Female Drill Sergeant Campaign Hat
In late 1971, Headquarters, Continental Army Command (CONARC) received approval from the Chief of Staff of the Army for permission to include women in the Drill Sergeant Program

Posted Friday, October 7, 2005

In late 1971, Headquarters, Continental Army Command (CONARC) received approval from the Chief of Staff of the Army for permission to include women in the Drill Sergeant Program. In February 1972, six Woman Army Corps (WAC) noncommissioned officers from Fort McClellan, Alabama, were enrolled in the Dill Sergeant Program, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Upon graduation, the women were authorized to were the female drill sergeant hat.

The female drill sergeant hat was designed by BG Mildred C. Bailey. The design was taken from the Australian bush hat. The first female drill sergeant hat was beige in color. The beige hat was replaced by a dark green female drill sergeant hat, style unchanged. The green hat was put into use in January 1983. After the green drill sergeant hat appeared, the beige hat was slowly phased out of the system.

In 1984-85, a proposal was made for females to switch to the drill sergeant hat worn by male drill sergeants. Female drill sergeants at Training and Doctrine Command posts opposed this idea. In June 1985, General John A Wickham Jr., Army Chief of Staff, stated that female drill sergeants will continue to wear the original female drill sergeant hat.