I was just wondering how does one pronounce barret gun.
is baret bill baret or baret as in the french hat. thanks for any help.

I've always pronounced it like the head adornment worn by various American special forces units.

5.56 don't tell me I'm wrong!

Do only special forces were Berets in the US?

I heard of American infantry soldiers showing great respect for German Panzergrenadiere, simply because they were wearing green berets, which lead the Americans into thinking that they corresponded to American Green Berets.

Originally Posted by Mohmar Deathstrike

Do only special forces were Berets in the US?

I heard of American infantry soldiers showing great respect for German Panzergrenadiere, simply because they were wearing green berets, which lead the Americans into thinking that they corresponded to American Green Berets.

Barrett is pronounced like "bare-it."

The OSS actually wore several different colors during WWII, it wasn't until around around 1955 that the 77th SFG unofficially adopted the color green. This was influenced by the British Commandos. In 1961 that JFK authorized the green beret for Special Forces.

Only Special Forces wear the Green Beret in the US military.

Breakdown of berets is like this:

Army:

*Special Forces - Rifle green
*Rangers - Tan beret (since 2001, used to be the black beret)
Army Paratroopers - Maroon beret (units on active jump status only)
General Army - Black beret (All soldiers not wearing the above berets wear the black)

Air Force:

*Pararescue (PJ)- Maroon
*Combat Controller (CCT) - Scarlet (Red)
*Combat Weather - Grey
TACP - Black
Security forces - Blue
SERE - Forrest green

* Denotes Special Operations Force

Yup, it's like "Bare-It".

So I guess Marines don't wear berets at all?

Originally Posted by major liability

So I guess Marines don't wear berets at all?

British marine commando's wear green ones and were known as green berets long before U.S. S.F. were even dreamt about.

Originally Posted by PJ24

Army Paratroopers - Maroon beret (units on active jump status only)
General Army - Black beret (All soldiers not wearing the above berets wear the black)

Air Force:

So regular troops do also wear berets.

In most other NATO countries, red berets denote paratroopers.

Originally Posted by major liability

So I guess Marines don't wear berets at all?

Not in the US, no.

British marine commando's wear green ones and were known as green berets long before U.S. S.F. were even dreamt about.

That isn't 100% true. The Royal Marines didn't have Commandos until 1942, Special Forces trace their lineage back to the OSS, which was also activated in 1942. Almost everything USA Special Forces is evolved from the OSS.

In my previous post I said that the OSS wore several different color berets during WWII, the green was only one of them. It wasn't until 1955 that SF unofficially adopted one color, the rifle green. Part of this was because they liked how it looked on the Commandos.

Army SF doesn't really like to be called "green berets." Some will let it go, and others will correct you by informing you that a green beret is a hat, not a Special Forces soldier.

I think we've gone way though.

Originally Posted by major liability

So I guess Marines don't wear berets at all?

The only extra adornments Marines may have are Jump wings and SCUBA bubbles, located on the left side.

Also the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments wear the French Fourge(sp) while in Alpha, and maybe in Dress Blues. Never in those units so I would not know all the details.