Army Plays April Fools Prank


Since it's April Fools Day I feel it's appropriate to share one older April Fools prank I found particularly funny (in lieu of actually putting effort into pulling off my own). If you were to do a little research on the history of headgear [read: hats] worn by Soldiers in the military you would find an assortment of different styles and ways to wear them, each signifying it's own period of time. You would also see that one of the more recent head decorations was that of the black beret. Without going into too much history as to the reasons why, Soldiers disliked the wear of the Beret in their Battle Dress Uniforms (BDU) and the newer Army Combat Uniforms (ACU). With the overwhelming negative feed back from the wear of the beret as an everyday item the Army decided, as of 2011, that they would discontinue the wear in all uniforms except for the formal Army Service Uniform (ASU).

So with the knowledge of the past response to recent headgear changes and in the spirit of April Fools Day, the Army put out the following press release:
WASHINGTON, APRIL 1, 2011 -- In a fingertip-to-the-brim nod to its American frontier history, the Army is changing hats again - returning to the tumultuous days of the horse Cavalry in the wild west and adopting a dark blue Stetson as the official headgear for the current force of 1.1 million Soldiers. "We figure the Stetson will be popular with the troops," said Sgt. Maj. Bob S. Stone, Army Uniform Board headgear task force president. "It's been a while since we have changed the headgear, so it's time. Plus a Stetson is functional and down right American." But reminiscent of the controversial switch from the garrison cap to the black beret, the Army faces opposition from one community deeply opposed to losing its special identity with the Stetson - the Armor branch. "Why in the heck are they doing to us what they did to the snake-eaters'" asked one officer familiar with the board's deliberations. "If you ain't Cav, you ain't ought to be wearing a Cav hat. That just ain't right."
You can click the image above to get a closer look. The Army's official adoption date of the Stetson will be April Fool's Day, 2012 (haha).

"Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry." - Bill Cosby
Army Plays April Fools Prank Army Plays April Fools Prank Reviewed by Joe Burlas on April 01, 2012 Rating: 5

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