Sam Browne belt The Sam Browne belt is a wide belt , usually leather , which is supported by a strap passing diagonally over the right shoulder . It is most often seen as part of a military or police uniform . Origins . Sam Browne was a British army officer serving in India in the 19th century . In those days officers always carried a sword into battle . It hung from a small metal clip on the waistbelt , called a ' frog ' . However , the scabbard tended to slide around a lot when they charged the enemy , meaning that it had to be steadied with the left hand before being drawn . During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in India , Captain Sam Browne was serving with the 2nd Punjab Irregular Cavalry . On 31 August 1858 , Captain Browne was involved in the fighting near Seerporah . As he charged a cannon being reloaded , he was attacked by one of its crew . Browne received two sword cuts , one on the left knee and one which severed his left arm at the shoulder . He survived the injuries but , without a left hand , he found that he was now unable to control or draw his sword . Browne came up with the idea of wearing a second belt which went over his right shoulder and held the scabbard in just the spot he wanted . This would hook into a heavy leather belt with " D - rings " for attaching accessories . It also securely carried a pistol in a flap - holster on his right hip and included a binocular case with a neck - strap . Other cavalry officers in the Indian Army began wearing a similar rig and soon it became part of the standard uniform . During the Boer War , the rig was copied by Imperial and Commonwealth troops and eventually became standard issue . Infantry officers wore a variant that used two suspender - like straps instead of the cross - belt . It was supposedly invented in 1878 by Lieutenant Sir Basil Templer Graham - Montgomery , 5th Baronet of the 60th Rifles while serving in India . There has been a great deal of discussion as to whether Browne modified Graham - Montgomery ' s design or vice - versa . Since there were no patents issued for either design and both camps have accounts backing up their claims , it may never be decided . Usage . Due to its former use as equipment for carrying a sword , it is traditionally only worn by those to whom a sword would historically have been issued , namely officers . Throughout most of its modern history , however , its main function has been to carry a pistol , and it was found to be particularly useful with the heavy pistols typically used during the first part of the 20th century . Finland . In Finnish army ( as well as in Finnish Air force ) the Sam Browne belt , officially known as a " command belt " or " officer belt " , has been used by officers and senior NCOs as well as officer cadets when wearing service , dress or parade uniforms , currently it is mainly used by high - ranking officers during parades and other ceremonies , as it ' s only worn with dress uniform M58 and service uniform M83 while most army and air force personnel , excluding cadets studying in the National Defence College as well as soldiers on ceremonial duties , use the camouflage uniform M05 as their service uniform , and the use of the ' command belt ' with any camouflage uniform except M62 ( already phased out of service ) is strictly forbidden . Axis powers . The Sam Browne belt featured prominently in many uniforms used by the Nazi Party in Germany , again in imitation of earlier European uniforms . It was popular with Adolf Hitler and other leading Nazi officials . United Kingdom and the Commonwealth . In the 20th century it was a mainstay in the British Army officers ' corps , being adopted service - wide in 1900 during the Second Boer War after limited use in India , and later becoming popular with military forces throughout the Commonwealth . After World War II the Sam Browne belt saw a decline in use in the Commonwealth ; for example , it was phased out by the Canadian military with the unification of the armed services in 1968 . However , officers , and Warrant Officer Class 1 ( but not WO2 ) of the British Army and Royal Marines still wear it in formal ( No . 2 ) dress and in some versions of full ( No . 1 ) dress . In Australia all officers are entitled to wear the belt in ceremonial dress , also Warrant Officers bearing the rank of WO1 ( but not WO2 ) are entitled to wear the belt . Within the corps of the Australian Army there is some variation , with members of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps , Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps and Australian Army Aviation Corps wearing black Sam Browne belts . Rifle Belt . A different arrangement from the traditional Sam Browne belt consists of a similar wide belt with two vertical supporting straps , one over each shoulder . The design put the burden of the gear , with its heavy ammo pouches on the belt and straps , on both shoulders . It was worn by the officers of British and Commonwealth Rifle Regiments , who had to carry a rifle as their service arm rather than a pistol . It was also worn by big game hunters in Africa and India in the late - 19th and mid - 20th centuries . It is often seen worn in movies or TV shows as part of the costume of explorers or big game hunters . Its invention is falsely attributed to Sam Browne . It was actually invented by Lieutenant Basil Templer Graham - Montgomery of the 60th Rifles while he was on service in India . Although a case of simultaneous development , Graham - Montgomery was seen as a plagiarist . United States . During World War I , the Sam Browne Belt was approved by General Pershing , commander of the AEF , for wear by American officers as a rank distinction . However , the Army as a whole did not immediately approve its use , and even went so far as to station MPs at stateside docks to confiscate them from returning officers . The United States Army mandated the Sam Browne belt for overseas soldiers in 1918 under the name " Liberty belt " and for all service members in 1921 , this time under the internationally accepted name " Sam Browne belt " . It was a standard part of the uniform between World War I and World War II . It was eliminated in 1940 as an austerity measure and replaced by an unlined leather or cloth waistbelt that was sewn to the officer ' s jacket . A brown leather Sam Browne Belt was adopted by the Marine Corps during World War I . It was later changed to black , the official color of the Navy and Marine Corps leather gear . It is worn as part of the dress uniform by sword - bearing commissioned and non - commissioned officers in the Corps today . Drill Instructors wear the sword frog on their web belts as a sign of their office during Recruit Training . After the First World War , Sam Browne belts " become almost universal among American police " . The utility belts worn today by American police usually lack the cross - strap and the attachments for them . The belt fastens in the same way with the bar of the buckle engaging a pair of hooks and the end of the belt retained by a post and keeper loop . They are also frequently fully lined , as opposed to the old style half - linings , to support equipment the length of the belt . Worldwide policing . The Sam Browne belt is largely obsolete in police and security use due to risk of strangulation by potential opponents . It has sometimes been referred to as a " Suicide Belt " by personnel . It had enjoyed some popularity with civilian police agencies worldwide and was probably most widely worn in this context during the 1940s and 1950s . This use has gradually faded out due to field safety concerns . It is part of the ceremonial dress uniform of many agencies , most notably the Red Serge worn by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police . In Australia , a white Sam Browne belt and strap is worn by the Victoria Police Mounted Unit , the New South Wales Police Force VIP Cyclists , Protocol Inspector and Protocol Sergeant ( during ceremonies only ) , NSW Police Academy Senior Protocol Officer ( Senior Sergeant ) and Parade Sergeant wear a black coloured leather basketweave Sam Browne belt and strap with silver coloured fittings as a badge of office . The same Sam Browne belt is also worn by the Australian Federal Police Ceremonial Mounted Cadre and AFP Drill Instructors . In Italy a black Sam Browne belt with red trims is still worn by Carabinieri Warrant Officer s ( always when in service ) and Officers ( only at time ) ; a white Sam Browne belt is also worn by Italian Police enlisted personnel . Reflective Sam Browne belts are a popular safety device among cyclists for increasing their visibility at night , and a bright orange version is often worn by school crossing guards in junior safety patrol s . Safety . The Sam Browne belt has been proposed as a solution to occupational safety and health concerns about injury due to the weight of equipment on police officers ' belts . However , others have expressed concern that the vertical design of the belt could enable criminals to gain physical control of law enforcement officers in an altercation . Civilian use . During the interwar period , the belt became fashionable among some American and European women . Eleanor Roosevelt , the first lady of the United States at the time , openly spoke out against the practice . The belts also became a symbol of civilian authority by " everybody from bus drivers to volunteer schoolboy traffic cops " . The belt ' s use by junior safety patrol members became iconic .