TACTICAL GEAR: Tactical Ball Caps Look Stupid

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Tactical Ball Cap Math

Over the past few years I have been seeing people wearing these so-called “Tactical Ball Caps” or “Operator Ball Caps” with Velcro patches all over them – news flash folks, you look Silly.

Look, I am hardly Louis Vuitton or some sort of fashion guru but even I know that a Coyote Brown Ball cap with a big ass Velcro patch on the front and rear along with another Velcro patch on the top screams “Look at ME!!!! I am Sooooooooooo Tactical”.

The Velcro patches on the front and back are for flag or moral patches (I guess just one “Major League Ninja” patch is not enough) and the Velcro on the top is for an IR patch to identify you as a Friendly to Allied Gunships circling above your “AO” or something ridiculous like that.

Anyway like I said, Tactical Ball Caps look Stupid – and if you get one in multicam and I see you wearing I will kick you in the balls 1248 times.

~James G
James is a Veteran Civilian Contractor who has worked in the Middle East and Southeast Asia for way too long. He spends his off time in his homes in Indonesia and Virginia getting drunk, shooting guns and writing poorly written articles.

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172 thoughts on “TACTICAL GEAR: Tactical Ball Caps Look Stupid”

  1. Okay, okay, I get the camo tactical hat thing isn’t cool to wear, and probably never was. However, I will never give up my multicam boonie hat and gear. Besides, EKIA’s blood stains seem to blend in a little better than with others I’ve tried.

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    • Since I was a Special Warfare Combat crewman while in the Navy and a Cavalry Scout with the 1-7 Cav with 9 deployments retired with 21 years of service and now a DOD Contractor, I think I will exercise my richly earned right and wear what ever the hell I want. Any questions?

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      • I totally agree. I served in the Marine Corps for six years. I was medically retired for injuries sustained overseas. I were a “tactical hat” because i also earned the right. I have an american flag patch on the front. Is that stupid? Whoever made this sight is a complete idiot. I would like to see you tell half of the Veterans who wear these hats, and call them stupid. you wont last long. You feel you are a tough guy by putting this on the web. you hide behind a computer and call people stupid for wearing hats that represent their sacrifices along with those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. You make me sick

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  3. So your sayin I earned the right to wear it at work but when I come home I can’t wear it cause you may kick me in my balls? Com’on then, I’ll be your huckleberry…..

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  4. While I didn’t really disagree with the author of this “article” at first I have now decided that he seems to be an opinionated, blowhard, PX Commando. Taste is a subjective thing and cannot ever be the object of truly serious conflict. This goes for taste in headgear as it does for taste in beer, women, cars or anything else that is none of the author’s freaking business. Now, I don’t believe that I actually have a tactical cap in multicam. In fact I’m not sure I have a tactical cap at all but if the author should ever meet me and take umbrage with my headgear he should bear this in mind; I am older, wiser and I fight damn dirty so kick at your own risk.

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  5. So what’s the problem here exactly? Is it the velcro, the camo pattern, brand, all of the above? What about a commercial pseudo-camo pattern with no velcro, like the embroidered “FOB-(whatever)” hats the PX sells? Curious as to where the line is drawn, or if some features are more evil than others.

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  7. I enjoy wearing my “tactical cap” and no, I have never stepped one foot in the “sand box”. I am patriotic to the heart (God, country, family) and feel like i have the right to share that patriatism to all. So if that means I have the oppurtunity to slap an american flag on the front of my hat, well then, thats what i am going to do…

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  8. I was at a military store with my kids looking for a case for my vintage Winchester and my kids spotted these hats. Theirs are just plain green and I think they look fine with a simple American flag patch on the front and the other velcro removed.
    I do agree about the choice of patches because all too often there’s a retard with one on that says Zombie Response Team or Spec OP Beer Assassin. I feel they missed the point. Then again maybe they didn’t because I’ve never seen my buddy, who actually was in special ops, wear one. Perhaps I’ve made your point for you. Still, if you kick my kids in the balls I’ll have to shoot you once in each knee.

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  11. Feeling a little insecure are we James? What happened, all the other guys make you carry their water while they did all the big boy stuff.
    It’s about pride and Esprit’d'corps you fucking faggot, and you don’t have to wait till you see me in public I’ll be happy to tell you where I live. Oh, by the way, good luck kicking me in the balls after I’ve pulled off your fucking legs and beaten you stupid with them.

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  12. Feeling a little insecure are we James? What happened, all the other guys make you carry their water while they did all the big boy stuff.
    It’s about pride and Esprit’d’corps you fucking faggot, and you don’t have to wait till you see me in public I’ll be happy to tell you where I live. Oh, by the way, good luck kicking me in the balls after I’ve pulled off your fucking legs and beaten you stupid with them.

    Real talk bro! That’s some hella funny sh$% right there. BTW, you could try to hurt me by kicking my nuts. However, I got balls of steel babe, and that would only motivate me to put hands on you…mu, ha, ha, (evil laugh) ha, ha…

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  14. “He spends his off time in his homes in Indonesia and Virginia getting drunk, shooting guns and writing poorly written articles.”

    Better to be mature and sober when making infantile threats against unknown opponents, James.

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  15. I think y’all are missing the point, James obviously has more of a grey taste, and I can say I’m just as sick as he is of all the stuff I see people wearing now, however y’all do have a point, there are better ways to put it.

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  18. Hey Stud,
    I have five combat tours under my belt as a U.S. Marine. Four in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I’ve never been a civilian tactical operator, however I have worked with four of these guys in Afghanistan. They all were embedded with my team in the Helmand Province and wore our Digi’s. Only two of them were Jarheads back in the day and the other two were cops. Now, who in the flip do you think you are to tell Veterans what we will wear and when we can and can’t wear it? I don’t care who you are in the world or who you think you are in the world or who thinks you’re somebody in world. You won’t be kicking me buddy.

    I understand if you are directing this to the “Dreamers”, “Nobodies”, “PX Warriors” and “Combat Wishers” that never served in the sand, let alone stood on the Yellow Foot Prints. I have been there and done that and I will wear the F’ing t-shirt, shorts, socks, shoes, bandanna, sun glasses, jacket, and cap if I damn well please. I have inclosed a pic of my bro and I at Khan Neshin.
    Semper Fi,
    Two War Marine

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  19. As a civilian I wear the cap for a bunch of reasons.

    1. They aren’t branded, but if I decide to brand it I can swap whatever logo I want on and off without buying a new hat.

    2. Some of them are made of nice waterproof material, or mesh so it’s super light. If you work outdoors, chances are I don’t have to tell you why both are useful. I also probably don’t have to tell oyu that the average baseball cap rarely comes with these features.

    3. Some of them come with clips, again useful if you work outdoors

    4. No metal clip on top means I can wear headphones more easily, and if something falls on my head I don’t end up with a tear in my skin like when I wore normal baseball camps last time I was working under a building and moved my head up too quick. When I go spelunking it’s the same reasoning.

    5. Better made. If you spend a little over 20 bucks you get quality stiching, materials, and with some brands field testing. That means the hat doesnt go to shit in a few months from hard use (like most of the caps I bought before switching to Hazard 4 tactical baseball caps.

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  21. I don’t have one on in any camo, just nice mall ninja black. Works great for tactical shopping. I agree with the idea of changing out patches for the mood. I also need to be able to put on my zombie hunter patch for when the SHTF.
    Final note, kick me in the balls and I’ll sue you with my tactical lawyer.

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  22. I suppose james.g has never seen the reality of a friendly fire incident, for whatever reason in whatever circumstances due to incorrect target identification and it is then that you realise how invaluable that IR tab ontop of your tactical ball cap is even if it improves your chances by 10 percent it is 10 percent you never had, as per the American flag on the front of the ball cap well clearly he is not very patriotic, dont care much for the zombie killer, skull and bones patches, oh and 1 more patch he did not mention was a blood type patch which comes in handy if you are bleeding out and you are a contractor without all the support elements or are far removed from support for whatever reason and receive help from medical staff who dont know your blood type especially if you are unconcious, attention to detail james its what keeps you alive, so you are probably one of those cowboys who decided to become a contractor without any real background or else you were and are no more, seen a few of those around lots of war stories but no practical application in the here and now when it counts. So best you get a tactical ball cap and get with the program james.

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  23. I was in the Army for 8 years between the two wars in the sand box. I trained with two guys who lost their lives and a couple more who were injured in combat. Even if I wasn’t currently a SWAT cop, I would wear these hats. They are comfortable. Mine currently has a trunk monkey moral patch.
    James, when you see me out, please feel free to kick me in my balls. It’s an open invite. Please, before you met me or one of my guys (who all wear these hats), have your blood type written legibly somewhere about your person. You won’t have to wait for the type and match at the local ER.

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  24. Damn, All these hostile posts about a hat. I see it like this: Life’s too short to worry about someone else’s choices. If someone has this deep burning desire to wear a ‘ tactical ‘ cap, whatever that is, it’s not my call. If they look stupid, at least in your eyes, let them. I wear ball caps day in and day out, and have for over 40 years. Only difference is that I still block mine. That’s my choice. I have yet to have anyone call me out because of it. If it blocks out the sun, or shows your blood type, why then, it’s a useful tool. All I can say is FIDO.

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  25. I’ll stick with my O’s hat. Never gave 2 shits about what anybody else is wearing as long as it doesn’t compromise my ass. The way I see it, I like to wear whatever the hell doesn’t require a full fucking wardrobe change before I hit the bar. I understand the whole multi-cam hat dbag thing, but would be straight up lying if I said I never ordered one when Crye first came out with em. Although I don’t remember any velcro, think it just said CP on it. Never wore it, I prefer flex fit, and don’t like to advertise that shit. To me it would be like wearing a Glock team shirt when I’m carrying my G19. That’s my biz and I don’t want to advertise it. Personal preference though. Multi-cam away.

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  26. Hey dude, I love the contractors caps….and yes, I have one in multicam, digital camo, black and khaki, and I’ll put whatever patch I darned well please on mine….and will look cool in it too! I wore the 5.11 taclite pants, 5.11 tactical shirts and the contractors ballcap while I was a civilian contractor with Vector Control in Iraq and Afghanistan. BTW, it’ll be hard for you to kick me with your legs broken. Have a nice day!

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  27. As a veteran of both US army Infantry with several combat tours, and being attached to SOCOM in Iraq for two tours, I think that I can wear my operator’s caps anytime, anywhere! I understand if there is some fat POS walking around or a poser who has never seen more combat than what he saw on CNN, then yeah they shouldn’t wear them. Its a good point, to a point!

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  28. Ironically everyone who has posted to this comment has done exactly what James G wanted you to do. And even more ironic is the fact that he is making fun of people who are desperate for attention.

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  31. Last I checked, the “right” to wear a hat with patches on it wasn’t something that’s “earned”. It’s not like a Ranger tab, or a PJ’s maroon beret. With that said, I do agree it’s a tad silly for anyone to rock the “tacti-cool” look, but it shouldn’t be an insult to anyone.

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  32. IThe Guy who wrote the blog about the ball cap with Velcro is a fake and has never been a contrractor if he was he would be more Patriot on the fact that veterens and military love to show’off there moral patches you must be a hodgie or a goat boy if you were in the sandbox you would derstd. 1SG M
    Mark Smith Active U.S. Army Ranger Ft. Bragg NC
    RLTW……,.

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    • Hahaha You do realize you’re talking about one of the big names in the private industry, right?

      I’ve been following James on the forums and then this blog since I started in early 06′.

      The dude lives this industry, and he’s right – every idiot who gets a VISA for whatever booger-eater shithole nowadays has ten billion patches and the obligatory cool-guy contractor look, despite 95% of whom are static or not an actual security contractor at all. Nothing wrong with either, but very very few are actually mobile (slightly higher speed), and then even fewer of them are running the OGA folks around.

      You’re still Active anyways, what do you know about the industry?

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  34. I wear a hat all the time, I wear the tactical style for one reason, the fucking metal rivet ain’t there. Ever get hit on the top of your head with one and you know why. One more thing, they fit better.

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  37. I know lots of cops that wear them for emergency call outs. Police patch on the front and name and blood type on the back. They serve a purpose. I have one myself for those purposes. I’m not much for wearing it out in public though. Thats just me though. Wear whatever you want. Who cares so much about what someone else is wearing. If you have that much invested into what others are wearing you really need to get a life.

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  38. HAHA….. I am getting a kick out of reading this. I wear an operator hat because I can down range and because most of the POG’s and REMF’s can’t. Your pic at the top…. ball cap? Did you take the velcro off first? HAHAHA this was a great way to get some people all riled up writing this, my compliments but I will continue to wear my operator cap extra patches and all now with greater zeal always ready for that ever possibility of a swift kick to the balls! Game on!!! Plus you have to admit that a ball cap looks much better with a beard then a helmet! That added touch…..

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  39. I have said hat in tan… have an American flag in Red White and Blue on the front (not subdued). Not afraid or ashamed to wear it while working in Afghanistan. Care to comment? Dare to take it???

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  41. I love the massive amount of hatred going towards this article. Just got a operator hat and after reading this, I want to meet the author in person. See, James, some people have respect for soldiers, and believe they have earned the right to show some pride. Have you seen the Iwo Jima survivor’s hats? They look absurd. I still have the urge to salute every one I see. Also, I would love to see you meet G.I. Jane wearing a operator hat, because she’s got more balls than you still, coward.

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  43. Damn James, you got some interesting comments on this one! Who’d thought that so many people would hang on to their hats like they were actually earned and not bought in a capitalist market. When I read it I assumed you were talking about the airsoft bozos with collection of morale patches and ir patch so the dont get friendly fucked on thier community college campus and the right wing guys who rock them in walmart with a flag patch making outrageous claims about their “rights” who dont know the difference between patriotic and nationalistic. Assuming you were talking about those types of individuals I was in agreement. Ironically, I just came back from a run wearing mine. It was originally bought for work but I use it for rain and hot runs. I also have two patches, a 1*/thin blue line for range and training and a subdued medic patch for missions. Glad you didnt see me out on my run, a kick in the nuts would have jacked up my gate.

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  44. There are no Rangers at Ft. Bragg, only Ranger qualified soldiers,, Rangers are at Benning, Lewis-McCord and Gordon,,, But if you got a tab then great, but living in a Ranger Battalion everyday is a whole different animal..

    IThe Guy who wrote the blog about the ball cap with Velcro is a fake and has never been a contrractor if he was he would be more Patriot on the fact that veterens and military love to show’off there moral patches you must be a hodgie or a goat boy if you were in the sandbox you would derstd. 1SG M
    Mark Smith Active U.S. Army Ranger Ft. Bragg NC
    RLTW……,.

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