{"id":67435,"date":"2020-03-02T21:05:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T21:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/02\/us-pilots-don-retro-saigon-cowboy-hats-during-massive-asia-wargame\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:23:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:23:50","slug":"us-pilots-don-retro-saigon-cowboy-hats-during-massive-asia-wargame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/tacticool\/2020\/03\/02\/us-pilots-don-retro-saigon-cowboy-hats-during-massive-asia-wargame\/","title":{"rendered":"US pilots don retro \u2018Saigon Cowboy\u2019 hats during massive Asia wargame"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s that time of year, folks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Buckle your seatbelts and get ready from lots cool images to emerge of US troops in the sea, jungles and skies of Asia battling it out with their Pacific brethren in the latest installment of Cobra Gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sponsored by the Thai and US military, Cobra Gold 2020 brings together around 30 countries with everything from bombers to fighters, SEALs to soldiers, cruisers to carriers and has served for nearly 40 years as a way to coordinate allied military operations in a vast swath of Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1208\" height=\"675\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboy-hat1.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-74918\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboy-hat1.jpg.jpg 1208w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboy-hat1.jpg.jpg?resize=300,168 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboy-hat1.jpg.jpg?resize=768,429 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboy-hat1.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,572 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1208px) 100vw, 1208px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Returning to a part of their Vietnam War lineage, the American 25th Fighter Squadron based in Osan Air Base, South Korea, went retro in this year\u2019s Cobra Gold exercise, donning headwear that harkens back its deployment to Thailand when the squadron flew F-4 Phantoms in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/off-duty\/gearscout\/irons\/2019\/09\/04\/5th-special-forces-group-just-went-old-school-with-their-uniforms-during-a-training-exercise\/\" target=\"_blank\">Read More: 5th Special Forces Group went old school with their tiger stripe uniforms during a training exercise<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvidshub.net\/video\/741446\/cobra-gold-20-thai-us-air-forces-conduct-operations\" target=_blank>The latest Pentagon videos coming out of the exercise<\/a> show A-10 pilots from the 25th gearing up for a flight wearing so-called \u201cSaigon Cowboy\u201d hats, popularized by the fighter jocks of yore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1088\" height=\"775\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboys.jpeg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-74919\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboys.jpeg.jpg 1088w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboys.jpeg.jpg?resize=300,214 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboys.jpeg.jpg?resize=768,547 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Saigon-cowboys.jpeg.jpg?resize=1024,729 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1088px) 100vw, 1088px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These wide-brimmed, cotton hats kept the blazing sun off the faces of U.S. fighter pilots on the hot ramps of Ubon and Udorn before missions. The pilots often festooned squadron patches and other unit designations on the flipped-up brims, giving them an OD Australian look to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taking a page out of the 1960s book, some of the 21st century versions of the Saigon Cowboy hats feature the \u201cThailand\u201d chevron attached to the brim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And this isn\u2019t the first time we\u2019ve seen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/off-duty\/gearscout\/irons\/2019\/09\/04\/5th-special-forces-group-just-went-old-school-with-their-uniforms-during-a-training-exercise\/\" target=\"_blank\">US units going old-school when it comes to highlighting their Vietnam heritage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In August 2019 we spotted soldiers from the 5th Special Forces Group dropping simulated bad guys wearing Vietnam-era tiger stripe uniforms emblazoned with retro Special Force patches in blue and yellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"945\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-2-9.jpg-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-74922\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-2-9.jpg-9.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-2-9.jpg-9.jpg?resize=300,284 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q95-2-9.jpg-9.jpg?resize=768,726 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Green Berets instruct Soldiers of C Troop, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team on vehicle clearing procedures during a joint exercise on Fort Campbell\n(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Iman Broady-Chin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a seemingly small thing, but when US troops commemorate their previous badassery by wearing gear from their historic exploits, it\u2019s always something that adds a little motivation to any exercise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest Pentagon videos coming out of the exercise show A-10 pilots from the 25th Fighter Squadron gearing up for a flight wearing so-called \u201cSaigon Cowboy\u201d hats, popularized by the fighter jocks of yore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":74917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":228,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[90,16,228],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3187],"class_list":["post-67435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gearscout","category-off-duty","category-tacticool"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"HEWWXS7QVVBF3A5M2I5WL2VCX4","arc_canonical_url":"\/off-duty\/gearscout\/tacticool\/2020\/03\/02\/us-pilots-don-retro-saigon-cowboy-hats-during-massive-asia-wargame\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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A-10 pilots from the 25th Fighter Squadron gearing up for a flight wearing so-called \u201cSaigon Cowboy\u201d hats, popularized by the fighter jocks of yore.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/tacticool\/2020\/03\/02\/us-pilots-don-retro-saigon-cowboy-hats-during-massive-asia-wargame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-02T21:05:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T07:23:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Christian Lowe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christian Lowe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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