The Importance of the Green Beret as a Symbol
by Jeffrey Hasler
Journal Article | October 29, 2017 - 3:11pm
The issue - at least right now - is not the utility of units like the new Security Force Assistance Brigades’ (SFAB) mission overlap or lack thereof, or how Special Forces (SF) interact with them. The issue now is the Army’s decision to model the SFABs’ symbology so closely to that of SF’s. Did those responsible not understand the effect of what they were doing? Was it incompetence? I doubt it. I think our leaders are intelligent and know what they are doing. Could it be the Army sees no meaningful difference between SF and SFAB? Even the Army Chief of Staff said SFABs are not SF. Well then, this despicable decision can only be explained by a conscious decision to dilute the distinctiveness of the green beret as a SF symbol.
In some sense, any beret is just an impractical piece of felt. Many of us would have sought out SF and done the job without a beret - or uniform for that matter.
http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-importance-of-the-green-beret-as-a-symbol
