Army soldiers toss black berets for brimmed caps

Updated at 1:56 p.m. ET

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Army is ditching the hot, ill-fitting black wool berets that soldiers have worn for years and allowing them to go back to their old, brimmed patrol caps.

Army Secretary John McHugh ordered the change to take effect Tuesday, which also happens to be the service's 236th birthday.

McHugh's memo sent to Army forces around the globe was made available to The Associated Press.

"It's the military equivalent of being able to wear a baseball cap to work," said Col. Pete Brooks of the S.C. Army National Guard. "Wearing the beret in 100-degree South Carolina heat was like wearing a wet piece of black wool on your head."

The change is one of several uniform adjustments, including allowing soldiers to either sew or use Velcro to attach uniform insignia, rank and name tags. In the past, badges had to be pinned on, a lengthy process that meant a ruler had to be used to keep them in line.

It affects all active duty, National Guard and Reserve forces. Soldiers will still wear berets with their dress uniforms, which they don for special occasions such as change-of-command ceremonies. But the caps can be worn for everyday duties.

Another switch will be a return to dressier uniforms for Army men and women in the Pentagon, a step ordered to spiff up the Army's image, said the Army's top enlisted man Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III.

Army Chief of Staff Martin E. Dempsey asked him to take a look at soldiers' concerns, and the cap and Velcro were "changes in the field that they wanted to see," Chandler told the Army News Service.

Brooks said in an interview that the change comes just in time to help soldiers deal with the heat and ward off the summer sun in the U.S. It's also a major issue when soldiers are working in desert environments such as Iraq or Afghanistan. In certain jobs, soldiers could wear caps, but they had to keep berets on hand as well in order to go on base.

The brimmed patrol cap is easier to put on with just one hand, Brooks said.

"You could reach in your pocket and flip it on, and just keep moving," he said.

The berets had to be adjusted with both hands, and many installations were forced to place mirrors at their entrances so soldiers could check their appearance, he said. It created special difficulties for female soldiers who had to adjust their hair styles to fit under the tight berets.

Former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki surprised troops in 2000 when he announced a shift to the beret from the utilitarian cap as a "symbol of unity" and a way to boost morale. But it irritated elite units who were given tan, green or maroon berets as badges of honor.

Soldiers, of course, will still wear their helmets in combat.