Our hatband for the female Service Hat worn by Field Grade and General Officers features a pair of embroidered arcs of oak leaves that bookend the female Officer’s headgear insignia mounted in the center of the hatband. This design was first instituted with the introduction of the Army green hat in 1962, which replaced one of the more odd-looking pieces of headgear the service has ever authorized, with a brim slanted at a roughly 45-degree angle (from about 2:30 to 8:30 on a standard clockface) and an insignia worn over the wearer’s right eye.
The Army also authorizes a different style hatband, only for General Officers, that also features a quarter-inch-wide gold braid along the bottom of the hatband. This hatband is an optional purchase item as opposed to an optional item, which Commanding Officers have the authority to prescribe for wear at their discretion. Also, the Service Hat for General Officers differs from the one for Field Grade ranks in that it has a pair of arcs of oak leaves embroidered on the brim.