IDF, wear their berets at most times. The beret colors are as follows:

Soldiers of the Nahal Brigade wearing light green berets

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Armor Corps
	Light Brown	Golani Brigade
	Dark Gray	Air Force
	Maroon	Paratroopers Brigade and SF units
	Lime Green	Nahal Brigade
	Purple	Givati Brigade
	Camouflage	Kfir Brigade
	Turquoise	Artillery Corps
	Khaki	Combat Intelligence Corps
	Light Grey	Engineering Corps
	Bottle Green	Directorate of Military Intelligence, Border Police
	Blue	Military Police
	Orange	Home Front Command
	Olive Green	General Corps
	Dark Blue	Sea Corps

Italy

Italian Carabinieri parachutists in a military parade

A female soldier of the Italian Folgore Brigade.

Italian Army personnel used to wear a garrison cap alongside the combination cap, until the early 1970s when the garrison cap was replaced by the beret. Until the early 1980s the general Army colour for the beret was drab khaki, the black being reserved to armoured units. The colours presently used by the Italian Army are as follows:

• Maroon — Paratroopers, Folgore Airborne Brigade; Army Incursori Special Operations Forces
• Light blue — Army Aviation, 66th Airmobile Infantry Regiment
• Black — all other Army units (the Bersaglieri light infantry have royal blue beret strings, instead of black ones like the rest of the Italian Military)
• Green - The Lagunari Serenissima amphibious infantry Regiment received 'Lagoon green' berets in 2011 after service in Afghanistan

The Italian Navy uses the following berets:

• Green — Navy Commando frogmen Operational Raider Group (COMSUBIN GOI)
• Medium blue - Navy Rescue frogmen Operational Divers Group (COMSUBIN GOS)
• Navy blue - San Marco Marine Brigade of the Italian Navy
• Orange - Units part of the Multinational Force and Observers mission in Sinai

The Italian Air Force uses the following berets:

• Teal blue — Air Force guards
• Tan — Air Force Incursori (RIAM)

Other Italian services that use berets:

• Maroon — Carabinieri Tuscania Airborne Regiment; Police di Stato Parachute units (Display Team and NOCS)
• Green — Guardia di Finanza (GICO); Corpo Forestale dello Stato
• Light blue — Prison Police
• Dark blue - Carabinieri (MP units)
• Red — Carabinieri Cacciatori Hunter units
• Grey — Guardia di Finanza
• Blue — Polizia di Stato

Japan

All members in the Ground Self-Defense Force are authorized to wear wool rifle green berets - referred to as the "ベレー帽" (ベレーボウ　or bereebou) - as an optional head covering for dress, working and camouflage uniforms since 1992. However, it is normally considered a special dress item, worn for public relations events or parades. An embroidered goldwork cap badge representing the JGSDF logo identical to the one used on the service dress peaked cap is required by regulation to be affixed to the beret.

Jordan

The beret colours worn by the Jordanian Army are as follows:

• Olive green - Infantry
• Maroon — Special Forces
• Black — Armoured Corps
• Green — Royal Guards
• Dark Blue - Artillery
• Sky-blue - Engineers
• Red — Military police
• Grey Blue - Air Force
• Dark Blue - Navy

Kenya

The beret colours worn by the Kenya Armed Forces are as follows:

• Black — Armoured Corps
• Green — Airborne Battalion
• Red — Military police
• Dark Blue - All other Arms and Corps including naval service
• Blue Grey - Air Force

Kuwait

• Green — National Guard
• Sherwood green (Commando Green) - Special Forces (formerly Commandos)
• Black — Army Ground forces
• Red — Military Police
• Maroon — Emiri Guard
• Dark Blue - Air Force and Naval Forces

Latvia

The beret colours worn by the Latvian Army are as follows:

• Olive-green — Special Tasks Unit
• Red — Military police
• Black - Army, Navy
• Blue - Air Force

Lebanon

All units, in the Lebanese Armed Forces wear berets when not in combat mode (Helmet), training camp (cap) or formal uniform (formal hat).

The Lebanese Army, unlike most militaries, wears the beret slanted (pulled down) on the left side as the Army emblem is positioned to the right aligned with the right eyebrow.

• Pigment Green - The Fast Intervention Battalions (SF)(5)
• Brown - Airborne Battalion (SF)
• Red - Military Police
• Black - Republican Guard Brigade (Presidential Guard), Anti-terrorism Unit MOKAFAHA (SF)
• Bordeaux red/Maroon - Rangers Battalion (SF), Navy Rangers Battalion (SF)
• Dark Blue — The 11 Bregades, Cadets and the rest of the Army.

Lithuania

• Maroon — National Defence Volunteer Forces
• Scarlet — Military Police
• Green — Military Land Force
• Green — Iron Wolf Mechanised Infantry Brigade
• Grey — (SOP- Specialiųjų operacijų pajėgos) SOF- Special operations force

Malaysia

Female RMN personnels with dark blue coloured beret

The PASKAL personnel wearing the reddish purple or magenta coloured beret while GGK (right) wearing the sherwood green coloured beret.

The beret is the headgear of ground forces, air aviations and special forces in the Malaysian Armed Forces. The colours presently used are:

Malaysian Army

Colour		Wearer
	Dark Green	Royal Malay Regiment, Royal Ranger Regiment, Border Regiment
	Maroon	10 Parachute Brigade
	Sherwood Green	Grup Gerak Khas (Army Special Forces)
	Cypress Green	Royal Intelligence Corps
	Cambridge Blue	Army Air Corps
	Black	Royal Armoured Corps
	Red	Royal Military Police Corps
	Dark Blue	other Army branches

Royal Malaysian Navy

Colour		Wearer
	Blue Black	Regular and reserve force personnel
	Magenta	PASKAL (Navy Special Forces)

Royal Malaysian Air Force

Colour		Wearer
	Blue Black	Regular, reserve force and RMAF Provosts personnels
	Sky Blue	PASKAU (Air Force Special Forces)
	Red	Close Escort Team (VIP Protection)

Maldives

The beret colours worn by the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) are as follows:

• Maroon — Special Forces
• Red — Military Police
• Green — Marines and other support units
• Black — Parade Beret

Mali

The beret colours worn by the Malian Armed Forces are as follows:

• Maroon — Paratroopers.
• Brown — Republican Guard.
• Green — Infantry and other army units.
• Dark blue — Air Force

Mexico

In the Mexican Army, the beret is worn by:

• Green - Special Forces
• Maroon — Paratroopers (formerly purple, circa 1980s)
• Black — Presidential Guards Corps
• Steel Grey — Armor
• Brown - Airmobile Units

In the Mexican Navy:

• Black — Paratroopers, Navy Special Forces.

Mongolian army soldiers in dark green beret

Mongolia

In 2002, new army uniforms were introduced to the Mongolian armed forces and along with new uniform design, dark green berets were issued to all personnel. According to the rules, all military berets are pushed to the right and displays "Soyombo" symbol in middle of golden oak leaves in the right side.

Berets are worn by Mongolian Police since 1994. Police berets are deferent from the army beret in color and in shape, while it is pushed to the left while army berets are pushed to the right.

• Dark green - All branches of Armed forces
• Red - Internal troops.
• Dark blue - National emergency troops (rescuers)
• Black - Police unit (pushed to the left)
• Light blue - UN peacekeepers (pushed to the right)

Morocco

The Moroccan military Uniform is inspired from the French Uniform, the berets are usually pulled to the left with the badge worn over the right eye or temple.

• Lime Green - Armed Forces (Les Forces armees royales), including Paratroopers
• Red - Royal Guard (La garde royale)
• Blue - Royal Moroccan air force
• Dark BLue - The Air Force and Security Forces
• UN Blue - Moroccan-United Nations troops Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions
• Brown - Moroccan Auxiliary troops

Mozambique

Presently, the following berets are in use by the Defense Armed Forces of Mozambique:

• Brown — Army general use
• Red — Commandos
• Olive Green - Forcas Especiais (Special Forces)
• Navy blue — Fuzileiros (Marines)

Nepal

• Deep Green: Nepalese Army
• Maroon: Nepal Police
• Grey: Armed Police Force

Netherlands

When the Royal Netherlands Armed Forces acquired new modernised uniforms (designed by the Dutch couturier Frans Molenaar) in 2000, the berets changed as well. Since 2004, soldiers of the Royal Netherlands Army have worn a petrol (blue-green) beret, whereas previously they wore brown.

The following colours are also used (before and after the modernisation):

Navy:

• Dark navy blue with a bronze metal crown & anchor on a red flash — Royal Netherlands Marine Corps
• Dark navy blue with a gold color metal anchor on a black flash — Royal Netherlands Navy
• Dark navy blue with a silver color metal anchor on a Blue flash — (Civilian base security for the Royal Netherlands Navy)

Army:

• Green (The Green Beret) — Commandos of the Korps Commandotroepen
• Maroon (The Red Beret) — Airmobile troops of the 11 Air Manoeuvre Brigade "11 Luchtmobiele Brigade" (Air Assault)
• Black — Armour and Cavalry
• Petrol (blue-green) — Royal Netherlands Army

Note: The only Dutch military unit that do not wear a beret are the Gele Rijders (Horse Artillery), who wear a blue garrison cap with yellow trimming. Air Force:

• Grey-blue — Royal Netherlands Air Force

Military Police:

• Bright blue — with emblem Koninklijke Marechaussee (Royal Gendarmerie)

Other:

• UN blue — All military members of the United Nations
• Brick red — All military members of the Multinational Force and Observers
• Dark blue — 1(GE/NL)Corps (Eerste Duits-Nederlandse Legerkorps)

All regiments and services have their own distinctive colours. There are quite a lot, but the number of colours in the logistic services was reduced in 2001. This colour is shown in a patch of cloth behind the beret flash. The intendance (maroon), transport troops (blue), military administration (pink; hence the nickname 'Pink Mafia'), technical service (black), and medical troops and service (green) lost their colours and all now wear yellow patches. In 2010, the `tecnical service and medical troops and services recovered their colors. The intendance and transport troops merched into one regiment with new colours (maroon with blue border) and the administration got the crimson color.

• Infantry — Red, except:
  • Grenadier Guards — Red with blue border
  • Rifle Guards — Green with yellow border
  • Fusilier Guards — Orange with blue border
  • Regiment van Heutsz — Black with orange border
  • Limburg Rifles Regiment — Green with maroon border
• Korps Commandotroepen — Black with dark green border
• Cavalry (Armour) — Blue with white, red or orange border
• Cavalry (Reconnaissance) — Blue with black border
• Artillery — Black with red border
• Engineers — Brown
• Signals — Blue with white border
• Logistics — Yellow (obsolete since 2010)
• Legal Affairs — Black with white border
• Psychological and Sociological Service — Red
• Protestant Chaplains — Black
• Catholic Chaplains — Blue
• Jewish Chaplains — Black
• Humanist Society Chaplains — Bright green
• Hindu Chaplains — Bright blue
• Troops in Initial Training — Red
• Royal Military Academy Cadets — Red with yellow border
• Physical Training Instructors — Blue
• Technical Staff — Maroon

New Zealand

Personnel of the Royal New Zealand Navy and New Zealand Defence Force Military Police wear dark navy blue berets. Since 1999 all units in the New Zealand Army have worn a universal rifle green beret, except for the New Zealand Special Air Service, who wear tan coloured beret with the winged dagger. Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel do not wear berets however this is now under consideration and will involve them going to a dark blue beret in 2017.

Nicaragua

The Nicaraguan Armed Forces wear berets in the following colours:

Berets in Nicaraguan Army:

• Green — Special Forces (COE)
• Black - Generals of Staff´s Protection VIP

Berets in Nicaraguan Navy:

• Dark Blue — Special Naval Forces

Nigeria

• Dark Green — Army

Norway

Norwegian soldier wearing an olive green beret

The Norwegian armed forces use the beret as a garrison cap, but some units (mostly armored vehicle personnel) also use it in the field. The Norwegian beret and all other headwear except those of the Navy and His Majesty The King's Guard always have the current king's cipher as a badge in gold (most of the army) or silver (the air force); currently this is a numeral 5 inside an H, for "Harald V". The navy has a crowned gold anchor for their enlisted personnel, a crowned gold anchor surrounded by a circle of rope for their petty officers, and a crowned golden anchor surrounded by leaved branches for officers. The colours used are:

• Royal blue — Brigade Nord (except cavalry troops, intelligence troops and military police)
• Umbra green — Border Guards
• Black — Cavalry, armoured battalion and KESK
• Khaki — Norwegian Army 2nd Battalion
• Emerald green — Telemark Battalion
• Maroon — Army Ranger Command
• Red — Military police
• Olive green — formerly used by other army units & Home Guard
• Grey — Home Guard
• Olive green with silver badge — recruits in His Majesty's The Kings Guards; Krigsskolen
• Dark blue — Royal Norwegian Navy
• Air force blue — Royal Norwegian Air Force Base Defence Units
• Air force light blue — Royal Norwegian Air Force Air Defence Artillery Units

The special operations units of the Navy wear the same berets as the rest of the navy. However they have a coloured patch behind the cap badge, the colour of which determines the unit:

• Green — Marinejegerkommandoen
• Blue — Minedykkerkommandoen
• Maroon — Kystjegerkommandoen
• Red - Military Police

Pakistan

• Rifle green — Frontier Force Regiment, Defence Services Guards
• Rifle green with cherry color patch behind the badge - Baloch Regiment
• Green with Green Plume — Punjab Regiment
• Cherry Pink with a red feather hackle — Sindh Regiment
• Green with red patch behind badge — Azad Kashmir Regiment
• Chitrali Style with White Feather — Northern Light Infantry
• Black — Regiments of Armored Corps
• Dark Blue — Regiment of Artillery, Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Corps of Signals
• Maroon — Army Air Defence, Army Aviation Corps
• Light Blue — Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, Army Services Corps
• Red — Pakistan Army Medical Corps, Military Police
• Dark Maroon - Special Service Group (SSG)
• Green with Red Plume - Pakistan Military Academy Cadets
• Dark Blue - Worn by the General Staff officers (rank of Colonel and above) irrespective of their Regimental association.

Paraguay

The Paraguayan Armed Forces wear berets in the following colours:

Berets in Paraguayan Army:

• Green — Paratroopers
• Dark Blue - Presidential Guard

Berets in Paraguayan Navy:

• Camouflage — Special Naval Forces

Berets in Paraguayan Air Force:

• Red - Air Force Infantry and Airborne personnel

Panama

Berets were widely worn by many units in the Panamanian Defense Force (PDF) under Manuel Noriega. The PDF was abolished in February 1990, and with it all of the old military units stood down. Unique beret insignia were never approved, so units authorized to wear berets wore a combination of the approved shoulder insignia, as well as rank and qualification insignia (e.g. parachutist wings) on the berets. The following were being worn at the time of the 1989 invasion:

• Black - 7th Infantry Company "Macho de Monte"; Comando Operacional de Fuerzas Expeciales (COFFEE - Special Forces Command)
• Maroon - Battalion 2000; 2nd Airborne Infantry Company "Puma"; 3rd Infantry Company "Diablo Rojo"
• Lime Green - 4th Infantry Company "Urraca"
• Camouflage - 7th Infantry Company "Macho de Monte"; Comando Operacional de Fuerzas Expeciales (Cadre)

Philippines

Philippine Army

Color		Wearer
	Army green	Philippine Army Units, Special Operations Command
	Olive drab	Special Forces
	Olive green	Light Reaction Regiment
	Black	1st Scout Ranger Regiment, Mechanized Infantry Division, Army units assigned to the Presidential Security Group, Special Action Force (SAF) (Special Police Force)
	UN Blue	AFP personnel assigned to UN Peacekeeping Operations, Cadets of the Peacekeeping Operations Center

Philippine Air Force

Color		Wearer
	Dark Blue	Air Force Base Security personnel
	Camouflage	Pararescue
	Black	710th Special Operations Wing, Air Force units assigned to the Presidential Security Group

Poland

Black berets were introduced before World War II for tank and armoured car crews. During World War II, berets were widely adopted in the Polish Army on the Western Front, armored troops - black, airborne - grey, commando - green. After the war in the communist era, berets were worn only by armoured units (black), navy for field and work uniform (black), paratroopers (maroon), and marines (light blue). After 1990, the beret became the standard headgear in the Armed Forces of Republic of Poland. Around the year 2000 the design of the Polish Army Beret changed, the beret sewn together from three pieces of material with four air holes, two at each side was changed to a smaller beret molded from one piece of material with no air holes. The following colours are in use:

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Armored troops, Navy (for field and work uniform)
	Blue	7th Coastal Defence Brigade, Peacekeeping Missions Training Center
	Brown	Territorial Defence (discontinued)
	Green	Army general use
	Dark Green	Special Forces Command
	Light Grey	Operational Mobile Reaction Group (GROM)
	Steel Grey	Air Force (no longer in use, replaced by camouflage side cap)
	Maroon	Paratroopers
	Scarlet Red	Military Police

Berets in other ministries:

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Border Guards Naval Units, Firefighters (for service dress)
	Light Green	Border Guards (no longer in use, replaced by camouflage cap)
	Steel Grey	Border Guards Air Units
	Sapphire	Government Protection Bureau (no longer in use) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Troops (disbanded)
	Navy Blue	Police anti-terrorist units (SPAP)

The black beret is also the distinctive headgear of World War II veterans, particularly Armia Krajowa veterans.

The dress code of the Polish armed forces states than when not worn on the head or kept in a locker the beret should be placed under the left shoulder loop. This practice was discontinued due to introducing new field uniform (wz. 2010) with rank insignia placed on chest.

Portugal

The beret was first introduced in the Portuguese Armed Forces in 1956, when the Air Force Paratroopers adopted the green beret. The Portuguese Army adopted the brown beret for its Caçadores Especiais special forces in 1960, generalizing its wear to all units in 1962.

The following colors of berets were or are still worn by the Portuguese Military and Paramilitary forces:

Colour		Wearer
	Green	Paratroopers
	Brown	Caçadores Especiais in 1960-1962; Army general use since 1962
	Black	Cavalry branch (except Cavalry Paratroopers) and Military Police since 1962; Provincial organization of volunteers and civil defence until 1975
	Red	Commandos (worn unofficially by some units since 1966 and officially since 1974)
	Moss green	Special Operations Forces
	Blue	Navy general use
	Dark blue	Marines
	Light blue	Air Force Police
	Dark green	Republican National Guard (GNR) general use since 2013
	Yellow	Special Groups of Mozambique until 1975
	Maroon	Paratrooper Special Groups until 1975
	Camouflage	Guinea 3rd and 5th Commando companies (unofficial) in 1966-1968, Flechas until 1975
	White	Volunteer Aerial Formations until 1975
	Tan	GIPS (GNR rescue unit) until 2013 (still worn unofficially since then)
	UN blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions

Rhodesia

Acting Lieutenant Nigel John Theron of 2 Commando, Rhodesian Light Infantry receives the Bronze Cross of Rhodesia in 1976

Until the reconstitution Rhodesia as Zimbabwe ended their existence in 1980, the Rhodesian Security Forces wore the beret as the primary working dress and service dress headgear. Berets were coloured according to unit or service branch, with a distinctive regimental cap badge pinned above the left eye. The Rhodesian Security Forces were integrated into the new Zimbabwe Defence Forces in 1980.

• Dark Green — Rhodesia Regiment, Rhodesian African Rifles
• Tartan Green — Rhodesian Light Infantry (from 1964, when it became a commando battalion)
• Sand — Rhodesian Special Air Service (SAS)
• Brown — Selous Scouts
• Grey — Grey's Scouts
• Black — Rhodesian Armoured Corps
• Dark Blue — those units without a distinctive beret
• Blue-gray — Rhodesian Air Force
• Cherry Red — Rhodesian Ministry of Internal Affairs (INTAF)
• Bright Blue — Psychological Operations
• Maroon — Medical Corps

Romania

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Anti-air Artillery and Missiles, Artillery, Military Automobile Troops (automobilişti militari), Tanks, Communication and Informatics structures, Engineers, Nuclear Biological and Chemical (NBC) Defense and Naval Forces
	Green	Mountain Troops (or Mountain Hunters, Vânători de Munte), Special Operations Forces
	Dark Blue	Military Justice, Romanian Gendarmerie (Jandarmeria Română)
	Maroon	Paratroopers
	Red	Military Music
	Dark red (bordeaux red)	Military Medicine
	Violet	Military Logistics, or administration (intendenţă)
	Light Grey	Military Police
	Light Blue	Air Force and Radar Troops (radiolocaţie)
	Dark brown	Infantry

Russian Federation

In the Soviet Union berets were worn only by:

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Naval Infantry, Tank Troops (only for coveralls), OMON Special Militia Units
	Sky Blue	Airborne Troops
	Raspberry	Airborne Troops (till 1969)
	Green	103rd Airborne Division (subordinate to Border Guards)
	Rust Red (orig. Krapovyi)	MVD Special Troops

In this period berets were worn also by Armed Forces female personnel for everyday and parade uniform - colour of beret corresponded with colour of the uniform (e.g. Army and Air Force everyday uniform - olive, Navy uniform - navy blue or white, Army parade uniform - sea green, Air Force parade uniform - dark blue). This colour scheme was preserved in post-1991 Russian Federation (except berets for female uniforms which were no longer used)

In 2011, the Russian Defence Ministry issued berets to all non-naval military personnel for field uniforms. Current beret colour scheme is:

Colour		Wearer
	Black	Naval Infantry (Russia), OMON and SOBR units of the National Guard of Russia, FSB counter-terrorist units
	Sky Blue	Russian Airborne Troops general issue berets, Spetznaz units of the Russian Ground Forces (will often wear headwear of other units in the field to avoid identification)
	Cornflower Blue	Federal Security Service Presidential Regiment
	Green	Border Guard Service of Russia
	Olive	Russian Ground Forces standard beret, Strategic Missile Troops, Russian Aerospace Defence Forces, Russian Air Force, Russian Railway Troops
	Orange	Ministry of Emergency Situations general issue berets
	Rust Red (orig. Krapovyi)	604th Special Purpose Center, 7th OSN, 19th OSN of the National Guard Forces Command Spetsnaz - soldiers are allowed to wear this beret after passing special tests
	Bright Red	Military Police (since 2010)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi military police

Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia

Colour		Worn by
	Olive Green	Royal Saudi Land Forces
	Dark Blue	Royal Saudi Air Force
	Black	Royal Saudi Navy
	Dark Green	Royal Saudi Air Defense
	Red	Military Police of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia
	Maroon	Paratroopers Units and Special Security Forces

Senegal

• Tan/sand - Bataillon de Parachutistes (Army Parachute Battalion)
• Brown - Bataillon de Commandos (Army Commando Battalion)
• Black - Detachment Forces Speciales (Special Forces Detachment)
• Orange - Groupement Mobil d'Intervention (Mobile Intervention Group)
• Blue - Legion de Gendarmerie d'Intervention (Gendarmerie Intervention Unit)
• Green - Compagnie Fusilier de Marine Comandos (COFUMACO)(Navy Marine Commandos)

Serbia

The Serbian Armed Forces was wearing berets in the following colours:

• Green — Army
• Black — Military Police
• Maroon — Special Forces
• Steel blue — Air Force
• Navy blue — Navy

With introduction of new M10 uniform and new regulations, berets are being replaced with garrison caps, remaining only with some branches worn in the following colours:

• Black — Military Police and Counter-terrorist units
• Maroon — Special Forces
• Light blue - Guard

Singapore

LTA Roy Chang, a Commissioned Officer in the Singaporean Armed Forces, Army division, donning the Dark Green Infantry Beret. The badge on the left breast signifies the successful completion of the Jungle Confidence Course, attained during Officer Cadet training.

The Singapore Armed and Police Forces adopts the beret as their standard headgear. The different color divisions are as follows:

Colour		Wearer
	Olive Green	Infantry Regiment (Previously Dark Green)
	Black	Armoured Regiment
	Khaki	Guards
	Red (Crimson)	Commandos
	Red (Burgundy)	Police Tactical Unit
	Dark Blue	Signals Formation, Artillery, Combat Engineers, Medical Corps, Transport and Logistics, Military Police, SAF Volunteer Corps, Navy, Singapore Police Force, Police Gurkha Contingent
	Air Force Blue	Air Force
	Light Grey	Public Transport Security Command
	UN Blue	UN Peacekeeping Force

The berets are all adorned with the Singapore Armed Forces coat of arms, with the exception of the Air Force beret, Military Police beret, navy beret and police beret which are adorned with their respective cap-badge. Officers in the navy have a different cap-badge from the enlisted men. Officers of the rank of colonel and above have a different cap-badge.

• National Cadet Corps (Land)- Green
• National Cadet Corps (Air)- Blue
• National Cadet Corps (Sea)- Black
• National Police Cadet Corps- Dark Blue
• National Civil Defence Cadet Corps- Black

All berets have the National Cadet Corps, National Police Cadet Corps or National Civil Defence Cadet Corps crest on the front.

Slovakia

Colour		Wearer
	Black	tank forces, army air defense
	Green	units of high readiness, immediately reaction battalion
	Dark Blue	military police
	Maroon	paratrooper units,5.regiment of special assignment(airborne)
	UN Blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on international peacekeeping missions

Slovenia

• Rifle Green - Special forces
• Green — Military Police
• Olive green - Signal units
• Black - Armour units
• Maroon - motorised infantry/Paratroopers
• Dark blue — Navy units
• Light blue — Air force
• Grey - Mountain units
• Sand - NBC units
• Red - Guard unit

South Africa

The South African Army wears the beret as its standard headgear. The different color divisions are as follows:

• Dark Green — infantry
• Black — Armour, Intelligence, Technical Services Corps
• Orange — Military Police
• Dark Maroon (Plum) — 44 Parachute Regiment, Special Forces Regiment
• Dark blue — Artillery, Engineers
• Light blue — Logistical Corps
• Light Orange — Personnel, Legal Service
• Beige - SA Corps of Signals

The berets are all adorned with the unit's insignia. Some of the traditional units wear other headgear - for example, the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment and the band of the South African Military Health Service.

Outside of Army, the South African Military Health Service wear red berets. The South African Special Forces Brigade which is a separate entity, not part of the army, also wear the Maroon beret which is traditional for elite units in the western world.

South Korea

Berets are mostly limited to the elite units of the South Korean Military, including:

• Black — Army Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command (adorned with the Airborne badge), Reserve Officer Training Corps, KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to the United States Army)
• Dark Green — Army
• Red — Air Force Combat Control Team (CCT)
• Maroon — Air Force Special Air Rescue Team (SART)
• Green — Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance, Marine Corps armoured units
• Grey — Navy UDT/SEAL Team (Naval Special Warfare Flotilla)
• Camouflage — Army armoured units
• reddish brown - Army aviation
• UN Blue - Oversea deployment Group

Other than these units, several secret commando units (mostly disbanded in the mid-1990s, among them the "Unit 684" which became infamous for its mutiny) formed to infiltrate North Korea during the Cold War days wore black berets and adorned them with the badges of individual units. Korean liaison soldiers serving in the U.S. Eighth Army (KATUSA) have also been wearing black berets along with American uniforms since that beret became a standard headgear of the U.S. Army in 2001.

As of 2006, there have been several proposals within the Korean Ministry of Defense to replace the current field cap with a dark-coloured beret as the standard army headgear.

South Vietnam

American advisers assigned to these units wore the berets.

• Red — Paratroopers
• Green — Marines, LLDB
• Maroon — Rangers
• Black — Navy Junk Force
• Black — Palace guards
• Tan — political officers

Spain

The beret is used in the various armed forces of Spain. The colours used are:

• Maroon - 1st King's Immemorial Infantry Regiment of AHQ.
• Red - General Military Academy.
• Black - Airborne Brigade (BRIPAC), Mechanized Division "Brunete", Air Force Police.
• Dark Green - Special Operations units (MOE, UOE, EZAPAC).
• Green - Mountain Brigade (Jefatura de Tropas de Montaña).
• Olive - Spanish Army general issue berets.
• Brown - Military Police
• Mustard - Military Emergencies Unit (UME).
• Royal Blue - Royal Guard, Army Helicopters (FAMET).
• Grey - BRILAT (Brigada de Infantería Ligera Galicia VII).
• Tan - BRILCAN (Brigada de Infantería Ligera Canarias XVI)

Sri Lanka

• Maroon — Army Commando Regiment
• Black — Sri Lanka Armoured Corps, Army Special Forces Regiment, Navy Special Boat Squadron, Air Force Regiment Special Force
• Sherwood green (Commando Green) - , Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment, Mechanized Infantry Regiment, Military Intelligence Corps, Sri Lanka Army Women Corps, Sri Lanka Rifle Corps, Special Task Force
• Green - Gajaba Regiment (Infantry)
• Blue - Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment, The Gemunu Watch (Infantry) & All Other Ranks of Artillery, Engineers, Signals, Light Infantry & all Service Corps
• Khaki - All Officers of Sri Lanka Artillery, Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals, Light Infantry, Service Corps, Corps Engineer Services, General Service Corps, Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, Sri Lanka National Guard, Sri Lanka Army Pioneer Corps
• Red - Military Police
• Dark Blue - Sri Lanka Air Force

Sweden

Swedish amphibious corps soldier with green beret

The beret is used in the various armed forces of Sweden. The colours used are:

Color		Wearer
	Dark blue	Generals in the army and amphibious corps, all other military units not assigned another beret color, except for the navy
	Black	Life Guard Regiment (Infantry), Armored/mechanized Regiments, Land Warfare Center.
	Rifle green	Life Guard Regiment (Cavalry), Air-mobile Battalion (LBB), ISTAR Battalion, Army Ranger Battalion, Lapland Ranger Regiment (Disbanded in 2000), Armed Forces Intelligence and Security Center, Life Guard Regiment (Military Police), Air Force Rangers
	Sherwood green (Commando green)	Amphibious Corps
	Maroon	Parachute Ranger
	Khaki	Home Guard
	Scarlet	Life Guard Regiment (Musicians)
	Bright blue	Armed Forces Helicopter Wing
	Olive green	Special Operations Group (SOG) (Special Forces)
	UN blue	Military personnel in UN-service
	Yellow	EU monitors etc.

Sudan

The beret is worn by all police and military personal.

• Maroon - Paratroops
• Pink - special police

Switzerland

Since 1995, when it replaced the grey side cap, the beret is worn with the dress uniform and with the personally issued battle dress uniform by all Swiss soldiers. In training, a black beret (without insignia) is worn by mechanised units, otherwise a camouflage-coloured field cap is worn instead.

The colours used are:

• Black — armoured and mechanised units; signals and headquarters troops; NBC specialists; intelligence, military justice and general staff personnel
• Green — infantry, musicians
• Red — artillery
• Deep blue — Air Force (including paratroopers)
• Blue — medical personnel
• Dark red — logistics troops
• Grey — military police
• Light blue — troops on UN missions

Thailand

The beret is used in the various armed forces of Thailand. The colours used are:

Color		Wearer
	Maroon	1st Special Warfare Division, 31st Infantry Regiment (Airborne Regiment)
	Khaki green	Army Reserve Force Students
	Black	all other Army units, Air Force, Rangers, Airborne Police Units, Border Patrol Police
	Camouflage	Royal Thai Marine Corps, Underwater Demolition Assault Unit (Navy Seals)

The black beret is also worn by ordinary police in certain situations.

Togo

The beret colours worn by the Togolese Army are as follows:

• Black — Armoured Corps.
• Maroon — Para-Commando Regiment.
• Green — Presidential Guard Commando Regiment.
• Dark Blue - All other Arms and Corps

Turkey

The beret is used in the various armed forces of Turkey. The colours used are:

• Black: Armoured Corps of Turkish Land Forces.
• Blue: Elite units of Turkish Armed Forces.
  • Dark-Blue: Personnel of General Directorate of Security riot team and Police Counter Attack Team.
  • Navy-Blue: VIP guard team of the Turkish Air Force.
  • UN Blue: Personnel serving with the United Nations.
• Green: Personnel of Gendarmerie General Command and General Directorate of Security.
  • Bluish-Green: Personnel of Police Special Operation Department.
  • Dark-Green: Overseas deployment personnel of Turkish Armed Forces.
• Maroon: Personnel of Special Forces Command.
• Red: Personnel of National Intelligence Organization.
• Tan: CSAR units of the Turkish Air Force.

United Kingdom

Bermuda Regiment recruits wear generic dark blue berets.

The British Army beret dates back to 1918 when the French 70th Chasseurs alpins were training with the British Tank Corps. The Chasseurs alpins wore a distinctive large beret (see above) and Major-General Sir Hugh Elles, the TC's Colonel, realised this style of headdress would be a practical option for his tank crews, forced to work in a reduced space. He thought, however, that the Chasseur beret was "too sloppy" and the Basque-style beret of the French tank crews was "too skimpy", so a compromise based on the Scottish tam o'shanter was designed and submitted for the approval of George V in November 1923. It was adopted in March 1924.

During the Second World War, the use of the black beret was extended to all the regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1940. The maroon beret was adopted by the Parachute Regiment in 1941 and the green beret by the Commandos in late 1942. A khaki beret was worn by the Reconnaissance Corps from 1941 until 1944, and the Royal Air Force Regiment adopted a blue-grey beret in 1943. Later in the war, a rather baggier beret-like hat, called a General Service Cap, was issued to all ranks of the British Army (with RAC, parachute, commando, Scottish and Irish units excepted), to replace the earlier Field Service Cap. The GS Cap was not popular, and after the war was replaced with a true beret.

Today, every British military unit wears a beret, with the exception of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Royal Irish Regiment, who wear the tam o'shanter and the caubeen respectively (the Scots Guards and Irish Guards, however, wear berets, as frequently do the Royal Irish Regiment on operations). Many of these berets are in distinctive colours and all are worn with the cap badge of the service, regiment or corps. The cap badge for all services in the UK is usually worn directly over the left eye.

Royal Military Police, 1984

Beret Colours

The colours are as follows:

Color		Wearer
	Khaki	Foot Guards, Honourable Artillery Company, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, Royal Anglian Regiment, Royal Gibraltar Regiment, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, Royal Welsh, Yorkshire Regiment, Mercian Regiment, 4/73 (Sphinx) Special OP Battery Royal Artillery
	Light grey	Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
	Dark grey	Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
	Brown	King's Royal Hussars, Royal Wessex Yeomanry
	Black	Royal Tank Regiment, Westminster Dragoons Squadron, Royal Yeomanry
	Rifle green	The Rifles, Royal Gurkha Rifles, Small Arms School Corps, Essex Yeomanry
	Maroon	Parachute Regiment, All ranks serving with 16 Air Assault Brigade other than in Army Air Corps Units
	Beige	Special Air Service including attached troops who are not SAS-qualified
	Emerald grey	Special Reconnaissance Regiment
	Cambridge blue	Army Air Corps
	Emerald green	Intelligence Corps
	Red	Royal Military Police
	Green	Adjutant General's Corps (except Royal Military Police, who wear scarlet; Army Legal Services Branch, who wear black; and Military Provost Guard Service, and Educational and Training Services branch, who wear navy blue), Military Provost Guard Service
	Dark blue	Generic: worn by all other Army units (except Scottish and Irish line infantry regiments), Royal Navy, Royal Marines who are not commando-qualified (and who wear the Royal Marines capbadge with red backing), Sea Cadet Corps
	Commando green	Commando-qualified Royal Marines, Commando-qualified personnel of all services serving in 3 Commando Brigade, Special Boat Service
	RAF blue grey	Royal Air Force (including RAF Regiment), Air Cadets (Combined Cadet Force and Air Training Corps)
	UN Blue	Personnel serving with the United Nations on peacekeeping missions
	White	When the Special Air Service was initially created white berets where authorised but were soon replaced by beige ones. In 2004 the Royal Air Force Police were denied permission to wear a white beret.

General rule for wearing a British Army berets taught at training depots is to shape the head dress back and to the right for the material and to have the leather band level around the head with the cap badge two fingers above the left eye. Scottish Infantry have different rules for the Tamo'shanter with the cap badge worn on the left side of the head.

Other Adornments

Some Regiments and Corps wear a coloured backing behind the capbadge. These include:

• Foot Guards - Blue Red Blue patch (less the officers of the Scots Guards, who wear a patch of Royal Stewart tartan)
• Honourable Artillery Company - Black Circle
• Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment - Blue Yellow Blue Patch
• Royal Anglian Regiment - Small Black 'Tombstone'
• Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps — Red Patch
• Royal Army Medical Corps - Dull Cherry Oval Patch
• Army Air Corps - Black Patch
• Army Physical Training Corps - Patch in Corps Colours
• Royal Marines 'Red Tombstone' (only on dark blue beret worn by those who are not commando-qualified)
• Royal Welsh Regiment and Mercian Regiment - Green badge outline and square respectively
• Queen's Royal Lancers - Red Patch
• Household Cavalry - Blue Red Blue patch
• Yorkshire Regiment - Brunswick (British Racing) Green.
• Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - Black patch (Worn in mourning for Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, who was their Colonel-in-Chief at the time of his murder)
• King's Royal Hussars - Red Patch
• Royal Wessex Yeomanry All ranks, from all 4 Squadrons wear a black patch behind the cap badge, as a 4 sqdns retain individual cap badges B (RWY) and D (RDY) wear a red flash between the black square and badge.

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, the only remaining independent fusilier regiment, wears a feather hackle on the beret. Other ranks of the Royal Welsh also wear hackles.

Members of the Royal Tank Regiment, 4/73 (Sphinx) Special OP Battery Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Army Air Corps, Parachute Regiment, SAS and Intelligence Corps wear berets in Nos 1, 2, 3 and 6, Dress. Other English and Welsh Regiments and Corps wear peaked caps in these orders of dress. Troops from other services, regiments or corps on attachment to units with distinctive coloured berets often wear those berets (with their own cap badge). Colonels, brigadiers and generals usually continue to wear the beret of the regiment or corps to which they used to belong with the cap badge distinctive to their rank.

Old Units

Former regiments and corps, now amalgamated:

• Dark Blue - Queens Regiment, Royal Hampshire Regiment
• Khaki — Green Howards, King's Own Royal Border Regiment, Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps, infantry motor battalions in World War II
• Dark (Rifle) green — Light Infantry, Royal Green Jackets, Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry, Rifle Brigade, King's Royal Rifle Corps, 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles), 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles
• Black — all Royal Armoured Corps regiments in World War II (other than officers in Inns of Court Regiment), Royal Observer Corps, Westminster Dragoons, Berkshire and Westminster Dragoons
• Maroon — Glider Pilot Regiment and glider-borne units
• Green — Women's Royal Army Corps, women in Officers Training Corps (now wear dark blue), officers in Inns of Court Regiment
• Brown with a broad crimson headband and NO hat badge - 11th Hussars (PAO)

United States

Army Special Forces wearing green berets (The flashes on each beret represent a specific Special Forces Group to which they belong.)

Army Ranger officer with tan beret

Army Paratrooper with maroon beret

Air Force Security Forces guard with dark blue beret

Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Instructor with sage green beret

An Air Force Special Tactics Officer wearing his scarlet beret, which is also worn by Air Force Combat Controllers

The US Army

Berets were originally worn by select forces in the United States Army. The first were worn during World War II, when a battalion of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment were presented maroon berets by their British counterparts. Though unofficial at first, the green beret of the US Army Special Forces was formally adopted in 1961. Maroon airborne and black US Army Ranger berets were formally authorized in the 1970s.

"D" Troop 17th Cavalry were authorized a maroon beret in Vietnam.

In the post-Vietnam era, morale in the US Army waned. In response, from 1973 through 1979 HQDA permitted local commanders to encourage morale-enhancing uniform distinctions, however these distinctions were only allowed to be worn on the post. Consequently, many units embraced various colored 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. The 101st Airborne Division was authorised a dark blue beret.

In 1975 all female soldiers of the Women's Army Corps were authorized to wear a black beret variant as standard headgear for the service uniform.

In 1975 the 172nd light Infantry Brg. out of Ft. Richarderson, Alaska was wearing the Olive Drab Berets.

In 2001, Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki ordered the black beret worn as standard headgear army-wide, a controversial decision because it was previously reserved for the Rangers. The Rangers were then authorized to wear a tan beret, exclusive to them. The decision was implemented in hopes of boosting morale among conventional units. However, many soldiers began complaining that the new black beret was not practical with the utility uniform. In June 2011, Army Secretary John McHugh, acting on the recommendations made by Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey and Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler, once again chose the traditional patrol cap to be worn with the utility uniform. The black beret may be authorized with utility uniforms at commander's discretion for special ceremonies. The beret remains part of the Army's dress uniform for all units.

United States Army berets now use the following distinctive colors:

Color		Wearer
	Rifle green	Special Forces Groups, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School
	Tan	75th Ranger Regiment, Ranger Training Brigade
	Maroon	82nd Airborne Division, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), Non-SF qualified soldier attached to Special Forces Groups
	Black	Worn by all other Army troops with Class A uniform and Army Service Uniform as standard headgear. The patrol cap once again is the standard headgear with utility uniforms such as the ACUs, however the black beret may be authorized with utility uniforms at commander's discretion.

Special Forces, Ranger, and Airborne unit berets sport distinctive organizational flashes. All other units use a standard pale blue flash bordered with 13 white stars. Officers wear their rank insignia within the flash, while enlisted ranks wear their distinctive unit insignia.

The US Navy

In the United States Navy, female service members may wear a black beret (of a different style than most military berets) instead of a combination hat or garrison cap while in service uniforms.

During the Vietnam War, the US Navy created special boat teams, unofficially dubbed the brown-water navy, to patrol coastlines, estuaries and rivers. Naval personnel assigned to these teams wore black berets as part of their uniform, as portrayed in the movie Apocalypse Now. US Navy SEAL teams serving in Vietnam wore camouflage berets in the field, the only beret somewhat standardized in the SEALs.

The US Air Force

Color		Wearer
	Black	Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), Air Liaison Officers (ALO), Air Mobility Liaison Officers (AMLO)
	Maroon	Combat Rescue Officers, Pararescuemen
	Scarlet	Special Tactics Officers, Combat Controllers
	Pewter grey	Special Operations Weather Technician
	Dark blue	Security Forces
	Sage green	Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Specialists
	Royal blue	US Air Force Academy Cadets and Basic Cadet Training Cadre

Uruguay

• Grey - Army 14th Parachute Battalion
• Black - Police Coraceros Regiment
• Green - Army 13th Armor Battalion (Combined Arms)

A member of the Pontifical Swiss Guard with beret and halberd

Vatican State

The Pontifical Swiss Guard wears large black berets.

Venezuela

Berets are worn by some units in the Venezuelan National Armed Forces, with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colours are as follows:

Venezuelan Army

Colour		Wearer
	black	Venezuelan Army general issue berets; included, the comandos (Army special forces units).
	green	Army Counter-insurgency troops (caribes).
	red	311th Infantry Battalion "Simon Bolivar" (Army). Wears the red beret as the first and oldest active infantry battalion of the Army.
	red	42nd Airborne Brigade (Army).
	dark blue	Army Headquarters and Security Group (Lieutenant General Daniel Florencio O´Leary Headquarters Battalion).

Venezuelan Navy

Colour		Wearer
	black	Venezuelan Marine Corps general issue berets (since 2009).

Venezuelan Air Force

Colour		Wearer
	blue	Venezuelan Air Force Infantry units (Infantería Aérea) and Air Force Police personnel.

Venezuelan National Guard

Colour		Wearer
	maroon	Venezuelan National Guard general issue berets.

Berets in inter-service units

Colour		Wearer
	red	Presidential Honor Guard Brigade (armed forces joint unit).
	red	Armed Forces General Headquarters (Minister Of Defence troops (Caracas Battalion), armed forces joint unit).

Note: Before the conversion to the red berets, the Caracas Battalion wore dark blue berets similar to those used by the O'Leary Battalion.

Vietnam

Berets used by the Vietnam Coast Guard and the Vietnam People's Navy are:

• Blue - Enlisted Seamen
• Black - Officers and NCOs
• Dark Blue - Marine Commandos and Naval Infantrymen

During the celebration of the 40th Reunification Day, the People's Army of Vietnam presented new models of berets:

• Green and camouflaged berets are worn by Infantry Reconnaissance troopers and Ground Commandos respectively.
• Red berets are worn by Airborne Forces.

Army's servicemen served within the United Nations will bear the UN blue beret

Zambia

• Black - Armoured troops
• Green – Zambia rifles (Infantry)
• Maroon - Paracommando
• Scarlet - Military police
• Dark Blue - worn by all other Army units
• Khaki - colonels and general officers with combat uniform
• Grey-blue - Air Force personnel
• Khaki-Black – Zambia National Service personnel

Zimbabwe

• Green — Infantry
• Black — Armoured Regiment
• Maroon — Parachute Battalion
• Tartan Green - Commando Battalion
• Tan - Special Air Service
• Yellow — Presidential Guard
• Cherry Red — Military Police
• Blue-gray — Zimbabwe Air Force
• Dark Blue — All other units

International forces

United Nations

• UN blue: United Nations peacekeeping forces wear a light blue beret (in lieu of a helmet or bush hat).

Multinational Force and Observers

• Terracotta: All military members of the Multinational Force and Observers wear a terracotta-colored beret or bush hat in lieu of their normal headgear.

African Union

• Lime or light green: African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces wear a lime or light green beret. AU troops were recently seen wearing the green berets in Sudan but only for a short while. The AU peacekeeping forces were later turned over to UN administration and swapped out their green berets for UN light blue ones.

Camouflage berets

A U.S. Navy SEAL in Vietnam with a camouflage beret

A camouflage beret is a beret intended for use in the battlefield when wearing combat fatigues. They are mostly issued to the likes of special forces, particularly in jungle warfare operations.

History

Camouflage berets possibly originate from the General Service cap "Cap, General Service" issued to the British Army in a Khaki material before the introduction of Berets. It was first introduced under "Army Council Instruction 1407" of September 1943. This cap was designed to replace the "Field Service cap" or "FS Cap" that had been worn since the outbreak of war. These caps were issued in priority to units serving overseas. UK based units got theirs later on. It was at first unpopular due to its over large appearance. This cap was not a beret. It was made from several pieces of drab cloth material, whereas a beret was a one piece item. It was based on the Scottish balmoral bonnet in design. First issues were made from the same gaberdine cloth as the old "FS" cap. Badges worn on it were the conventional Officers bronze, and OR's badges in both plastic and metal. Units which had special distinctions could still wear these on the "GS" cap. The General Service cap was worn by regulation one inch above the eyebrows, with badge over the left eye and the cap pulled down to the right. But many wartime photos will show it worn pushed back on the head, which seemed to be a fashion with many soldiers late in the War.

Officers could only obtain the cap upon repayment to the RAOC. They were not allowed to buy the cap until their unit had been issued with it wholesale. Higher ranking Officers often got away with wearing a Khaki beret, which was against regulations. Fashion conscious OR's would also risk punishment from NCO's/officers buying one of these for "walking out".

Not exactly camouflage but an early example is the Jungle Beret issued to the Australian Army during WW2.

Users

• Argentina - Jungle Troops (Brigada de Monte XII "General Manuel Obligado")
• Bolivia - Special Forces "Bolivian Condors"
• Brazil - Jungle Troops
• China - During the 80s, camo berets were issued to some of the recon forces of PLA. It has no cap badge on it.
• Denmark - Naval Infantry, Armoured forces of Bornholm (Bornholms Værn's Marineinfantery) Disbanded
• Ecuador - IWIA (indigenous tribal members unit) forces
• Israel - Kfir Brigade (Urban Combat)
• Paraguay - Special Naval Forces
• Panama - 7th Infantry Company "Macho de Monte"; Comando Operacional de Fuerzas Expeciales (Cadre)
• Philippines - Philippine Air Force pararescue
• Portugal - "Flechas" and Guinea 3rd Commando Company
• South Africa - 32 Buffalo Battalion
• South Korea - Army armoured units
• Thailand - Royal Thai Marine Corps and Navy SEALs

See also

• Uniform beret, for the use of berets as uniform headgear outside the military

Military berets by color:

• Black beret
• Green beret
• Maroon beret
• Red beret
• Tan beret
• Blue beret