Each corps in the Israel Defense Forces has a beret of a different color and/or a different beret pin worn by its soldiers, independent of rank and position. So what are the IDF beret colors, and when do the soldiers wear it? We have the full details below.
The first berets in the IDF were designed in the British army model, but were soon replaced by knitted berets. Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan reinstated the obligation to wear the beret as a symbol of discipline. Today, only trainees at the IDF officers’ school (Bahad 1) and the Hatzerim flight school are required to wear a beret at all times, and the rest of soldiers wear berets on their heads only on formal occasions, such as ceremonies and roll calls. The beret is placed beneath the left shoulder strap while wearing the service uniform (alef), but not while wearing the combat/work (bet) uniform in the field.
In the early 1950s, berets were introduced as part of the IDF’s uniform. Initially, the berets were in a limited number of IDF Beret Colors:
- Olive green – for the Land Forces.
- Gray – for the Air Force.
- Black – for the Armored Corps, the Artillery Corps and the Special forces.
- Red – for the Paratroopers Brigade.
Over time, more and more units received their special colors – mainly to improve the and intensify the pride of the doliders in each corps unit.
Until 2006, all berets in the IDF had uniform colors. Because most of the base colors of their types were already in use, it was decided to give the Kfir Brigade a beret in mottled green-brown colors (similar to camouflage colors).
IDF Beret Colors
Today, The official IDF Beret Colors are as follows:
| Color | Unit | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Blue | Navy | Beret color was chosen following the beret color of the British Royal Navy sailors. The color represents the connection to the sea, above and below the water. Corps officers wear white officers’ hats. |
| Dark Gray | Air Force | was established with the establishment of the Corps. Pilots wear officers’ hats. |
| Dark Green | Intelligence Division The Border Police of the Israel Police | Major General Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, the 15th IDF Chief of Staff, decided on this color when he was the head of the Armed Forces. The color was taken from the intelligence corps emblem, but no explanation was given. The color of the berets of the Border Police was chosen because of their activity along the Green Line, their main arena of activity |
| Orange | Home Front Command | The color orange is the color of many rescue units around the world, and was therefore adopted in 2000 as the color of the Home Front Command. |
| Dark Azure | Cyber Defense Division | |
| Blue | Military Police Corps | The beret colors of the British Military Police are blue and red. Since the color red was given to the paratroopers, it was decided to color blue for the military police units. |
| Black | Armored Corps | British Army armored units has black berets, because armored soldiers deal heavily in oil and lubricating oil and their dirty hands could contaminate a beret if it was in a different color. The IDF Armored Corps adopted this color according to British tradition. |
| Silver | The Combat Engineering Corps | The color was chosen by Chief Engineering Officer, Avishai Katz, in order to strengthen and intensify the pride of the corps unit. Until then, the engineering soldiers wore black berets. |
| Turquoise | Artillery Corps | Until 2000, the color of the artillery soldiers’ beret was black. This year a turquoise beret was introduced, symbolizing the sky through which the artillery shells pass. The purpose of the color change was to strengthen the unit’s pride of the corps. |
| Yellow | Combat Intelligence Collection Corps | Until 2015, combat intelligence collection soldiers wore a green beret, like that of the Intelligence Corps. In the same year, the chief of staff, Bnei Gantz, decided to award a sand-colored beret. The color symbolizes the camouflage of the corps and the connection with the land. |
| Olive Green | General Corps | Troops without special beret color and novices before receiving the corps beret. |
| Red | The Paratroopers Brigade | The color red was chosen because it was the color of the berets of various paratrooper units in the world, and in particular according to the tradition of paratrooper units in the British army. |
| Brown | Golani Brigade | The color brown was chosen by the brigade’s soldiers in 1976, as a color that symbolizes the connection to the land and roots, and is reminiscent of the brigade’s emblem, the tree with the roots. Until 1976, the brigade’s soldiers wore olive green berets, similar to the soldiers of the General Corps. |
| Purple | Givati Brigade | The color was chosen by the first brigade commander, Brigadier General Yehuda Duvdevani, with the re-establishment of the brigade in November 1982. |
| Light Green | Nahal Brigade | In the past, this color was also used by the battalions involved in the IDF. The color of the beret was decided in June 1988. Until then, the fighters wore red berets. |
| Green-Brown Camo | Kfir Brigade | The color of the beret was chosen by the first brigade commander, Colonel David Menachem. The colors of the beret symbolize the colors of the soldiers’ camouflage when they go out on operational activities. |
| Yellow-Brown Camo | Border Infantry and Tracker Unit |
Beret Pins
All berets in the Israel Defense Forces, other than general corps berets (when worn by new recruits), have pins attached to their front, which represent the symbol of the corps.
Each pin consists of the corps symbol as well as a certain ornament which also contains the name of the corps.
While soldiers may wear the beret of another corps due to serving at that corps’ base, they will always wear the pin of their native corps. For example, a Medic serving in the Paratroopers Brigade will wear the red beret, but with a medical corps pin. A medic serving in the Givati brigade will have the same pin, as he is a medic as well, but will wear it on a light green beret.
Further Reading: Why Are IDF Helmets So Big and Crazy Looking