Non BSA Campaign Hats

[VentureScoutNY 10]

Can Scouts and Scouters wear Non Offical Campaign hats? For example, Marine or Army surplus...

 

I have a Canadian Boy Scout hats from the early 1940's ( a gift from my girlfriend, she knows me too well). Anyway, for those of you who don't know, the hat is similar to todays expo hat when it comes to being crushable. That may because it has quite a bit of wear to it though... It is different from the BSA hats of the same era in that the BSA hats still had slightly stiff brims. The Canadian hat I have can be crushed like the expo hat, and still take its form again. The hat is also simliar to the hats we have seen Baden Powell in. The crown is slighlty more pointier than the BSA campaign hats of the early 40's.

 

So, can this Canadian Hat be worn by an American Scouter?

 

YIS

[dsteele 20]

Venturer:

 

I don't understand when people take the time to ask questions that they're perfectly capable of answering themselves.

 

You have a cool Canadian hat. I think that's cool.

 

You know it won't be official when you wear it with an American uniform.

 

However, I checked the grand scheme of things and didn't find Canadian Campaign Hats mentioned in it anywhere.

 

Please feel free to wear your hat and take any conversation as an opportunity to expand the world brotherhood of Scouting.

 

Unc.

[Eamonn 61]

If you want to get ahead get a hat.

If you want to get a hat get a head.

Eamonn

[BPwannabe@137 10]

The official answer is no. Only the official BSA campaign hat can be officially worn with the BSA uniform. It is no more official then any of the other hats that I see so many people wearing like OA lodge caps, district staff hats, local camp hats, hats with moose ears, hats holding two cans of soda with connecting straws, ect, ect, ect. Personally, a non official campaign hat with the BSA leather and offical pin on the frount looks alot better then any of the above, but that is my opinion. I am not the uniform police nor do I ever act like one. I know what right for me and my scouts. Thats were my authority ends.

 

Just like I would never tell my district chairman that his lodge cap is not to be worn with his field uniform, nor would he ever take off my Montana Peak to see if it had the supply division stamp on the inside (actually-the hat I wear to everything but camping and hikes is official). We have one old timer who did alot of scouting in Scotland. The unit there gave him a tam with their unit crest on it (special order I guess). He still wears that tam with his BSA field uniform. Again, totally unoffical but I think its very cool. And he always gets the scouts asking about it. Again, very cool.

 

I still have my green British beret and wear it sometimes to talk about the English scout I worked on staff with years ago and how we are still friends. Is it official, no way! Does it make my uniform look sloppy, stupid, thread-bare, or mock the BSA. No to that question too.

 

Wear you Canadian hat with pride VentureScoutNY. And spread the universal theme of scouting.

[fgoodwin 23]

I've never seen a Canadian campaign hat, but if it is like the British campaign hat, people will be able to tell immediately it isn't official.

 

The reason is the indentations. The American campaign hat has its indentations off by 45 degrees compared to the British campaign hat. In other words, where our hat is "full" up front, over the forehead, the British version has an indentation.

 

This might affect how you place the hat pin.