Bush Tells Pentagon to Review Beret Issue

Bush Tells Pentagon to Review Beret Issue

NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, March 9, 2001

WASHINGTON (UPI) – President Bush has asked the Pentagon to review an Army decision to issue black berets to all soldiers, in response to complaints from disgruntled Rangers over losing the uniqueness of their headgear, the Washington Times reported Thursday.

"The president has asked the Department of Defense to look into that matter, and that's what they're doing at his direction," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Gen. Eric Shinseki, Army chief of staff, last fall announced universal black berets as a way to boost soldiers' morale and increase recruiting numbers.

But the new policy brought a strong backlash from special-operations soldiers who say beret soldiers – airborne, special forces and Rangers –will lose the uniqueness of being a beret-designated elite unit. Airborne troops wear red berets, Special Forces green, and Rangers black.

Rep. Charlie Norwood, whose Georgia district includes Fort Stewart, accompanied Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on a visit to the Army base last month. Aboard Air Force One, the Republican lawmaker broached the beret debate.

"I just said I was real upset with what was going on with the black beret and the Rangers," Norwood said in an interview with the Washington Times.

"They had earned that. They were very upset. … I didn't blame them. … I didn't understand why we would want to do that. Nobody minds all the Army wearing a beret. Just don't choose that color. … I don't think there's much point in upsetting people who are as patriotic as they are."

Three former Rangers are now marching from Ranger headquarters at Fort Benning, Ga., to Washington to protest Shinseki's policy. They are due to arrive today and participate in a rally Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial.

One of the marchers is David Nielsen, a Ranger from 1989 to 1992 who participated in the invasion of Panama. He saw a battle mate, James Markwell, shot and killed shortly after parachuting into Panama. He is carrying Markwell's black beret during the arduous 700-mile march.

"The black beret has to be earned and not issued," Nielsen told the newspaper Tuesday as he hiked up Route 1, north of Fredericksburg, Va., facing stiff winds and subfreezing wind chill.

He described Shinseki's decision as "good intentions. Bad judgment. We understand the general idea is to boost morale. But just choose any other color but black. It's been our color for many years."

Shinseki says the headgear will be a symbol for a more agile force in the 21st century.

"It will be a symbol of unity, a symbol of Army excellence, a symbol of our values," he told the annual convention of the Association of the United States Army in October. The black beret will replace the standard green, foldable cap.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Bush Administration