Should all Drill Sergeants/Instructors wear the same headgear regardless of gender? Do you think it would show unity and equality?

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 11:33:08 -0400

From what I have seen, the Army and Air Force are the only branches that have different headgear for male and female Drill Sergeant/Instructors. Please correct me if I'm wrong about that. What are your thoughts about all Drill Sergeants/Instructors wearing the same headgear. Do you think it would show unity and equality? Any females that have been Drill Sergeants/Instructors that agree or disagree?

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Aug 6 at 2015 11:35 AM

SGT Ben Keen — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 11:35:57 -0400

While I never served as a Drill Sergeant, I think the Brown Round (male version) may look to o big on a female's smaller head.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 11:49 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 11:49:24 -0400

I am a Drill and I have let a female wear my hat. I have to say it looked good. The marines all wear the same hat. I just told her not to touch my blue disk it will burn her fingers!

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 12:11 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:11:24 -0400

Ultimately I dont have a dog in this fight. However, I'm of the opinion that we don't need to fix something that isn't broken. The drill sergeant hat, regardless of gender, denotes a specific duty position. The current headgear accomplishes that.

Furthermore there are a number of uniform items that are gender specific. If a separate hat indicates inequality, shouldn't the smaller rank and branch insignia worn by females also denote the same? Its very easy to get lost the further you go down that rabbit hole. I would be interested to hear the female perspective on this. To me it seems like it should be a non-issue.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 12:16 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:16:04 -0400

So I never saw the female drill hat until I joined the Army. I have to say that I have never been a fan.
The Brown Round looks good on men, women and Francis the Talking Mule. Lets just use that.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 12:27 PM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:27:10 -0400

In Navy boot camp, our RDC's typically wear the NWUs, or our camo, and that's a unisex uniform, no specific cover for them, while the recruits where a ballcap that says "RECRUIT" on the forehead. However, and the Navy is in the process of changing most of this, females have completely different uniforms, at least for their Dress Blues. Their dress cover is different, and if I'm not mistaken, Chief and Officer covers are different for females. I'm not sure if the Navy is overhauling it all, but I'm in support of it as long as it's a comfortable change for them. Also, the NSUs are slightly different and again, I'm not sure if that's getting changed. Overall, yes I'd like to see overall uniformity between sexes, but again, make it a comfortable transition.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 1:47 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 13:47:23 -0400

Marines don't have a problem.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 2:17 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 14:17:52 -0400

You are correct SFC... AF does have different female MTI "campaign" hats.

In my opinion, the Campaign hat distinguishes between those on regular duty status and those who are MTI (DI) special duty status. The style difference between female and male campaign hats does nothing to take this away. You're still going to see that MTI coming from a mile away.

Response by SSG Jason Neumann made Aug 6 at 2015 3:59 PM

SSG Jason Neumann — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 15:59:29 -0400

We are in a transition in this military that we need to be gender neutral and not break someone's feelings, in my opinion. Right now, my thought process is we are trying appease each and every persons view on issues. I am a big fan of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". We have numerous clothing changes already. I also think, heritage in our military, Army, is fading away a bit. I believe we should continue with the Campaign Hat for the male and the Australian Bush hat for the female Drill Sergeant's. Maybe down the road, like way down the road we can address this, but if it's a logistical point of view then why not adapt to the Australian Bush Hat then instead of the Campaign Hat? The bush hat is easy to maintain, lightweight and you get to wear the retaining band under your chin, instead of back of the head. This is a win-win...lol jokingly. I had two hat presses for my Campaign Hats, the sweat alone kept that thing nice and stiff.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 29 at 2015 8:05 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 08:05:18 -0500

The SMA recently brought up the possibility of making the campaign hat mandatory for our female drill sergeants. Last time I saw the polls it was in favor of the change. Me personally I like the female drill sergeant hat, it has it's own history. We shall wait and see what happens. Either way, PVT's are going to get trained.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 19 at 2016 10:21 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 22:21:21 -0400

As a female Drill who hates the Bush Hat I welcome being as scary and intimidating as my Brothers in the Brown Round!

Response by SGT Ray Hottenstein made Jan 12 at 2017 9:08 PM

SGT Ray Hottenstein — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 21:08:17 -0500

Yes it will be uniform.