Dickies Military Hat

Dickies Military Hat

Dickies at Work The Conservation Corps

As a young lad, I looked around before starting on my career track, thinking before I settled down, this was the time to get my world legs on. Do a stint in the military? It was peacetime (shows how long ago this was?) and doing National Guard just to say you did it seemed kind of a mediocre choice. Join the Peace Corps and do a stint in another country? Maybe, but that seemed like a slightly deeper commitment, and anyway what if I didn't like the politics? I ended up midway between and went for the California Conservation Corps, also known as the CCC.

On the whole, it seemed just right. I was still out in time to start a career, did some work for my country, got to travel all over the state and see practically every acre of forest land it had, and even got to roll on a couple of forest fires. It was half vacation and half job, with the occasional dash of adventure. My second year I buckled down and got some career training started anyway.

The Corps dresses it's members in such a way that they cannot forget they're in a program started during the "New Deal" in a democratic society. All uniforms are Dickies, brown pants with tan shirts, all the way through the ranks, with only colored hats as the sole sign of rank. The ranks by hat colors run blue, green, red, yellow, orange, white, and black. There's only one "honorary" black hat, and a white hat is a center director.

The California Conservation Corps works closely with other state departments such as the California Department of Forestry and Caltrans. If you visit Yosemite and take a trail up a mountain, chances are good that a CCC crew cut that trail. Or if you notice that a dirt hill that was eroding is now sprouting shoots that help retain the landscape, that might have been some CCC handiwork. The CCC also does the biggest part of disaster relief when needed, responding to floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and forest fires. If you've heard of "smoke-jumpers" who go into a forest fire by helicopter to fight it, those are also usually recruited from the CCC's ranks.

By itself, the CCC is a good leg up in a career of civil service for the State government. It also offers job training in a variety of fields, and some paid college while attending. It's a good pit stop for the very young adult, wishing to get some adventure in before settling down to the car loans and mortgages of the suburban life.

Which isn't to say it's fantastic. A sizable proportion of those who join are screw-ups, but they sort themselves out after a month. The conditions are rugged, particularly in the back-country projects where you're off in a camp without any contact from the outside world for months at a time. The pay… hey, I said I deliberated between this and the Peace Corps, right? Whatever you do, don't do this job for the money.

The Dickie uniforms. Do it for them. No, but anyway about the uniforms, you sew patches on the sleeves for whatever center or department you're with. That's the other distinguishing feature. You keep these patches around even after you've tossed the uniforms. With your other keepsakes, like the pictures and the work gloves and the T-shirt they sold you at the fire camp.

Fire camp! See, fighting forest fires is largely a matter of depriving them of fuel. So you go around the fire and cut line. If you're lucky and the wind is right, you got the line to go all around the fire and it dies out. If it got away, you have to cut more line around where it is now. If you think a crew of people armed with axes chopping their way through a tall pine forest for a ten mile radius are no match for a fire moving through the trees at the speed of wind, you're right. It's impossible. And every fire ends just that way: we accomplish the impossible and kill the fire.

The planes and helicopters make "air drops", bucket dumps of slurry on the fire to retard the flames. This is a strategic attempt to douse just one area at the perimeter of the fire; the equivalent of attacking a house fire with a thimble full of water in an attempt to hold it back one second until you can close the door. These are called in by radio. Even if we had one hundred of these, they couldn't put out the fire by themselves. Largely they douse an area to keep it from catching.

This would be difficult enough on flat ground. But forest fires often happen on mountainous terrain. Hills and gullies have to be navigated, often where trucks can't go. Fires like to rush up hills and devour the trees there, then creep down into the next valley. Get too far from the fire and you'll never catch up. Get to close and, well, you got to close to a fire. The fire camp goes for days like this, moving and fighting, sixteen hour shifts of exhausting labor in the woods, plopping back unconscious at camp and waking up and the first thing you ask is "Where is it?" You get an answer something like "Three-thirty, heading east, 60% contained." And that's enough to get you running to catch up again. Sixty percent isn't anything. Sixty percent means you're failing.

After the fire's out, there's the cleanup. Going back to retrieve equipment, put out hot spots, and knock down snags. The area freshly burned from the fire might as well be on another planet. No noise, no birds. Hazy gray sunshine through smoke. Black spikes that are all that's left of trees, some still standing. Knee-deep ash everywhere. Hot spots; sometimes when a tree burns, the root stay on fire for a few days afterward, burning away deep in the ground, and these are hot spots. They look like miniature volcanoes in the ash, with a plume of smoke within.

But then you visit town when the fire's over, and make a stop for supplies on the way home. The town, nestled amongst the woods, was saved. The people of the town greet you like heroes, even if your role in the fire fighting wasn't that major. They recognize you, the distinctive brown and tan Dickie uniforms with the ash and smoke streaks on them mark you as one of the crew. Little else distinguishes you after you lift the goggles from your eyes and there's so much ash on your face that the goggles left an impression. The Conservation Corps is democratic, it does not matter who outranks who. There is no rank then, only team.

About the Author

Freelance writer for over eleven years.

Dickies Work Uniforms

Formal Wear

Medical Uniforms

Dickies BE151928DICO Knit Hat with Dickies Logo $18.61 Shell 100% Acrylic. Lining 100% Polyester. Sewn Down Dickies Woven Label. Color: Black and Grey. Huge selection to choose from. Using only the highest quality materials. Providing you with great selection and quality. Satisfaction ensured.

Covenant Military Hat $24.99 Fox Racing Covenant Military Hat Leave the Covenant Hat's flaps down, or flip 'em up on top for when your ears are overheating. 100% Cotton Military flip down hat Rivet details Metal Fox Head pin on left **Closeouts are limited to stock on hand**

Women's Undercover Military Hat $20.99 Fox Racing Women's Undercover Military Hat The Fox Undercover Military Hat has tons of subdued style, keeping a tight, disciplined aesthetic, but with a few pop details like bright Fox branding and minimal hardware details. Enzyme wash Fox embroidery Metal adjuster at back 100% cotton canvas

Dickies KC174047DICO Beanie Style Hat with Bill and Dickies Logo - Black $19.4 100% Acrylic. 7 Gauge Double Layered Knit Hat and Bill. Sewn Down Dickies Woven Label. Color: Black. Huge selection to choose from. Using only the highest quality materials. Providing you with great selection and quality. Satisfaction ensured.

Dickies KC174047DICO Beanie Style Hat with Bill and Dickies Logo Black $24.02 100 Acrylic. 7 Gauge Double Layered Knit Hat and Bill. Sewn Down Dickies Woven Label. Color: Black. Huge selection to choose from. Using only the highest quality materials. Providing you with great selection and quality. Satisfaction ensured.

Military Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 FBI Military Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m

Quiksilver Convoy Brown Military Hat $26 Keep it covered with this sleek Convoy military hat by Quiksilver featuring a plaid applique logo offset on the front!

Dickies KC145347DICO Beanie Style Hat with Dickies Logo - Black $17.61 100% Acrylic. Double Layered Knit. Sewn Down Dickies Woven Label. Color: Black. Huge selection to choose from. Using only the highest quality materials. Providing you with great selection and quality. Satisfaction ensured.

Dickies KC145347DICO Beanie Style Hat with Dickies Logo Black $21.8 100 Acrylic. Double Layered Knit. Sewn Down Dickies Woven Label. Color: Black. Huge selection to choose from. Using only the highest quality materials. Providing you with great selection and quality. Satisfaction ensured.

Roxy Strapped In Military Hat $13 Roxy Strapped in Military Hat is perfect for those lounge-by-the-pool-with-a-ponytail kind of days.Floral interior liningDouble metal buckles Size: One Size Fits Most Type: Baseball Caps Color: Lilac Color Mapping: Purple Age: Adult Gender: Female

Dickies KC146226DICO Beanie Style Hat with Dickies Logo - Navy $17.61 100% Acrylic. 9 Gauge Double Layered Knit. Sewn Down Dickies Woven Label. Color: Navy. Huge selection to choose from. Using only the highest quality materials. Providing you with great selection and quality. Satisfaction ensured.

Dickies KC146226DICO Beanie Style Hat with Dickies Logo Navy $21.8 100 Acrylic. 9 Gauge Double Layered Knit. Sewn Down Dickies Woven Label. Color: Navy. Huge selection to choose from. Using only the highest quality materials. Providing you with great selection and quality. Satisfaction ensured.

Women's Warhead Babe Military Hat $19.99 Fox Racing Women's Warhead Babe Military Hat The Fox Warhead Babe Military Hat is sleek, form-fitting, and solidly-colored, assuring it's a cinch to top off your Fox ensemble. A gorgeous Fox Riders Company embroidery adorns the left side of the Warhead Babe Military Hat, and an adjustable strap makes for the perfect fit every time. Metal Fox head hardware Fox Riders Co. embroidery Adjustable back Solid lining 100% cotton canvas **Closeouts are limited to stock on hand**

Voluntold Military Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 In the military, often we are not volunteered, we are voluntold ...yet this doesn't just apply to military men, it applies to the military spouses as well Military Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m

VIIC Military Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 VIIC Trucker Hat Military Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m

CAP Hat Military Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 CAP Marine VN 65-71 Military Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m

Lieutenant Military Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 Lieutenant lettering for military, army, armed forces, lieutenants and leaders. Be the Lieutenant. Go military, army and armed forces. Lieutenants rule. Get the Lieutenant lettering. Military Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m

Military baby hat by CafePress $13 When you need to keep the young one toasty warm, this baby cap is just what the doctor ordered. Made from combed ringspun cotton, it's super soft yet elastic enough to fit snuggly and stay in place.One size fits all6.1oz 100% combed rings Military baby hat When you need to keep the young one toasty warm, this baby cap is just what the doctor ordered. Made from combed ringspun cotton, it's super soft yet elastic enough to fit snuggly and stay in place.One size fits all. 6.1oz 100% combed rings

Military Sports Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 Creative design for military spouses Sports Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m

Greenpiece Military Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 Peace through superior firepower Military Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m

Mustang Military Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 P-51 Mustang Military Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m

CIB Military Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 CIB Military Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m

NCIS Military Trucker Hat by CafePress $12 NCIS Naval Criminal Investigative Service Military Trucker Hat . Up for the long haul, our standard Trucker Hat features a resilient polyester foam front, and adjustable headband for the perfect fit.Adjusts from 17 to 24. Crown measures 4 . 100% polyester foam front, 100% nylon m