Humidity clung to the air in Puslatpur 5, Indonesia, on August 31, 2024. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Connor Kehl, a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) crew member, tapes the patrol cap of his incoming commander to the back of the HIMARS launch tubes.
Anticipation grows as the vehicle positions its payload and prepares to fire. In an instant, the patrol cap, tightly secured to the HIMARS, vanishes in a thick bog of smoke and debris.
Many might assume that this may be a practical joke gone too far, but in reality, it's a long standing tradition hidden within U.S. Army artillery regiments. As Kehl puts it, “it's tradition for the launcher crew to take the patrol cap of the new commander and blow it up.” When asked why this tradition is so important, he explains, “when we blow [the patrol cap] up, it is a symbol of our acceptance and respect for their new role as commander.”
Although securing a patrol cap to the back of a rocket system might seem straightforward, there are a few measures taken to ease recovery of the cap. As Kehl demonstrates, the first step is to tie the patrol cap to the rocket tube. He clarifies that you must ensure that it is tightly knotted, so it dangles in front of the rocket tube while still in one piece. Then, you tape the dangling patrol cap to the selected rocket tube, adding yet another avenue to find the patrol cap afterwards. As Kehl put it “we are sealing your [patrol cap’s] fate to hellfire and rocket exhaust.” All that's left to do once this step is complete is launch the HIMARS. There is no guarantee that any portion of the cap will survive, so finding any part of it remains a difficult task.
Soon after the HIMARS fires its payload, soldiers brave the ever present dust cloud now formed around the vehicle. The patrol cap is gone. The string securing it to the rocket tube is no match for the rockets of the HIMARS, breaking under the pressure. The tape, once securely fastened, is nowhere to be seen. Now comes the fun part, the search.
The oppressive heat of the day does nothing to dampen the feverish excitement of the search. Due to the nature of this tradition, there is no way to determine the proximity of the patrol cap to the HIMARS. So, Kehl and a multitude of other Soldiers begin an intensive search, leaving no stone left unturned. Although no time limit was set, anticipation and fear lingered in the air, an ever nagging question nibbling at the soldiers minds, did the patrol cap survive?
Then suddenly, a voice broke through the fog of doubt and skepticism. “I found it!” Kehl shouted. To the surprise of many, next to a thicket of bushes and trees, lies the commander's patrol cap, now brimless and worse for wear. The HIMARS found the brim of the patrol cap not far from the rest of the debris.
Finally, the search had ended and the tradition came to a close. In the eyes of the soldiers in Kehls unit, the new commander is now officially a member of their team and has earned the respect of all artillery personnel in his command.
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