With the recent controversy over the adoption of black berets by all Army personnel in 2001, some interesting facts on the Army's authorization for beret wear have come to light. It appears that actual authorization of the wear of a beret was very limited during Vietnam. Beyond Delta Troop's authorization to wear a maroon beret, only Special Forces and a few armored and armored cavalry units had the Army's blessing to wear a beret:

• President Kennedy authorized the green beret for Special Forces soldiers in September 1961.

• Some armored and armored cavalry units were authorized the black beret in Vietnam.

• The Rangers were not authorized the black beret until after Vietnam. The black beret was authorized for use in 1975 for people who are qualified as Rangers and assigned to Ranger units, according to Lt. Col. Russ Oaks, a spokesman at Army headquarters at the Pentagon.

• Similarly, airborne troopers were not authorized the maroon beret until after Vietnam. It was actually worn first in September 1973. In September 1978, the Army chief of staff, Gen. Bernard W. Rogers, ordered that all uniform items not authorized by Army regulation, including maroon berets for airborne troopers, had to be set aside. In 1980, Army chief of staff Gen. Edward C. Meyer reinstated authorization of the maroon beret for paratroopers.