Authorization for the wearing of branch scarves is found in Army Regulation 670-1 (AR 670-1),
Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia. Though the wear of branch scarves is permitted with both utility and service uniforms, it must be prescribed by the local commander for the observance of special ceremonies.
The design of branch scarves is found paragraph 21-21 of Department of the Army Pamphlet 670-1,
titled
Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia. : they are to be of a "bib-type design" and manufactured in the approved color of the branch in which the wearer is currently serving. Regulations specify cable number 65014 as the Infantry’s branch color and refers to it as both “Infantry blue” and “Light blue.”
Blue has been associated with American Infantry Soldiers for more than 260 years, predating the branch birthday of June 14, 1775 by two decades. Established in 1673, the 1st New Jersey Regiment became known as the “Jersey Blues” in the mid-1750s because of its blue coats and trousers or breeches. Before he became Commander of the Continental Army, Colonel George Washington was commissioned as Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, which wore blue and buff uniforms. The Grenadiers in the Independent Foot Companies of New York wore blue uniforms with red facing, and the Light Infantry of Pennsylvania wore light blue and buff. During the Revolutionary War, Washington prescribed blue as the uniform color for coats worn by the Infantry, with facings in different colors depending on the state from which the unit hailed.
The Army Regulations of 1851 established light blue, or Saxony blue, as the Infantry color, but this was changed to white following the Civil War. It was in 1902 that Light Blue was approved as the official branch color of the oldest component of the United States Army. Just why this color was settled upon is not clear, but its selection inspired a famous adage heartily embraced by anyone who’s ever served in the branch: “The sky is blue because God loves the Infantry.”
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