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Peaked cap
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A peaked cap, forage cap or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations and also by many uniformed civilian organizations such as law enforcement agencies. In the United States military, they are commonly known as service caps, wheel caps, or combination covers in the Naval services.
The cap has a crown, a band, and a peak (British English) or visor (American English). The crown is one color, often white for navies, light blue for air forces, and green for armies, and may be piped around the edge in a different color.
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Encyclopedia
A peaked cap, forage cap or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations and also by many uniformed civilian organizations such as law enforcement agencies. In the United States military, they are commonly known as service caps, wheel caps, or combination covers in the Naval services.
The cap has a crown, a band, and a peak (British English) or visor (American English). The crown is one color, often white for navies, light blue for air forces, and green for armies, and may be piped around the edge in a different color. The band can be one color, often black, or can be striped, vertically or horizontally. Most caps have some form of cap device (or cap badge). In the British Army, each regiment and corps has a different badge. In the American armed forces, the cap device is uniform throughout the branch of service, though different variants are used by different rank classes. The peak or visor is short, historically made of leather, or in newer caps may be a shiny plastic. Sometimes it is covered in black fabric when adorned with embroidered ornamentation.
History
The peaked cap worn by the Russian Army officers (other ranks had the same cap without a peak) since 1811, as a new type of forage cap. Other appearance of the peaked cap appears to have been in the Prussian Army of 1814-15 when Feldmarschall Prince Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and other officers wore it as a field cap in place of the cumbersome shako of the time. Throughout the nineteenth century peaked caps were the characteristic ordinary duty headdress for officers of both the Prussian and Russian Armies. In 1856 a form of peaked cap was adopted by petty officers of the Royal Navy, in imitation of an undress headdress worn by officers from as early as 1827. The British Army adopted peaked caps in 1902 for both the new khaki field dress and (in coloured form) as part of the "walking out" or off duty wear for other ranks. A dark blue version was worn with dress blues by all ranks of the U.S. Army between 1902 and 1917.
During the twentieth century the combination or peaked cap became a common headdress in the armies, navies and airforces of the world, especially for officers. As a relatively practical and smart item it also became popular amongst police forces, largely replacing the helmets and kepis worn earlier.
Canada
In the Canadian Forces, the service dress cap is the primary headgear for men's Naval service dress. It has largely been replaced by the wedge cap in the Air Force, although it is still available for wear on formal occasions. It has been eliminated from the Army in favour of the beret, except in Guards units such as the Canadian Grenadier Guards.
The peak and chinstrap of the service cap are always black. The crown of the cap is white for Navy and air force blue for Air Force. The cap band is black for both elements with the exception of a member serving with the military police, who wears a red cap band on any occasion that they wear the service cap.
The chinstrap is affixed to the cap via two small buttons, one roughly over each ear; these buttons are miniature versions of the buttons on the service dress tunic, and as such bear an environmental device.
The peak of the cap of non-commissioned members and subordinate officers is left plain, except for footguard units' forage caps which are adorned with one or more bands of brass (depending on rank) at the forward edge of the peak. The peak of the junior officer's cap has a gold band along the forward edge, that of the senior officer has a row of gold oak leaves across the forward edge, while that of the general or flag officer has two rows of gold oak leaves, one along the forward edge and one near the cap band.
United Kingdom
Royal Navy
Royal Navy officers, Warrant officers, and Senior Rates today wear a cap with a white cover and a black band in Nos 1, 2 and 3 Dress; originally only worn in tropical climes, the white cover was adopted for all areas after the Second World War.
Royal Marines
Royal Marines wear a cap with a white cover and a red band with 'Blues' uniform. The Royal Marines Band Service also wear this cap with the Lovat Uniform and Barrack Dress.
Army
Most Regiments and corps of the British Army wear a forage cap in Numbers 1 and 2 Dress, the exceptions being:
- The Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Army Air Corps, Parachute Regiment, SAS, Intelligence Corps and who wear berets;
- The Royal Regiment of Scotland who wear a regimental Glengarry with cockfeathers taken from the former ceremonial uniform of the Royal Scots;
- The Royal Irish Regiment who wear the Caubeen;
- The Brigade of Gurkhas who wear a round Kilmarnock cap in No 1 dress and the Slouch hat in No 2 Dress
- The Queen's Royal Hussars who wear their tent hat in No 2 Dress.
It has a cap band which may be coloured (red for all Royal Regiments and Corps), a crown (formerly khaki, now black, except for Military Police which has always been red, and the Rifles who wear Rifle Green) which may have coloured piping or a regimental/corps colour and a patent leather peak and chinstrap. The chinstrap is usually secured above and across the peak and secured at each end by a small button of the appropriate Regimental or Corps pattern.
Officers in some regiments are also required to wear a Khaki version of the Cap, often called the "Service Dress Cap" with Service Dress (the Officers' No 2 Dress) and/or Barrack Dress; the design of this dates back to the cap worn in the field until replaced by the steel helmet during the First World War.
RAF
All ranks of the Royal Air Force wear a cap with a blue-grey crown and a black band, worn with the appropriate badge in No 1 dress, and sometimes in other types as well. The peak is:
United States
United States Marine Corps
In United States Marine Corps, these caps are also worn, in two forms. For all ranks, the device is the Marines' Eagle, Globe, and Anchor device. In addition, officers wear a lace cross on the top, called the quattrefoil, a traditional mark of distinction from the Marine Corps' foundation as sharpshooters aboard ships. For blue dress uniforms, the cap is white with a gilt device. Only the visor is black, and the chin strap is black for enlisted Marines; it is gold and scarlet for officers. For the service uniforms, an olive drab combination cap is available; the device is black, and the chin strap is black for all ranks. In both cases, field-grade officers (majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels) have oak leaf motifs on the visor, similar to those worn by commanders and captains of the Navy; general officers' caps have a different, larger oak leaf motif on the visor.
United States Navy
In the United States Navy, midshipmen, chief petty officers, and commissioned officers wear combination caps, but there are differences between the two types. A chief petty officer wears a combination cap with a black chinstrap attached with gold buttons, and decorated with a gold fouled anchor with silver block letters "USN" superimposed on the shank of the anchor, with the addition of one, two, or three stars at the top of the anchor if the wearer is a Senior Chief Petty Officer, a Master Chief Petty Officer, or the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, respectively; while a commissioned officer wears a combination cap with a gold chinstrap attached by gold buttons, and decorated with an officer crest, a silver federal shield over two crossed gold fouled anchors, surmounted by a silver eagle. Chief petty officer and junior commissioned officer visors are shiny black plastic without ornamentation. Officers O-5 (Commander) and above have gold embroidered oak leaves and acorns on the a black felt-covered visor, with additional embroidery for flag officers (O-7, or rear admiral lower half, and above), referred to as "scrambled eggs" in military slang. The crowns come in khaki or in white (the white combination cap is worn with both white and blue uniforms). The black band around the cap includes a black circle extending upward on the front of the crown as a backing behind the device.
United States Army
In the United States Army, the combination cap for the blue service and blue dress uniforms of enlisted soldiers has a golden stripe on top of the cap band, black chinstrap; the device is the United States' coat of arms in front of a gold disk (the exception is the Sergeant Major of the Army whose device is a gold-coloured rendering of the U.S coat of arms surrounded by a gold-coloured wreath). The version for warrant officers and company-grade officers (second lieutenants, first lieutenants, & captains) has a cap band with the branch-of-service color between two golden stripes, and a gold-colored chinstrap. Field-grade officers (major, lieutenant colonel, & colonel) have oak leafs known unofficially as "scrambled eggs" on the visor. General officers' caps are similar to those of field-grade officers, but the cap band is dark blue and embroidered with gold oak leaf motifs. Warrant officers' cap device is a large gold-color rendering of the warrant officer insignia; whereas all commissioned officers' device is a gold-color rendering of the United States' coat of arms, larger than that of enlisted soldiers and lacking the golden disk backing.
The Army Green ("AG") service cap is similar to the blue service cap in insignia and chin straps. There is no ornamentation of the cap band the AG cap at any rank; the visor of field-grade and general officers is ornamented with oak leaf motifs. The AG service cap is favorable to wear over the AG garrison cap, but has been phased out since the introduction of the Army-wide black beret and Rangers' tan beret (a way for the 75th Ranger Regiment, who formerly wore the black beret, to distinguish themselves from the bulk of the Army).
It should be noted that the simpler "Army Green" service uniform will be obsolete in 2011. (See U.S. Army Service Uniform for details.) Whilst the Army Green service cap was already phased out when the black beret was introduced as standard headgear. The service cap is still in Cadet Command Regulation 670-1, even though it is no longer found in Army Regulation 670-1, "Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia".
The Army white service cap is worn with the white mess uniform and was previously worn with the Army White Uniform until the latter uniform was declared obsolete. Its ornamentation is identical to that of the Army green service cap.
Military Police, whilst performing military police duties in the green service uniforms, wear a distinctive service cap with a white crown. The cap band is topped with a thin green stripe and thin gold stripe. The MP white cap was not authorized with the Army Blue uniform (which was only for formal occasions) in the past. The details of the forthcoming blue service uniform are currently in flux, being updated by an ongoing series of errata orders rather than a new edition of Army Regulation 670-1, and many aspects of the green service uniform are being converted to the blue service uniform (overseas bars, short service stripes, bloused boots for paratroopers and MPs, absence of lace on the pantlegs of junior enlisted soldiers, female trousers, inter alia); it remains to be seen if the MP white cap will be similarly authorized. The thin green stripe around the MP white cap is the branch color of the MP corps, rather than a tie to the uniform color.
United States Air Force
In the United States Air Force, all personnel have the option to wear combination caps, but only Field-Grade (Major and above) and General Officers are required to own one. The cap of enlisted members has the insignia within a metal circle, while the Company-Grade (2LT-1LT-Captain) Officer version has a larger insignia without the metal circle. Field Grade Officers have two pairs of clouds and lightning bolts on the visor. General Officers caps add an extra pair of clouds and bolts on the visor, while the cap of the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force adds clouds and bolts around the entire cap band.
The clouds and bolts are jokingly referred to in military slang as "farts and darts".
These caps are often disliked because of their bulk. Airmen prefer the flight cap for practical reasons. They often refer to this hat as "the bus driver cap" instead of "service cap" because of its similarity to hats worn by the drivers in some cities' public transportation systems, and also because the round top is almost as large as the steering wheel of a bus.
United States Army Air Forces
During World War II, the "50 mission crush" cap was popular among aircrews of the US Army Air Forces. Bomber and fighter aircrews had to wear headsets over their service cap during flight, so they would remove the stiffening wire from the cap. The headset would then crush the cap, which would eventually retain its crushed appearance. Since it took a good many missions to properly achieve the look, a so-called "50-mission crush" cap was considered a sign of a seasoned combat veteran. Current US Air Force regulations prohibit the wearing of 50 mission caps.
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard wears the combination cap, known as the combo cover, with the Service Dress Blue uniform (Bravos), the Tropical Blue Long uniform (Trops), and with all other formal dress uniforms. The cover is identical to that of the Navy with respect to the chinstrap and peak ornamentation. Its crown is white. The buttons securing the chin strap to the sides of the band are smaller versions of the buttons worn on the Coast Guard's uniform coats. The black band around the cap includes black fabric extending upward on the front of the crown to serve as a backing behind the device. In the case of enlisted personnel, this extension is a black circle identical to that on the caps of Naval officers and chief petty officers. In the case of commissioned officers, however, the extension is a more elaborate polygon to accommodate the officers' cap device.
Unlike their Naval counterparts, enlisted Coast Guardsmen below the rank of chief petty officer wear combination covers; their cap device is a golden representation of the Coast Guard emblem. Coast Guard chief petty officers' cap devices match those of the Navy, albeit with a shield on the front of the fouled anchor; like Navy chiefs, their cap devices are enlarged rederings of the rank insignia worn on their collars. Coast Guard commissioned officers' cap device is an eagle with wings outstreched, above an anchor grasped horizontally in its tallons.
United States PHS & NOAA
In addition to the five armed services, the United States' seven uniformed services include two small services comprised only of officers. Officers of the United States Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wear uniforms and rank insignia adopted from the U.S. Navy, albeit with each service having its own design on buttons, cap device, awards, and decorations. The combination covers of the two services are identical to those of the Navy with respect to colors, chinstrap, and peak ornamentation. The buttons securing the chin strap to the sides of the band are smaller versions of the buttons worn on the services' uniform coats. The cap device of NOAA officers is similar to that of Navy officers, albeit with globe in place of the shield. PHS officers' cap device is similar to that of Navy officers, albeit with a caduceus in place of one of the anchors. Neither the PHS nor NOAA has enlisted members.
United States Maritime Service
While the majority of American merchant mariners are employed by shipping businesses and accordingly wear either uniforms prescribed by their employers or civilian attire, some officers receive commissions in the United States Maritime Service for federal government duty, such as the faculty of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the Military Sealift Command's civilian officers manning noncommissioned United States Naval Ships. These officers wear uniforms and rank insignia adopted from the U.S. Navy, albeit with United States Merchant Marine's own button design, cap device, awards, and decorations. The combination covers these officers are identical to those of naval officer with respect to colors, chinstrap, and peak ornamentation. The buttons securing the chin strap to the sides of the band are smaller versions of the buttons worn on their coats. The USMS cap device is a rendering of the Merchant Marine device in gold- and silver-colored metal. Like the device worn by naval officers, it features a silver eagle, with wings outstretched, above a gold shield; the shield, however, is defaced with an anchor, and surrounded by a wreath.
Poland
The rogatywka is a 4-cornered type of peaked cap, related to the czapka and worn by members of the Polish Army. Naval officers and Air Force personnel wear convention peaked caps instead.
Israel
In the Israel Defense Forces, combination caps are used only by:
- Air Force Officers
- Navy sailors in ceremonial dress
- Military Police soldiers in law enforcement duties
- Military Band Soldiers
Civilian usage
Public safety officers, such as those from the police, fire department, ambulance service, and customs, often wear peaked caps, especially on formal occasions.
A number of civilian professions - the most notable modern examples being merchant marine and civil aviation - also wear peaked caps. In such civilian usage, only captains on ships and pilots in command (captains) in aircraft have the oak leaf motifs ("scrambled eggs") on the visor; this is in contrast to the naval tradition, where it is also worn by Commanders (one rank below Captain) as well as by Commodores and Flag Officers.
Peaked caps are also commonly worn around the world by railway staff and security guards.
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