{"id":40555,"date":"2017-10-30T23:43:15","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T23:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/30\/army-chief-dispels-rumors-misconceptions-about-sfab-berets-tabs\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:16:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:16:04","slug":"army-chief-dispels-rumors-misconceptions-about-sfab-berets-tabs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2017\/10\/30\/army-chief-dispels-rumors-misconceptions-about-sfab-berets-tabs\/","title":{"rendered":"Army chief dispels rumors, misconceptions about SFAB berets, tabs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i><b>Editor\u2019s note:<\/b> In this story, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley stated that Special Forces had never trained conventional Afghan or Iraqi troops. Milley later clarified to Army Times that, in some cases, they had, but that both nations\u2019 conventional forces had predominantly been trained by conventional U.S. troops.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the Army\u2019s first Security Force Assistance Brigade trains for its maiden deployment to Afghanistan next year, the brand new organization has also been grappling with backlash from leaked photos of a distinctive beret and Special Operations-reminiscent uniform patches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was never any intention to rip off Special Forces iconography, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley \u2014 a Green Beret himself \u2014 told Army Times in a Monday phone interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> \u201cIf people are angry at it \u2014 I own it, I\u2019m the chief of staff of the Army,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want people taking their anger, wrath, questions, comments or anything out on the unit itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After photos sent to <a href=\"http:\/\/soldiersystems.net\/2017\/10\/26\/ask-ssd-is-there-a-new-sf-group\/\">Soldier Systems<\/a> and posted to Instagram on Thursday went viral, active and former soldiers took to social media to decry the distinctive uniform items, including on the 1st SFAB\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/1SFAB\/\">official Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2017\/10\/27\/the-rumors-are-true-the-army-plans-to-issue-distinctive-berets-to-its-new-military-training-advisers\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635636595145309602-arm-new-camojpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The rumors are true: New berets for the Army\u2019s military training advisers<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">If you\u2019ve seen photos of a green beret with an unusual unit flash or a familiar-looking arrowhead-and-sword patch, it\u2019s not a prank.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milley reached out to Army Times to clarify the reasons the Army chose the SFAB\u2019s heraldry, and to explain, once again, what an SFAB does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSpecial Forces has gone out and done what they\u2019re supposed to do, and only they can do, which is train irregular forces,\u201d Milley said, citing as examples the work Green Berets have done with the Syrian Democratic Forces, local militias, indigenous special forces, Afghan commandos, Iraqi special forces and elite police SWAT teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSpecial Forces does not train the Afghan National Army. They don\u2019t train them now. They never have. Same thing in Iraq,\u201d he added. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason for that. One, that\u2019s way beyond the capacity of Special Forces. It\u2019s also beyond the skill set.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2017\/04\/21\/army-looking-for-experienced-soldiers-who-want-to-help-train-foreign-forces\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/train-advise-assist-command-east.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Army looking for experienced soldiers who want to help train foreign forces<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Though the Army withdrew combat troops from Iraq and Afghanistan years ago, deployments to those countries have continued, with brigades heading over to support local forces.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SF teams don\u2019t train infantry or armored brigades, Milley said. They also can\u2019t teach artillery or helicopter flight operations. That\u2019s where the SFAB comes in, with a brigade combat team chain-of-command and all of its mission sets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t want all of this drama about berets and patches to take away from their mission,\u201d Milley said. \u201cI don\u2019t like it when any elite force looks down their nose at anyone. Everybody has a unique role in the machine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The beret<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contrary to the photo circulating online, Milley said, the proposed military training adviser beret is not green \u2014 it\u2019s more of an olive brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe beret, the color of the beret, is based off of the British infantry beret,\u201d he said.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That color was researched and chosen specifically because the SFAB\u2019s mission is predominantly to train conventional infantry forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt looked green,\u201d Milley said of the prototype. \u201cI looked at it, and I said, \u2018I could see where someone would think it looks green.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But why even issue a distinctive beret at all? Because military training, advising and assisting has been an Army mission for 100 years, Milley said, but always on an ad hoc basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Think of the Korean Military Advisory Group or Military Assistance Command-Vietnam, he said, all the way through the training of the new Iraqi and Afghan national forces over the past two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you want to attract volunteers for a mission that is arguably dangerous, then you probably need a few things out there to distinguish them,\u201d Milley said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The beret, and the uniform patches, are a recognition of the lineage of military training and advising, finally codified as a professional Army community, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The tab<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Special Forces does have a tab, it denotes something very distinct \u2014 that the person wearing it completed a grueling selection and training process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army has several tabs associated with a qualification school, like Sapper for combat engineers or Ranger school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, there are tabs that are simply associated with a unit and worn only when someone is assigned to one of those units, Milley said. Think airborne, which is distinct from the jump wings soldiers wear on their chests to denote having completed a qualification course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u201ccombat advisor\u201d tab seen in some Instagram posts is simply a unit tab, Milley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDid anyone get excited about the 10th Mountain Division? That\u2019s a unit tab. That\u2019s not an individual skill tab,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you go out here to the Old Guard, they have an Old Guard tab.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The patch<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The SFAB patch that\u2019s been issued to members of the first brigade does look familiar. It\u2019s a graphic arrowhead with a sword through it, that to many too closely resembles the rounded arrowhead and dagger motifs of Special Operations units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"395\" height=\"395\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/adviseassist.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/adviseassist.png 395w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/adviseassist.png?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/adviseassist.png?resize=300,300 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A graphic of the new Security Force Assistance Brigade Unit patch, as used in the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade Facebook profile. Photo credit: Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was not the intention, Milley said, and the Army Institute of Heraldry spent time making sure it didn\u2019t crib from any other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, first of all, the sword that\u2019s in the arrowhead \u2014 that is a direct lift from the MACV patch in Vietnam,\u201d he said, as are the blue and white colors in the brigade flash.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are many arrowhead patches in the Army, he added, and they took care to make sure this one was distinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat arrowhead specifically was designed to indicate a couple of things,\u201d Milley said. \u201cThe arrowhead is supposed to symbolize leadership and direction, and to convey conventional force offense, defense, and assistance of training partner toward those capabilities.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The Legion<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u201cLegion\u201d nickname started circulating recently, Milley said. The first SFAB specifically used it in a Facebook post, and commenters seized on the appropriation of 5th Special Forces Group\u2018s nickname.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Milley served in 5th Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI started hearing the word \u2018legion\u2018 a couple months ago, down there when I visited them,\u201d he said. \u201cI made the connection to the Roman Legion and the French Foreign Legion. I said, \u2019Guys, you\u2019re not going to be called the Legion. Legion implies foreign fighters are in our unit, it implies mercenaries, it implies Roman imperialism.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He directed the SFAB to drop the nickname, adding that 5th Group has \u201cproprietary rights\u201don the term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army is taking a second look at the beret color, Milley said, to make sure that the final version is obviously distinct from the forest green of the Special Forces beret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo one at all is trying to misappropriate Special Forces heraldry or Special Forces lineage, traditions or history,\u201d Milley said. \u201cI have too much respect personally for Special Forces. I love Special Forces. I\u2019m a Green Beret, and I don\u2019t want anybody misappropriating their heritage or their heraldry.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added that the Army, including himself, hadn\u2019t done a good enough job explaining SFABs, the reasoning behind them, and his hope to turn them into a proud, professional Army organization with a lineage that will carry on for the long-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf anyone\u2019s angry, take their anger out on me, not them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The backlash online to leaked photos of a distinctive beret and Special Operations-reminiscent uniform patches has been swift and 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