The Cavalry Stetson is a cavalry traditional headgear within the United States Army, typical worn by cavalrymen in the late 1860s, named after its creator John B. Stetson.
In the modern U.S. Army, the Stetson was revived as an unofficial headgear for the sake of esprit de corps in the cavalry. Because they are not authorized by AR 670âÂÂ1 (the regulation for wear and appearance of the uniform), wear and use of the Stetson and associated spurs is regulated by a unit commander. What follows is one example of a cavalry squadron's policy on the wear of Stetsons:
The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment is an exception to this, in that they wear the brown Boss of the Plains campaign cover, but styled like a Stetson hat. This tradition is to honor their original uniforms from 1901 when the unit was formed.
Colored cords worn on the Stetson have evolved and expanded since their introduction in 1851. Below is a list of known cord colors and what they signified from 1851 through 1943:
On April Fools' Day, 2011, the U.S. Army released a humorous statement that the official black beret of the Army would be replaced by stetsons. Below is an excerpt from the full announcement:
The statement was supplemented by pictures of soldiers with Cavalry Hats photoshopped over their berets, including a military working dog toting a stetson.