Campaign Hat Will Soon Be Worn By Male And Female Army Drill Sergeants

Because 1964, United States Army drill sergeants have actually used the distinct “Project Hat” to aesthetically identify themselves from employees. The exact same hat was very first reestablished by the United States Marine Corps about 8 years previously, and it continues to be used by drill trainers, main marksmen trainers, and even members of the shooting groups.

Nevertheless, there is a caution to keep in mind– particularly that while female Marine drill trainers have actually used the project cover because 1996, ladies drill trainers in the United States Army have actually used a “Slouch Hat” or “Bush Hat.” Developed by Brigadier General Mildred C. Bailey, it was presented in 1971. Initially beige, the color was altered to the existing dark green in 1983.

Starting next year, all drill sergeants from both active service and Reserve parts will use the project hat.

According to a Job & & Function report pointing out a U.S. authorities who spoke on condition of privacy, “The modification was triggered by problems with suppliers fulfilling Army requirements for quality when producing the female drill sergeant hat.”

Greater Harmony

This modification has actually been coming for a long time, and the Army carried out 2 different studies in 2023 and 2024, respectively, which discovered that female drill sergeants highly preferred embracing the renowned project hat since it would offer higher harmony. Some participants even more recommended it had a more expert appearance than the bush hat.

The using of the project hat by female drill sergeants is connected to any modifications presented by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

History Of The Project Hat

Typically compared to the “Smokey the Bear” hat, and likewise referred to as the “Montana Peak Hat,” the drill sergeant hat developed from the 1883 project hat of the mid-19th century, however it included flat brim instead of an upturned one. It was formally embraced by the U.S. Army in 1911 however retired from service in 1942.

The Army reestablished the project hat in 1964, following the USMC’s lead, which embraced it in 1956.

” What we call the ‘project hat’ or ‘project cover’ in the U.S. armed force can likely trace its roots to the mid-nineteenth century, and in specific, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War, when soldiers discovered a broad-brimmed hat supplied more defense from sun and rain than the little, Army-issued forage cap,” described military historian John Adams-Graf, editor of History in Movement.

” Half a century later on, the U.S. Army released what we now acknowledge as the ‘drill sergeant’ hat,” included Adams-Graf. “While it stayed as basic concern into WWII, drill sergeants took ownership of the renowned headwear in the 1960s– regardless, I believe it was Hollywood that embossed the hat into cumulative gratitude, putting it on the similarity Sergeant Carter in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., and Gunny Sgt. Hartman, played by R. Lee Ermey in Complete Metal Coat”

Even as the Army makes the modification, the bush hat will continue to be used by the other services. Today, male United States Flying force and U.S. Area Force basic training trainers use a dark blue project hat, however female MTIs with the Flying Force and Area Force continue to use a blue Australian-style slouch hat.

Nevertheless, both male and female United States Coast Guard hire training business leaders each use a navy blue variation of the project hat with a black cable.

Lastly, the United States Navy stays the only branch of the United States armed force that does not use a project hat, and USN hire department leaders use the recommended cover.