Can anyone identify this?

Looks like an Army Officers Class A  Uniform (AKA Dress Greens) Service Hat, from back before Shinseki's Black Beret days...

The Gold Braid signifies an Officers hat, and the empty ring is where the cap device goes.

As it has no "scrambled eggs" on the visor it is for a Company Grade officer, like htis one

What year? And where can I find the ''scrambled eggs''?

I would say you'd need to find a new cap. Google is your friend. I Googled Kingform cap and immediately came up with their website. http://www.kingformcap.com/

Lots of pics HERE

Its Captain Matos' service cap...where did you find it???

tcepilot

What year? And where can I find the ''scrambled eggs''?

I don't know what year that the Green Class A was phased out exactly, but I will say no older than 2007 or 2008 at the latest. I was in Airborne units from 1991 onwards so nobody wore those. We already had berets when those went Army wide around 2000 or so. When the Black Beret was instituted I do not know if it completely replaced the Garrison Cap and Service Cap with Class A's or if a Soldier was required to have those as well in Leg units. The Black Beret/Army of One...

Manstein's revenge

Its Captain Matos' service cap...where did you find it???

The previous owner of that cap...

Lol I know that!

Scarmbled eggs are made on the brim of the cap, you can't add them yourself. I made major on Jan 1, 2000 and had to get a new hat with scrambled eggs. I sold my company grade one at the thrift shop on post. If he was like me, he just took the service device off the old cap and used it on the new cap.

I still own my field grade hat and wore it for the Christmas party in December 2000. That was the last time I wore a green saucer cap. GEN Shinseki authorized the the beret for wear in Jun 2001, making both hats obsolete shortly afterwards. I know there was a short period of time for the Guard and Reserves, but I am pretty sure that by the end of the summer of 2001, the saucer caps were not authorized for active duty personnel.

Of course, when 9/11 hit, there were bigger fish to fry than to worry about hats, but I believe the wear out date was pushed back for the Guard and Reserves because some of the leather trim used on the berets came from Taliban cows.

Rob, is the Garrison cap stil in use?

No, the Garrison cap did last longer than the service cap though, but is now obsolete.

Recruits going through basic training had not earned the "right" to wear the beret until after graduation. It was supposed to be a right of passage trading in the garrison cap for the beret, but in reality, they didn't want to issue berets to recruits until they were sure they made it through training because of the expense of the beret. And there was a ton of garrison caps still in the supply system.

The garrison cap became obsolete when the recruits stopped getting the green uniform issued. Recruits get issued the blue Army Service Uniform in basic along with a beret since the fall of 2010.

The Green Class A uniform is still authorized for wear for a few more years (2014?), but the only head gear for it now is the beret, whether maroon, blue, green or tan (or a drill sgt hat). The only ones who could have worn the garrison cap were recruits and they don't get the uniform issued any longer.

So it sounds like the beret is the cap of choice/mandatory in all instances where "soft" head-gear is worn?  Except for the BDU cap???

The ACU patterned soft cap is called the Patrol Cap. It is the standard headgear for the ACU.

Manstein's revenge

So it sounds like the beret is the cap of choice/mandatory in all instances where "soft" head-gear is worn?  Except for the BDU cap???

dont forget the boonie hat and the watch cap/PT cap

The standard old black wool watch cap was replaced a few years ago by a sage green fleece cap that matches the sage green fleece jacket we wear with ACUs. Being bald, I wore the heck out of that thing.

Other than "in country", I don't think the boonie hat is worn stateside. I do know that the beret was horrible to wear outdoors in parades; it was a heat magnet literally cooking your skull and provided no sun protection for the left ear or eyes. I'd rather wear the Kevlar than the beret during an outdoor ceremony. At least the Kevlar had some ability to circulate air around your head and kept the sun out of your eyes and off the ears.

Overseas or stateside, my old LRS unit always wore the boonie hat in the field.  In Group, we bounced back and forth between PCs and Boonies. Both units issued  boonies. And yes I agree about the beret, aside from keeping the top of your head warm and looking pretty, it has no other functions as a hat. It does not keep the sun or rain out of your eyes.  My ears are brown most of  the time so I never worry about the sun, but cold... Too bad about the old black wool watch cap... that was a favorite.

When I was in the Boy Scouts in the 60's we did a lot of hiking trips. Frank and John Porcella's dad wore one of these...

Rob Gronovius

... The garrison cap became obsolete when the recruits stopped getting the green uniform issued. Recruits get issued the blue Army Service Uniform in basic along with a beret since the fall of 2010.

The Green Class A uniform is still authorized for wear for a few more years (2014?), but the only head gear for it now is the beret, whether maroon, blue, green or tan (or a drill sgt hat). The only ones who could have worn the garrison cap were recruits and they don't get the uniform issued any longer.

If I understand correctly, the Army now wears a blue service uniform?  Like Air Force blue?    I'm stunned ... say it ain't so!

Having worn a dress service hat thought by many to resemble a dixie cup, I have nothing to say about the all beret Army, but I am not surprised to detect something less than love in the tenor of your and Stik's comments about it (the beret).

Blue uniforms, really?

Don't get me wrong Ordie, I love my berets because I earned the privlege of wearing those by serving in units that were assigned them. Anybody who messes with it and they gotta be ready to back it up. But in most cases it is not a practical piece of headgear. At least I have seen photos of your "Dixie Cup" cap  where the brim is turned down like a fishing hat to keep the sun out of your eyes. I know its not regulation, but it has a function. Now those old Donald Duck sailor caps with no brim or bill...

But yes, the Army went to their Dress Blue uniform for all Soldiers and phased out the Green Class A's. It's a two tone blue with a darker blue jacket and medium blue trousers. Supposedly to be a homage to the19th Century uniforms, or something like that. We had the Dress Blues before, but they were not issued to any ranks and had to be purchased. Usually only Officers and NCOs bought them. Personally I would rather have seen the old OD and Khaki uniforms come back for dress uniforms.

stikpusher

Don't get me wrong Ordie, I love my berets because I earned the privlege of wearing those by serving in units that were assigned them. Anybody who messes with it and they gotta be ready to back it up. But in most cases it is not a practical piece of headgear. At least I have seen photos of your "Dixie Cup" cap  where the brim is turned down like a fishing hat to keep the sun out of your eyes. I know its not regulation, but it has a function ...

Yeah, the dixie cup can be used to keep rain out of your collar, and sun out of your eyes, LOL!  I wore a navy blue baseball hat with my dungarees, though, which was what I wore 90% of the time at Miramar, Yuma, Fallon, El Centro and elsewhere when working on land.  On deck, it was the old cloth aviator style cap with the high-impact plastic shields snapped on it (or whatever they were made of - seemed like plastic to me).  But there was just no way around putting on the old dixie cup from time to time (I disliked the neckerchief even more ... but had to wear it even less, so that was good, anyway).

I got no beef with the berets aesthetically, especially the red, black (I mean tan now days, I think) and green ones.  I always thought they were distictive, which is what they were intended to be.  I did think putting one on everybody's head was demeaning to the guys who had earned them, though.  Just one citizen's opinion.  Wrote 'W' an email about it at the time, but it didn't help, LOL!  They just never seemed very functional, as you and Rob pointed out.  Like I said, having worn the dixie cup, I have nothing to say about berets otherwise.

As far as the blue uniform goes, it is what it is, I guess.  I must be getting old ...

tcepilot - Hang on to that hat.  Not only is it an antique, but it's got beaucoups style and class.

If I understand correctly, the Army now wears a blue service uniform?  Like Air Force blue?    I'm stunned ... say it ain't so!

Yes, it is a "Blues" uniform, but it not USAF blue.  It is what we used to wear as our Dress Blue uniform.  It is based on the historical cavalry unifrom from the 1870's.

Current Army Service Uniform (ASU), a.k.a. Blues.

1870's US Cavalry uniform.

It is actually not a bad looking uniform and is pretty popular with those of us who wear it. 

HeavyArty

It is actually not a bad looking uniform and is pretty popular with those of us who wear it. 

Heavyarty,

Now that I've seen it, I think it's a sharp-looking uniform.  I was raised on visions of WWII uniforms, which is pretty much what the military was still wearing twenty years later during my era, give or take a cut or shade.  Old guy culture shock set in there for a moment at the idea of no more Army greens, but I'm feeling much better now .  Thanks for the photos.  A picture really is worth a thousand words.

Like I said, sharp looking uniform.  Many thanks to you and all who wear it.

Ordie

The dark blue saucer cap has been around for generations. I first had one in 1985 or 86 prior to commissioning. Officers have a colored piping around the band to denote branch, Enlisted used it without the hat piping.

Even during the beret debacle, the blue saucer cap was still in play while wearing the dress blues or mess dress.

It's a shame that the khakis are history... compare for yourself. Khaki says Soldier.

I just don't think the new ASU class B uniform looks Army at all. The white shirt and blue pants don't do it for me. Yes, I own two white shirts, a long sleeve and short sleeve, but never wore the blue class B. If I needed to be in class B, I put on the old green one.

I don't know if this photo will show, but it is from July 2010 on my daughter's wedding day.

Looking sharp Rob.  Personally, I would have liked to see a new version of the Pinks and Greens come back.  

I can't help wonder if the blue uniform is meant to hearken back to the 19th century blue US army uniform.

If so, the army of the Indian war era was poorly trained and woefully underfunded for the tasks it was assigned.