Black beret The black beret is a type of headgear commonly worn by armoured forces around the world including the British Army ' s Royal Tank Regiment ( RTR ) , the Canadian Army ' s Royal Canadian Armoured Corps ( RCAC ) , and the Australian Army ' s Royal Australian Armoured Corps ( RAAC ) among others . Notable non - armoured units to wear the black beret include the Russian Naval Infantry ( and formerly Soviet ) and Russia n OMON units , the United States Air Force ( USAF ) Tactical Air Control Party ( TACP ) members , and the Royal Canadian Navy ( " navy blue " ) . Black berets are also worn over hoods by members of ETA . Perhaps the most famous Commonwealth wearer of the black beret was Field Marshal Montgomery who wore a Royal Tank Regiment ( RTR ) beret complete with cap badge , presented to him by the regiment , to which he added his own general ' s ( later field marshal ' s ) rank insignia . The black beret was also worn by the United Kingdom ' s Royal Observer Corps ( ROC ) with their Royal Air Force ( RAF ) uniform . Original usage . The black beret has its origins with the British Royal Tank Corps going back to 1918 . General Sir Hugh Jamieson Elles , together with Colonel Fuller came up with the idea of a black beret for the Royal Tank Corps after being influenced by the 70th Chasseurs Alpines , who wore a black beret at the time . Black was selected as the colour because it was least likely to show oil stains , something which tank crewmen of that time ( and now ) could appreciate . It was approved for wear with the Royal Tank Corps by HM King George V on 5 March 1924 . The Black Beret remained the exclusive distinctive headdress of the Royal Tank Corps in 1940 . When uniforms were issued to the Royal Observer Corps there was a surplus of Royal Armoured Corps black berets that were given to the unit . United States military usage . In the United States military , the beret was unofficially worn by a variety of special operations units during and following World War II . In the spring of 1951 , the 10th and 11th Ranger Companies wore black berets during their training at Camp Carson , Colorado before their deployment to Japan . During the Vietnam war the US Navy assigned to Patrol Boats wore the South Vietnamese Navy black beret with badge . Unit tradition had the back ribbon cut into two pennants after first contact with the enemy with the ends of the pennant notched in a " V " to signify he had made an enemy " kill " . In 1973 , permission was granted to local commanders to encourage distinctive , morale - enhancing uniform items and the black beret was adopted by Armor and Armored Cavalry units in the United States . A black beret was authorized for wear by women soldiers in 1975 . On January 30 , 1975 , it was officially assigned as part of the newly created battalions of United States Army Rangers who had worn it unofficially during the Vietnam War . In 1979 , the Army Chief of Staff ruled that the black beret was restricted to just Ranger and Airborne units ( the latter receiving their distinctive maroon berets on November 28 , 1980 ) . However , since November 28 , 2001 , the black beret is worn by all United States Army troops unless the soldier is approved to wear a different distinctive beret . The Rangers now wear tan beret s in reverence to the buckskins worn by Rogers Rangers during the French and Indian War . The berets are worn as part of the Army Service Uniform , the U . S . Army ' s garrison dress uniform . From 2001 to 2011 , it was also worn with the Army Combat Uniform , which was unpopular with soldiers . It was replaced as the default headgear with the ACU patrol cap . Usage around the world . In the Polish Armed Forces , the black berets are worn by armored units of Polish Army , and by Polish Navy . In the German Army , an oversized black beret was introduced during the Third Reich for panzer crews , to be worn over the crash helmet ; however this was dropped in favour of a black garrison cap during World War II . Today the black beret ( of conventional size ) is worn by the Armoured Corps and the Army Reconnaissance Corps . In the Danish Army , the black beret was originally used by all combat regiments , but now it is worn by the two royal regiments and the armored regiment , the Royal Guards ( Den Kongelige Livgarde ) , the Hussars ( Gardehusarregimentet ) , and the Dragoons ( Jyske Dragon Regiment ) . In the Portuguese Army , the black beret is worn by the cavalry branch , including the armoured troops and the military police . The black beret is also worn by several Portuguese civil forces , like the Bomb disposal unit of the Public Security Police , the Prison Guard Corps and the Civil Defense . In the Chilean Army , the black beret is worn by the paras and the special forces . In the Sri Lankan Army , the Armoured Corps , Mechanized Infantry and the Special Forces wear black berets . In the Sri Lankan Navy , the black beret is worn by the Members of the elite Special Boat Squadron . In the Spanish Army , the black beret is worn by the Mechanized Brigades and the Parachutist Brigade BRIPAC . In the Spanish Air Force , the black beret is worn by the Paras : EZAPAC , Escuadrilla de Apoyo al Despliegue Aero ( EADA ) and SEADA as well as by Military Police Units . Members of EZAPAC also wear a Green Beret with their battle dress , to denote their Special Forces specialization . Traditionally black berets where used to denote para units , the custom originating in the Spanish Air Force , although its now used also by other , non - para units in the Army and the Air Force . In the Belgian Army , the black beret is worn by armoured and engineer troops . In the Dutch Army , the black beret is worn by cavalry battalions . In the pre - 2003 Iraqi Army , the black beret was the most commonly worn headgear and continues to be worn by both army and police personnel of the new Iraqi Army . In the Israel Defense Forces , soldiers serving in the Armor Corps wear black berets . In the Malaysian Army , the members of the Royal Armor Corps wear the black berets . In the Philippine Army , the members of the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment , Presidential Security Group and Tank Officers from the Philippine Army Light Armor Division In the Philippine Air Force , members of the Special Operations Wing wears black berets . In the Philippine National Police , members of the Special Action Force wears black berets . In the Singapore Armed Forces , members of the Armour formation wear black berets . In the South African Army , members of the South African Armoured Corps including tank and armoured car units wear black berets . The Norwegian Army Panserbataljonen ( armoured ) and other cavalry units wear black berets . In the Indian Army , all Cavalry and Armoured Corps & National Security Guards wear black berets . In the Pakistan Army , the Armoured Corps wears black berets as well as special forces . In the Bangladesh Army , all units of the Armoured , Cavalry and Lancer Corps wear black berets . In the Swedish Army , all armour and mechanized units wear black berets . In the Irish Army the majority of the members of the Permanent Defence Forces , specifically the infantry , wear black berets except for certain combat support units such as MPs , Cavalry etc . In the Czech Army the Military police unit - MP ' s . The Irish Republican Army and its splinter groups wore black berets ( with balaclava s ) at events such as funerals of their members . A Black Beret was often placed on the coffin of the deceased . Members of Serbian Military Police wear black berets . The Finnish Panssarijääkäri ( panzerjaegers ) and members of the Armored Brigade also wear black berets . Tactical Air Control Party members of the United States Air Force wear black berets with a flash and crest design . The Brazilian armour and mechanized troops also wear the black beret , as well as the special forces unit of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro , Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais ( BOPE ) . The Argentine Navy ' s Batallón de Infantería de Marina 5 ( 5th Marine Battalion ) , of Falklands War Mount Tumbledown fame ( 1982 ) , wears a black beret . This was introduced by ( then ) Commander Manuel Tomé around 1977 , and the beret was awarded on completion of a Cold Weather and Mountain Warfare Course . Today , all units of the Southern Marine Force of the Argentine Marine Corps wear black berets with unit badges . In the Brazilian auxiliary military forces of the Polícia Militar ( Military Police ) , specially in Minas Gerais state , officers sometimes wears black berets as official parts of patrol gear . In the Canadian Army , black berets are worn by armoured troops . In the Croatian Army black berets are worn by Military police units and by 1st Guard Brigade ( Croatia ) . In the Royal Canadian Navy all sailors wear a black beret ( " navy blue " ) as part of their Combat Dress ( see Uniforms of the Canadian Forces ) . In the Greek Army , black berets are worn by the Armoured branch . In the Italian Army most units wear a black beret . Exceptions are : Paratroopers , Alpini , Army Aviation Corps ( AVES ) and Bersaglieri . In the Indonesian Army , black beret is worn by the members of Cavalry . In the Austrian Bundesheer all armoured units ( Armoured Battalions , Mechanized Infantry Battalions , Artillery Battalions and Mechanized Headquarter Battalions ) , wear the black beret . In the Venezuelan Army , black berets are of general use except for Paratroopers , Special Forces , Counter - insurgency troops and soldiers stationed inside the Ministry of Defence and Army headquarters . In the Republic of Korea Army , black berets are worn by Special Operation Command forces . In the Turkish Army , black berets are worn by Tank branch . In the Swiss Army , black berets are worn by Tank Branch , Pioneers , Rescue Troops , Communication and Command Troops , high command , Tank Grenadiers , Chaplains , armed forces legal service and other troops . Near black berets . The naval colour is officially " very dark blue " . The Dutch navy and Dutch Marines wear very dark blue berets ; a silver anchor for the Navy and a gold or dark brown ( field duty ) anchor on a red background for the Marines . The Portuguese Marines also wear a " very dark blue " beret . The Royal Norwegian Air Force also use a dark blue beret . Finnish Marine units wear a dark blue beret with the Navy insignia . As a revolutionary symbol . One of the most famous photographs of Che Guevara taken by Alberto Korda was of him wearing a black beret with a gold star . Fidel Castro also wore a black beret during the revolution against the Batista government of Cuba . In the 1960s several activist groups adopted the beret . Military beret s by color :