TV Movie - TAPS

I just saw the movie Taps on a cable channel tonight. It has
been years since I watched it. Tim Hutton, Tom Cruise, Sean
Penn when they were really young.

One question though. I notice that the squadron that was led
by Tom Cruise wore red berets while the rest of the cadets
did not. Why? How were they different?

cloud dreamer...

It's been a while since I've seen the movie, but the different colour
beret meant they were simply a different type of company/trade. For
example, in Canada, the MPs wear a red beret, the armoured wear a black
beret, the army a green beret and the air force a blue beret. I'm
guessing the red berets were simply the elite section among the cadets.

Taps was filmed using the real uniforms of the cadet's at the school, so
it wasn't done for the movie. They are wearing what the students wear at
the Valley Forge Military School...or at least what they wore in 1981
when the film was made.

KenStahl...

Ok, I can accept that, but for a military academy at the
middle/high school level, what would cause a particular
student to be considered "elite"? We're talking about kids
here, not groups like the Rangers, Green Berets, SEALS, etc
who have training for very specialized types of operations.

cloud dreamer...

Not sure. In terms of a military school, I'm guessing that in order to
earn the red beret, they have to attain minimum high standards in dress,
drill, weapons handling, physical fitness and academics. Perhaps a sort
of honour roll among the cadets.

Explains why Cruise made the kid give up his beret when he joined the
other kids who wanted to leave.

Gabby...

I think the best answer is "It was a movie." Here is a link to
comments on the movie uniform by a former student at Valley Forge
Military Academy.