Cowboy hats

Oh my!! Starting to think we are in the midwest.

Yeap, we are going back to the 60s
Pretty soon you will get the memo that we are going back to 6-shooters and cowboy boots.

Actually prefer the brown gun belt and cross-draw myself!!

First it was the stupid Australian Tilly hat (how embarrassing), now a ten gallon felt cowboy hat. No more identity problems. FWC will be the laughing stock.

Not to mention what a joke Tally played with the two choices. When ever have you seen a black velvet campaign cover w/ tassels that overlap the brim in any L/E magazine? Never! Only in western wear stores. That choice was already made for us!!

The hat fettishes of Tallahassee. They will tell you the officers made the choice, well duhh, when it was a loaded question.

Anybody got a picture of the hat and badge?

I like the new Stetson. If you want to look like a trooper, go join FHP. Go straight, turn left, crash report, go straight, turn left, speeding ticket, go straight.......

go join FHP. Go straight, turn left, crash report, go straight, turn left, speeding ticket, go straight.......

That is some funny sh!t right there. :lol:

you got a picture of it?

[Paladin]

I liked FHP's Stetson. F&G had them too. Was it not a yankee that came down and reconstructed FHP's image? Did you get better raises and public respect with the Stetson, or since you went to the yankee hat?

But I admit a Stetson would look out of place on the water. Water is cap country.

The new motto: Patrol, Protect, Preserve, Yee Haw :!:

I loved my stetson. I used it all the time. Glas it's coming back. It looks sharp. Consistent with southern law enforcement.

I loved my stetson. I used it all the time. Glas it's coming back. It looks sharp. Consistent with southern law enforcement.

Maybe we should have sirens that make a clippity-clop sound!

I loved my stetson. I used it all the time. Glas it's coming back. It looks sharp. Consistent with southern law enforcement.

Maybe we should have sirens that make a clippity-clop sound!

Now that there is just plain funny, I dont care who you are

What was wrong with the hats we had in the GFC and FMP Black and dark Green Give us the same style in olvie drab to match our unioform now and stop wasting five years of deciding. My wife doesn't take that long to decide what to wear.

The farther south you go in Florida the farther north you get. Most of the natives left are in north and west Florida where we are culturally Southern. We identify culturally with the mid-western and western states. :D

The carpetbagger transplants farther south identify with the northeastern culture which we detest. So maybe you need 2 hats for the 2 "two states" you cover.

The farther south you go in Florida the farther north you get. Most of the natives left are in north and west Florida where we are culturally Southern. We identify culturally with the mid-western and western states. :D

The carpetbagger transplants farther south identify with the northeastern culture which we detest. So maybe you need 2 hats for the 2 "two states" you cover.

Why does anyone give a crap about where someone was squeezed out or hatched. Read a book. No where in Florida's history is there a strong connection with the western states. Most people that came to Florida in the boom years were from New York and the surrounding states. What's next, spouting off on how the souths gunna do it again. Reality check, the north won. Survival of the fittest.

Who cares! A tan felt cowboy hat is just plain ridiculous. Again, this was already picked out for us by command staff. Two choices: a black felt campaign cover w/ tassels hanging over the front or the tan felt ten gallon. Neither choice of hat is in any police magazine only in western wear shops.

FWC Honor Guard campaign covers look great! Why not those hats? Let me guess, it will look to similar to that of highway patrol. Get over it, they will always be in the forefront! There is no conservation agency in the 50 states that is paid more or more important than a state police or highway patrol. Get over it and move on!

The farther south you go in Florida the farther north you get. Most of the natives left are in north and west Florida where we are culturally Southern. We identify culturally with the mid-western and western states. :D

The carpetbagger transplants farther south identify with the northeastern culture which we detest. So maybe you need 2 hats for the 2 "two states" you cover.

Why does anyone give a crap about where someone was squeezed out or hatched. Read a book. No where in Florida's history is there a strong connection with the western states. Most people that came to Florida in the boom years were from New York and the surrounding states. What's next, spouting off on how the souths gunna do it again. Reality check, the north won. Survival of the fittest.

Most of the Northeasterners who migrated down went to SOUTH Florida. Northern Florida was settled primarily by people from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana in about that order. You go read your book which was probably published in Chicago. I will go with 6 generations of Southern lineage, the last 4 being in West Florida.

I have traveled the USA from here to Maine to California and met people from everywhere due to military transfers. The cultures of the South and West have a lot in common , and neither have much in common with the Northeast.

I should have said get a map. Besides being a pretty picture it shows that places like Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and mississippi or not in the west or midwest. Come to the coastal area and out of the backwaters. There's alot more people and they hardly ever come from the midwest.

[Gray Rider]

Where did the post say Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, or Louisiana were considered culturally "west"? ( You will agree Louisiana is geographically mostly west of the Mississippi River however?) The post says Northwest Florida was populated by people coming primarily from those states which any fool knows are "southern". The economy was heavily agricultural - cattle, farms, timber, and fish. There were a few entrepreneurs from the mid-west cities like Chicago but they did not make up a large percentage of the population.

Therefore we have little in common with the culture of New England, but are similiar to the "west". We identify more with the culture of western states like Texas, Arkansas, and Colorado.

This is not really a forum intended for history and social studies so we should not belabor it too much. If you are interested in the facts about Civil War history and post Civil War settlement you may wish to begin with a subscription to Civil War Times. It features a balance of information about both sides. It provides avenues to expand your knowledge from there.

I'll close with a quote from a unknown author: " An open mind leaves a chance for someone to drop in a worthwhile thought."

I had a subscription to Civil War times. Excellent magazine. You do know that there was farming, timbering, cattle, and fishing in the northeast. In fact, the book "Cod" is one you might enjoy. It was the largest fishery in the United States.

Now, back to the hats. Most visitors coming to Florida do not think of cowboys and ranching. We're called the sunshine state. Also, historically crackers never wore cowboy hats. Look in the history books. They wore wide brim sombrero looking hats or palmetto hats.

Anyway, read "Cod" you'll like it.

Prior to the take-over, the straw stetson was an intergral part of the FMP and the GFC dress uniform. In years gone by FMP officers were required to wear them DAILY. In the more recent past it was normally only worn at "full dress" functions, but some officers did wear them at other times.

With the creation of FWC in 1999, ALL officers should have been issued green straw stetson hats with the new uniforms. Some officers may have chosen not to get issued one, others may have lost or destroyed them and at some point, FWC decided to no longer issue or replace them.

I am not saying I really liked these hats, but they are relatively inexpensive and some officers already have them...

SO now you have the largest Conservation Enforcement Agency in the US and the 2nd largest State Law Enforcement Agency in Florida appear at "Full Dress" functions, sans head gear*. IMO, this is not very professional, your opinion may vary.

*FWC Honor Guard does have head gear.

Now I guess the FWC has decided they need a dress hat. Instead of issuing what some officers may already have, (the green straw stetson), thereby saving some $$$, the FWC has selected a totally different hat that costs roughly twice the old one..... So (if officers don't lose or destroy it) it can be worn less than half a dozen times in a year... if that.

Way to save some $$$.... And you wonder why you can't get a pay raise????


Just for kicks and giggles, anyone know the cost of the new hat??

You might not want to call it a "cowboy hat," might find yourself being disciplined just as it is taboo to whisper the words "marine patrol" or "wildlife officer." Even though the FL statutes still refer to FWC as wildlife officers under 372.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Corral-West-Ranchwe ... dZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com/Corral-West-Ranchwear-Western-Cowboy-Hat-XXX-Size-7-Tan_W0QQitemZ160244612336QQihZ006QQcategoryZ52370Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Picture of cowboy hat

I dont know how it is in the other regions, but in the NW Region you DO NOT wear a dress hat at funerals. At least its been like that for many years now. We used to wear the green stetson at funerals and at some other Class A uniform events...not anymore. So, why issue a new hat? Personally, I like wearing a western hat. I dont think we will be allowed to wear it with our rough duty uniforms. Why would you? Not practical and the cowboy hat wouldnt go well with it anyway. The SOG issued hat would be a much better choice for ALL officers in rough duty. This has been brought up but gone nowhere with Admin. Soggy bottom boys ONLY wear that hat. The winter ball caps we are issued suck. They do not hold shape like the summer cap. The uniform committee knows this ...been told to them many times. Gone nowhere. Overall, our uniforms look pretty good and we finally got a good long sleeve shirt to wear for rough duty. I appreciate that and wear them on our cold NW Region winter days and nights. The money for the new hat came from a pot of money from a cell phone company screw up when they used our towers illegally. I was told that. The money had to be spent somewhere....enough for hats and a new badge. Not enough to give out pay raises....so I was told. I'm just passing on info. that came to me. Personally, I would never have spent the money on a new badge or a new hat. I like the hat we have for dress, even though we dont get to wear it. I prefer the badge shield we have now. I couldnt believe we actually considered changing our agencies name. We are having enough problems trying to get the public to understand who we are and what we do now! State Patrol? Sounds like someone in our agency wants us to ride the coat tails of the FHP! I say WE...no mouse in my pocket!

[21Regal]

I shall wear mine every day. 8)
The State Patrol name goes back to the Board of Conservation. It was never associated with the FHP. As to the hats I like the old hats. Many states still have them.
Maybe we could be the Florida Cracker Patrol :lol:

I shall wear mine every day. 8)
The State Patrol name goes back to the Board of Conservation. It was never associated with the FHP. As to the hats I like the old hats. Many states still have them.
Maybe we could be the Florida Cracker Patrol :lol:

What's that squirrel drinking? I'll have the same..and pour him another. He's about empty.

[21Regal]

Ahhh ladie he is drinking the sweat nectar of the motherland of Aaron, Guiness.

Erin go Blah

Ahhh ladie he is drinking the sweat nectar of the motherland of Aaron, Guiness.

Erin go Blah

I hope his nest aint too far away....that stuff will cross your eyes! Pour me another one...another one for my furry friend too!

Can't us Rangers all get along! The stetson will look great while we are doing off duty to put food on the table. at least now we will have a porta potty everywhere we go

Can't wait to see ya wearing your new digs in a couple weeks.
New Motto:
"Yee haw, Patrol, Protect, Preseve...spit.. spit...spit"