Nowadays, the beret is associated primarily with the uniform headdress of military personnel of certain branches of the military. The most of them is the blue beret of the paratroopers. Its indispensable attribute is the fold on the right side. Why is this being done?

Sign of the Elite

The armed forces, like any other complex hierarchical structure, have their own insignia. They are used to denote junior personnel - soldiers and sergeants, middle - officers from lieutenant to major and senior - officers rank above lieutenant colonel.

In addition, insignia in the army serve to determine whether a serviceman belongs to a particular branch of the military. One of the most striking and indicative insignia is the beret. It speaks of its wearer’s belonging to the elite of the armed forces. To determine which elite branch of the military a fighter belongs to, a tradition arose of bending the beret to the right or left side.

Right and left

Army berets appeared in the armed forces of our country only in the 1960s. Originally they were crimson in color. The familiar blue beret of paratroopers was introduced into everyday use only in 1969. Until this moment, to indicate belonging to one or another branch of the military, the practice of twisting the beret to the left or right side appeared.

Special forces and internal troops began to bend their berets to the left. They now wear maroon and olive (green) headdresses respectively. In turn, the marines (black berets) and paratroopers (blue) began to push the berets to the right side.

A special case

During parades, military personnel of all branches of the military wear berets slanted to the left. Firstly, this is necessary for the unification and uniformity of the uniform of all military personnel. There is an opinion that this is done in order not to block the face. The fact is that a soldier tilts his head to the right while walking in parade formation, so bending his beret in the same direction can cast a shadow on his face.

Others argue that the fold to the left is necessary so that the flag-shaped badge, which is attached to the right side of the beret during parades, is visible. After returning to places of permanent combat deployment, the paratroopers recapture their berets back to the right.

Combat berets

Some argue that the tilt of the headdress in elite branches of the military, including the Airborne Forces, depends on whether the wearer of the beret participated in combat operations or not. A bend on the left side supposedly means that the serviceman has been to war or participated in special operations, and if it is on the right, then he has no combat experience.

However, for the most part in the army, such a statement is considered stupid. After all, the most eloquent indicator of the presence or absence of combat experience is still medals and orders, and not the side of the headgear.

Pound test

It is worth noting that the beret's crease is airborne troops is no less serious a test than a forced march or parachute jump. The ability to correctly beat off his headdress has always served as a sign of the experience of a paratrooper, his real belonging to the elite army caste. A real paratrooper always knows how to properly return a beret.

Not everyone succeeds the first time. There are different “recipes” for how to break a beret. Experienced paratroopers advise using a sugar solution rather than water to moisten headgear. Others are experimenting with wax. After moistening the beret, it is given the desired shape.

You will need

• Takes a drop (choose your size, take a closer look at 54-55),
• water (preferably hot),
• shaving foam or gel,
• hairspray (colorless),
• disposable Shaver,
• scissors,
• any plastic card,
• cockade.

Instructions

To begin with, we cut out the lining with scissors, but do not cut off the insert for the cockade. Next, immerse the beret in hot water and wait 2 minutes for it to completely soak. We take it out, squeeze it slightly, insert the cockade exactly in the center (we are guided by the insert inside the beret), put it on the head and tighten the ropes at the back of the head, tie it.

Without removing the beret, we begin to smooth it with our hands in the right directions. We smooth the left side back, bringing the hand to the back of the head. We stroke the top of the head to the right side, creating a half-disk near the right ear. We make the arch for the cockade as follows: hold the cockade, and with the right hand we smooth it forward from the top, creating an edging.
Then everything is much simpler, you just need to straighten these sides and remove stains and holes. Don’t be afraid to smooth it harder, the beret won’t tear. Pay special attention to the arch and half-disk at the ear, make them more prominent and even (after its formation, it is advisable to iron the half-disk a little back to the back of the head, press it well to the ear and crush the ends). Your choice of how you want the half disk to look: cover the half disk, lightly touch it, or just hang in the air above it.

After we have made the form, we continue to improve it. Take shaving foam and apply it to the beret large quantities. We coat everything thoroughly, every area (don’t remove the beret!!!). Then wait a few minutes, you can also iron the sides a little, but not too much. Next, we wet our hands with water and begin to rub in the foam (which is on the beret) with movements from side to side, with medium pressure.
Having removed all the stains and white spots, we iron the shape a little more, smooth out the imperfections and leave our creation alone. Under no circumstances do we take off our beret; we walk around in it for about 1.5 hours, or even more. It is advisable to be in a warm place so that it dries on you.

When it's dry on your head, you can put it on a table or on a radiator to dry completely, but so that the half-disc hangs over the edge. Then the beret is completely dry, we must get rid of the pellets that formed from our foam and water. We take a razor and shave in the same directions where we smoothed the creation. We shave so that the surface is smooth and without defects, everything is neat and without rushing.
After this, we take hairspray and spray it on the inside of the beret, that is, where we cut out the lining. Use all the polish, don't waste it, the more the better. All this is done to make the beret harder. You will feel the results after such an operation.

Berets were originally invented for the military. Now this headdress is worn civilian men, women and even children, and the abundance of styles and materials allows everyone to choose a beret to their taste.

A regular wool beret is sold flat. Before you start wearing it, you need to give it a shape - beat it, as they say in everyday life.

Quick navigation through the article

Warm-up with hands

The easiest way to hit a beret is to knead it with your fingers. To do this you need:

• Moisten the beret (so that the fabric is wet, but water does not drip from the beret);
• You need to walk along the bend with your fingers, strongly squeezing the edge.

This method is good for shaping soft cashmere berets.

Hammer

You can beat off the beret with a hammer. To do this you need:

• Place the wet headdress on a stool with a board underneath it;
• Tap the edge of the beret with a hammer.

This procedure is suitable for coarser fabrics. If we are talking about a military beret that needs to be prepared for a parade, you can soak it in sweet or starched water to maintain a more stable shape.

Drying on the model

A simple way to give your beret the perfect shape is to dry it directly on your head. To do this you will need:

• Put a wet beret on your head;
• Give the desired shape with your hands;
• Wait until the headdress is completely dry.

This beret will fit perfectly on the owner’s head.

Since wearing a wet beret is not the most pleasant procedure, you can dry it on a mannequin, choosing the appropriate size and shape. Or you can independently form a suitable lump from newspapers or pull the beret onto the jar.

Adhesive backing

In order to make an adhesive lining for a beret, you need:

• Take measurements and draw a sketch of the part that should be resistant;
• Cut out a part of the appropriate shape from adhesive fabric (for example, lining or bag interlining);
• Glue the fabric using a hot iron to the inside of the beret.

With this method, the beret will keep its shape even after several washes.

Laundry soap

In order to make a crease along the edge of the beret using laundry soap, you need:

• Moisten the beret;
• Rub the fabric on the inside where the edge is formed with 72% laundry soap;
• Knead the edge on the outside until it becomes sharp.

This method is simple and reliable, but will last until the next wash. It is also advisable not to get caught in the rain while wearing a beret.

Different troops have their own colors of hats. So, paratroopers wear blue berets, infantrymen wear black ones, and special forces wear maroon berets. But in order to look neat and stately, you need to work a little on appearance cleaning For the military, berets are made of light, pliable material. Therefore, as a rule, there are no difficulties in shaping the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Airborne Forces beret.

How to fight off demobilization biret at home: 4 ways

Before you start working, you need to decide which side to beat on. Maroons are usually worn tilted to the left side. Blue and black berets tend to bat to the right. And during military parades, representatives of all units make the edge on the left. Having decided on the form, all that remains is to strictly follow the step-by-step instructions.

Method No. 1

1. Before you beat off your army cap or beret, lightly moisten it.
2. Iron it through two layers of gauze.
3. Place the piece on a flat surface and hit the edge with a hammer to make it sharp. To avoid damaging the furniture, use a cutting board.

You can use a steel spoon instead of a hammer. But in this case, it will take much more time to shape.

Method No. 2

1. To quickly shape a seamless beret (called a “droplet”), wet and shake well to remove excess water.
2. Place the wet product on your head and give it the desired shape.
3. Wait for the fabric to dry without removing the product from your head.
4. To finally fix the shape and make the edge sharper, press it down with pliers.

If you don't want to wear a wet beret, place it on a ball or can or stuff it with old newspapers.

Method No. 3

1. Carefully prop up the lining.
2. Place the item in hot water for two to three minutes to soak the fabric.
3. Put on a wet beret.
4. Pull the top of your head to the right and smooth it with your palm facing forward to create an arch-shaped fold over the cockade.
5. Do not remove the headdress for one and a half to two hours so that the shape is fixed.
6. Remove the beret with a gentle movement and place it on a flat surface, wait until it dries completely.

To fix the shape, use auxiliary “tools”. These could be clothespins or paper clips.

Method No. 4

1. Soak the beret well in hot water.
2. Lightly squeeze the product to remove excess water.
3. Knead the fabric vigorously with your fingers to give the edge a sharp shape.

Means for fixing the shape

Before beating the beret to make it hard, the fabric must be additionally treated with a fixing compound. This will allow the wool fabric not to lose its shape throughout long period time.

Shaving foam

1. Putting a damp beret on your head or a dummy, give it the desired shape.
2. Without removing, coat it thoroughly with shaving foam, without missing the slightest area.
3. Wait five minutes for the material to soak in the product.
4. Wet your hands in cold water and begin to rub the foam into the fabric with little effort.
5. Having got rid of the stains, finally adjust the shape and leave the beret until completely dry. This will take about two hours.

During the application of foam, pellets may appear on the surface of the headgear. To get rid of them, treat the fabric with a disposable razor.

Sugar

1. Dissolve a couple of tablespoons of sugar in two glasses of water.
2. Soak the headdress in the sugar solution until the fabric is completely saturated with it.
3. Beat the beret in the way you like.

A hat treated with sugar syrup will lose its shape upon first contact with water. In addition, the fabric may attract insects.

Hair fixation spray

1. To keep your military beret in shape, spray hairspray on the inside surface when the item is dry.
2. When the product is absorbed into the fabric and hardens, repeat the procedure.
3. You may need to use up an entire bottle of hairspray to get your headdress hard and immovable.

Adhesive layer

1. Take measurements of the beret and transfer them to a piece of paper or cardboard to draw a template for the part of the headdress that should hold its shape.
2. Using a pattern, cut out a part from adhesive fabric (usually bag interlining is used).
3. Fix the adhesive layer with a hot iron.

The adhesive layer is resistant to water. This way, even after repeated washings, the shape will hold.

Paraffin

1. Place the wet headdress in the desired position and wait until it dries.
2. Melt the paraffin and treat the areas that need stability from the inside out.
3. Adjust the shape if necessary and leave the product to dry.

Rigid frame

1. To install the beret yourself, cut out the fragments that require fixation from cardboard or plastic.
2. Place a solid frame inside the product.
3. Secure the backing with double-sided tape.

Laundry soap

1. To create a beautiful seam beret, moisten the areas that need to be shaped.
2. Rub the material well with laundry soap.
3. Press the edge with your fingers to make it sharp and secure with clothespins until completely dry.

Normal laundry soap may have a specific pungent odor. When treating headwear, it is better to choose modern products that are odorless or with fragrances. Watch the video to see how to hit the moeno beret.

The beret is worn not only by military personnel or workers, but also by fashionistas and fashionistas at any age. This headdress gives the image a special romantic note and a touch of nobility. Even civilians will benefit from military experience in how to properly beat off and put on a beret with a seam. Wear a beret and give the product a beautiful and stable shape, you will always look irresistible.

FRESH informational occasion - regular qualification tests recently held in the vicinity of Minsk for the right to wear a maroon beret by military personnel of the internal troops and law enforcement forced the editors of Spetsnaz to pay close attention to... the headdresses of soldiers and officers of various units. First of all - on berets. Where did they come from, what color symbolizes what, who has the right to wear certain berets? Let's try to figure it out with the help of experts...

Our answer to the Green Berets

LET'S START with the beret - a necessary attribute of the uniform of military personnel in many countries of the world. Often the beret is a distinctive feature of representatives of special forces units, a source of pride for its owners. As you know, today berets and heads of military personnel of the Belarusian Armed Forces, internal troops, special police, the State Security Committee, the State Border Committee, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are decorated.

In the Armed Forces of the USSR, berets appeared later than in the armies of other countries, says Colonel Alexander Gruenko, deputy commander of special operations forces for ideological work. - According to some sources, the introduction of berets, in particular, in the airborne troops, was a kind of response to the appearance in the army of a potential enemy of rapid reaction units wearing green berets. Apparently, the Ministry of Defense decided that wearing berets would not contradict the traditions of the Soviet Army.

The troops received the innovation with a bang. When drafted into the army, many young men sought to join the ranks of the elite units, marked by a distinctive feature - the blue beret.

Black color Marine Corps

HOWEVER, for the first time in the Armed Forces of the USSR, not blue berets, as many believe, but black berets appeared. In 1963, they became a distinctive feature of the Soviet Marine Corps. For her, by order of the Minister of Defense, a field uniform was introduced: soldiers wore a black beret (woolen for officers and cotton for sergeants and conscript sailors). The beret had a side made of leatherette, on the left side there was a red flag with a golden anchor, and on the front there was an officer's emblem of the Navy. For the first time in the new field uniform, the Marines appeared at the November 1968 parade on Red Square. Then the flag “migrated” to the right side of the beret due to the fact that the stands for honored guests and the Mausoleum were located to the right of the columns when the columns passed. Later, on the berets of sergeants and sailors, the star was complemented by a wreath of laurel leaves. The decision to make these changes may have been made by Defense Minister Marshal Soviet Union A. Grechko or in agreement with him. At the very least, written orders or other instructions in this regard, the researchers say, are not mentioned anywhere. Before the end of the November parades in Moscow, the Marines paraded in berets and field uniforms with “ceremonial” changes and additions. In 1969, by order of the USSR Minister of Defense, an oval black emblem with a golden edging and a red star in the middle was installed as an emblem on the berets of sergeants and sailors. Subsequently, the oval emblem was replaced by a star in a wreath.

By the way, at one time tank crews also wore black berets. They relied on special uniforms established for tank crews by order of the Minister of Defense in 1972.

Airborne Forces: from crimson to blue

In the SOVIET airborne troops, a crimson beret was initially supposed to be worn - this is the beret that was the symbol of the airborne troops in the armies of most of the uniforms for paratroopers, including two versions of the beret. In everyday uniform, it was expected to wear a khaki beret with a red star. However, this option remained on paper. Margelov decided to wear the crimson beret as a ceremonial headdress. On the right side of the beret there was a blue flag with the emblem of the Airborne Forces, and in front there was a star in a wreath of ears (for soldiers and sergeants). The officers wore a cockade with an emblem of the 1955 model and a flight emblem (a star with wings) on their berets. Crimson berets began to enter the army in 1967. In the same year, at the November parade on Red Square, parachute units marched for the first time in new uniforms and berets. However, literally the next year, the crimson berets were replaced with blue ones. The color symbolizing the sky was considered more suitable for this type of army. In August 1968, when troops entered Czechoslovakia, Soviet paratroopers were already wearing berets blue color. But by order of the USSR Minister of Defense, the blue beret was officially established as a headdress for airborne forces only in July 1969. A star in a wreath was attached to the front of the berets for soldiers and sergeants, and an Air Force cockade for officers. A red flag with the emblem of the Airborne Forces was worn on the left side of the berets by servicemen of the guards units, and at parades in Moscow it was moved to the right side. The idea of ​​wearing flags belonged to the same Margelov. Unlike the blue flag on the crimson beret, the dimensions of which were indicated in the technical specifications for production, the red flags were made independently in each part and did not have a single sample. In March 1989, the new rules for wearing uniforms stipulated the wearing of a flag on berets by all military personnel of the airborne troops, air assault units and special forces units. Today, military personnel of the mobile units of the Belarusian Armed Forces still wear blue berets.

Legendary maroon

THE QUESTION of a distinctive uniform was also raised during the formation of special forces units of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. In May 1989, the head of the internal troops and the head of the main department of logistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs prepared a letter addressed to the minister of internal affairs, who decided to introduce a maroon (dark crimson) beret as a special distinction for military personnel of special forces units. Unlike marines and paratroopers, a maroon beret was a badge of qualification and was awarded only after completing a special training course and passing exams. This tradition, as we know, has survived to this day.

Green border

THAT the beret gives marines and paratroopers a brave and courageous appearance has not gone unnoticed in other branches of the military. After some time, many military personnel of the Soviet Union expressed their desire to wear berets. Border guards were no exception.

The first case of the USSR border guards wearing a beret dates back to 1976 - in the summer, for one month, cadets of the border training detachment in Kaliningrad and the Moscow Higher Military Command School of Border Troops in Golitsyno wore, as an experiment, uniforms modeled on the Airborne Forces: an open cotton tunic, a white and green vest And green beret with a red flag on the side. However, although the border troops were part of the KGB of the USSR, all changes in uniforms had to be coordinated with the Ministry of Defense, which did not approve of such an initiative and banned the wearing of the new uniform.

In 1981 in border troops Camouflage uniforms were introduced. The new “wardrobe” also included a camouflage beret with a clip-on visor. In 1990, green berets returned to the border troops. From February 1990 to September 1991, they included the only operational airborne division of the KGB PV in the Soviet Union. In April 1991, the division's personnel received green berets with the Airborne Forces emblem on blue flags on the side of the headdress in addition to the standard border uniform.

After the declaration of independence of the Republic of Belarus, on January 16, 1992, the Main Directorate of Border Troops was created under the Council of Ministers. Soon the development of uniforms for the national border troops began. Taking into account the wishes of military personnel and the development trends of military uniforms of that time, the green beret was also introduced.

However, since 1995, some changes have occurred in the uniform of our border troops, enshrined in Presidential Decree of May 15, 1996 N 174 “On military uniform clothing and insignia for military ranks.” According to the document, only military personnel of special forces units had the right to wear light green berets in the border troops.

What do they wear at Alpha?

LESS known is the beret of the anti-terrorist special unit “Alpha” of the KGB of Belarus. It has a cornflower blue color, traditional for state security agencies. A candidate who wants to serve in Alpha goes through testing and takes numerous tests. At the next officer's meeting, the soldier's unit is officially enrolled in the ranks - and then he is given a beret. There are no strict rules about when you can wear a hat and when you can’t. It all depends on the specific situation - is it a combat operation or an everyday option.

There is no institution for passing the beret in the KGB special forces. Why? Experts say this is due to the specifics of the service. Alpha accepts only experienced fighters and officers, among whom there are many masters of sports and those who took part in combat operations. They no longer need to prove anything to anyone...

The brightest - in the Ministry of Emergency Situations

IF you see a strong man in a red beret, then know: in front of you is a soldier of the Republican Special Forces Unit of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. ROSN berets have a utilitarian function. The headdress does not give a fighter any special status - it is an ordinary element of uniform. It is worth clarifying that, in general, there are two color options for the berets of employees of the “emergency” department: red and green. Red beret - for officers, management. When responding to emergencies, bright colors help them stand out from the crowd. And it’s easier for soldiers to notice the commander, which means they can hear the command in time. Green berets are worn by privates and warrant officers.

Prepared by Alexander GRACHEV, Nikolai KOZLOVICH, Arthur STRECH.

Photo by Alexander GRACHEV, Artur STREKH, Artur PRUPAS, Alexander RUZHECHK.

SPECIAL FORCES OCTOBER 2008