Sgt. 1st Class Precious Wells, a drill sergeant leader at the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy, adjusts the ascot of Staff Sgt. Destiny Banuelos before a change of command ceremony at Fort Jackson, S.C., on Aug. 23, 2024. (Robert Timmons/U.S. Army)
The bush hat and its upturned brim that once set female Army drill sergeants apart is being retired as part of the Army’s move toward a unified look for those in the iconic role.
The change to the wide and flat male campaign hat goes into effect starting Jan. 2, 2026, and affects both active-duty and reserve female drill sergeants.
It was first publicized Sunday in a Reddit post and was confirmed Tuesday by an Army spokesman.
The Army said the transition away from separate hats was in the works prior to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Sept. 30 policy speech to military brass announcing gender-neutral physical fitness standards based on the male level.
The Army Uniform Board recommended the change, which was approved by the service’s chief of staff, according to the message posted on Reddit.
The change was made because vendors had trouble meeting the service’s quality standards, the Army said.
Drill sergeant hats wait to be awarded during the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy graduation at Fort Jackson, S.C., on April 3, 2024. The Army is doing away with the female drill sergeant hat starting in 2026. (Robert Timmons/U.S. Army)
The decision to adopt the campaign hat follows surveys in 2023 and 2024 in which female drill sergeants stated they preferred the campaign hat for uniformity and because it looked more professional, the Army said.
The female drill sergeant hat, introduced in 1972, was designed by Brig. Gen. Mildred Bailey and based on the Australian bush hat, according to the Army website. It was originally beige but was changed to green in 1983.
The first female drill sergeants, six noncommissioned officers from the Women’s Army Corps, enrolled in the drill sergeant program at Fort Jackson, S.C., in February 1972 after receiving authorization from Army Chief of Staff William Westmoreland the previous year, the website said.
Army drill sergeants watch a training competition at Fort Jackson, S.C., on Sept. 14, 2025. The campaign hat worn by male drill sergeants will become the standard headgear for both men and women in the job, as the Army is retiring the bush hat long worn by its female drill sergeants. (Molly Morrow/U.S. Army)
An Army statement put out in 2017 around the 45th anniversary of those events contained comments by female drill sergeants past and present.
“Those six women and that hat transformed the entire Army … and my life,” said retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jennifer Dehorty, who became a drill sergeant in 1984. “The esprit de corps that we learned from them was different. It was stronger.”
According to the Army website, the soon-to-be standard campaign hat was worn by soldiers from 1911 to 1942 and was brought back for male drill sergeants in 1964.
Drill sergeant leaders welcome candidates to the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy in 2018. The bush hat that once set female drill sergeants apart is being retired, meaning all the service's drill sergeants will wear the campaign hat. (Tynisha Daniel/U.S. Army)
