GWOT NSW / SEAL Boonies

Three different GWOT boonie hats — one name.

The hats were acquired from a vintage dealer who bought the larger group at a flea market in Huntington Beach, California. Alongside the three hats were the same veteran's field uniforms and several early, domestically produced Blackhawk bags. One bag carried a plastic luggage tag stamped "C.F.B." and "JSOC," printed with both the Joint Special Operations Command and Naval Special Warfare emblems, along with a unique identification number. Unfortunately, the uniforms and bags were sold separately before I could acquire them.

One boonie is solid olive drab ripstop. Its interior label identifies it as a "Hat, Sun, Hot Weather, Type II," but not necessarily an issue piece.

The second is three-color desert, or DCU. Its chin cord has been modified with a loop of rubber inner tube.

The third is AOR1, the digital desert camouflage closely associated with Naval Special Warfare. It also carries the most information.

Inside the crown, a surname is written in black marker. Beside it is a second inscription: "BRAVO / 88." A third reads "NSWC/JSOC." Pinned to the tan nylon foliage band is a corroded miniature gold-toned Navy SEAL Trident.

The combination "NSWC/JSOC" is particularly interesting. NSWC — Naval Special Warfare Center at Coronado — oversees training including BUD/S and SEAL Qualification Training. JSOC, established in 1980, is the joint command responsible for the military's special mission units, including DEVGRU. Written together on a veteran's hat, the two abbreviations potentially read more like a shorthand career history than a single assignment.

The luggage tag on the Blackhawk bag that didn't make it into this collection offers another thread. "C.F.B." is consistent with a first name, middle initial, and the surname written inside the AOR1 hat. It is a small correspondence, and unprovable on its own, but it is the kind of detail that can quietly hold a scattered group together after its pieces have passed into different hands.

For now, the three hats preserve a name and a possible Naval Special Warfare history.

If you recognize the veteran, the markings, or anything else documented here, please email me. I am particularly interested in firsthand information that might help establish the history of this group.