That NASCAR hat Published Feb. 2, 2024 By Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot 185th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Sioux City, Iowa -- It makes sense that people in the fighter jet business would be attracted to NASCAR motor sports because of similarities in noise, speed, and the possibility of death at every turn. As the 2024 NASCAR cup series gets the green flag at the start of this month, race fans may especially appreciate the story of how the motor sport inspired the creation of an official U.S. Air Force ball cap dubbed, “the NASCAR hat.” The 185th Fighter Wing “NASCAR” organization hat worn by members of the Iowa Air National Guard unit during the early 2000s. The unconventional organizational ball cap was dubbed the “NASCAR” hat because it was designed to look like a NASCAR hat from that time. The 185th FW wore the NASCAR hat from 2000 until the unit’s conversion to air refueling in 2002. U.S. Air National Guard photo Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot Photo Details / Download Hi-Res There were other unit hats, but for Iowa Air Guard members who were part of the 185th Fighter Wing in the early 2000’s, the short-lived NASCAR hat was one of the most cherished. The 185th FW organizational ball cap got its unofficial name because of its unashamed similarities to NASCAR hats from the 1990s. If names like Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gorden, Dale Earnhardt, Darell Waltrip or Terry Labonte are familiar; the concept of the 185th NASCAR hat can be best understood. Shortly after Colonel Tom Considine became the 185th Fighter Wing commander he, with the help of Senior Master Sgt. Bruce Johnson, crowdsourced a new unit ball cap design. Colonel Tom Considine, 185th Fighter Wing Commander, on the ladder of an Iowa Air National Guard F-16 fighter jet in 1999. After Considine became the 185th FW commander in December 1998 he asked for a new organizational ball cap to be developed that became known as “the NASCAR hat.” U.S. Air National Guard photo Photo Details / Download Hi-Res When the hat was first revealed in 2000 it was obvious that among Considine, Johnson or the 185th collective there was a significant NASCAR fan base. What Considine didn’t know in the summer of 1999 was that within months after commissioning the snazzy hat, the unit would receive word that their fighter mission was about to end. In many ways the creation of the NASCAR hat was a half century in the making. During the decade of the 90’s the 185th Fighter Wing celebrated 50 years as a fighter unit. The Iowa Air Guard unit had just graduated from being a Fighter Group to becoming a Fighter Wing which grew the mission. Some of the 185th Air Refueling Wing unit organizational ball caps worn during the 1950s through 2011. The first hats worn were from the 174th Fighter Squadron that was the forerunner to the 185th Fighter Group and 185th Air Refueling Wing. The last organizational hat authorized for wear while in uniform was the black 185th Air Refueling Wing hat. Ball caps were no longer allowed for wear when the Air Force changed from the Battle Dress Uniform to the Airmen Battle Uniform around 2011. U.S. Air National Guard graphic Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot Photo Details / Download Hi-Res The 1990s also saw one of the unit’s most significant airframe changes when they switched from flying A-7 Corsairs to flying the premier multi-role F-16 fighter jet. Members of the Wing at that time had inherited a special ethos from the unit’s Vietnam War Veterans who had a significant influence on molding the current generation. When the F-16s arrived, unit members and leadership were supremely confident in their role as a legitimate, modern Fighter Wing on par with their active-duty counterparts. The 1990s also saw a renaissance in DOD spending as post war budgets ramped back up spreading the wealth of modernized weapons systems. Each change often came with a new unit ball cap. Air Force organizational ball caps had been around from the beginning of the service. When the historic changeover from the original green utility uniform to the BDU happened in the 1980s, uniform regulations still retained allowances for organizational hats as late as 2010. Airmen from the Iowa Air National Guar’s 185th Tactical Fighter Group wearing one of the unit’s organizational ball caps from the 1970s. The dark 185th organizational ball cap that shows only the unit nomenclature was authorized for wear by members of the Iowa ANG unit in 1976. Air National Guard photo Photo Details / Download Hi-Res It is important to note that Air Force organizational ball caps were historically subdued single colors. Most 185th unit hats were dark blue, black, grey, or olive. Hats around the Air Force often didn’t included much more than the unit nomenclature. Air Force Instruction 36-2903 from November 2001, found on the Air University library website, provides some clues on what the baseball caps at that time were supposed to looked like. The regulation included words like “modest.” Delineations were described in respect to numbers of colors used. There was also language that described the addition of “designs” and so on. There was nothing modest about the 185th NASCAR hat. When the hat was created, it was obvious that interpretations of uniform regulations were treated as a matter of semantics. Pilots dressed in unique dark flight suits and black hats along with maintainers wearing all white, from the Iowa and Nebraska Air National Guard’s 132nd Fighter Group, pose for a photo with a 124th Fighter Squadron F-84 Thunderjet at the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet at Nellis Air Force Base in Ocober 1956. Members of the Air National Guard F-84 team are from the 124th Fighter Squadron in Des Moines, Iowa the 174th Fighter Squadron in Sioux City, Iowa and the 173rd Fighter Squadron from Lincoln, Neb. U.S. Air National Guard photo Photo Details / Download Hi-Res Most of the NASCAR hat’s predecessors followed convention, but some early 185th photos show other hats and uniforms from the 1950s that also had some pizazz. Photos from a 1956 aircraft gunnery meet at Nellis Air Force Base show Air National Guard aircraft maintainers wearing white unit hats and ironically white uniforms. Dressed to impress, the Air National Guard F-84 team had unit hats embossed with the text “132nd” (Fighter Group) on the front of the hat. The hats even had lightning bolts stitched on top, in homage to the Thunderjet aircraft flown by the Group's 124th ,174th and 173rd Fighter Squadrons from the Iowa and Nebraska Air National Guard. Gunnery competitions that began in the 1950s, served as a way to test and sharpen skills of both pilots and aircraft maintainers. The mostly friendly competitions became more than just evaluating aviation and maintenance prowess, however. Participants looked for ways to gain an extra edge by adding elements of flare, like special hats and even special uniforms. Making a big deal out of aerial competition events helped breath excitement into the events. With added enthusiasm, spending extra time shining boots and ironing uniforms were seen as minor details. One-upmanship became standard procedure for members of fighter units who attended events like William Tell or Gun Smoke. The added element of a cool hat helped spur excitement and encourage esprit de corps. If a special hat could be created for a special event, it made sense that the evolution of the organizational ball cap would give rise to a special hat that could be worn every day. Senior Airmen Shellie McClure models the much loved 185th Fighter Wing organizational hat, dubbed “the NASCAR hat” in October of 2000. The photo was used to advertise that the hat was avialable for purchase for $15. The same month the Iowa Air National Guard unit’s newest organizational ball cap was made available it was announced the Fighter Wing would be converting to air refueling. U.S. Air National Guard photo Photo Details / Download Hi-Res When the NASCAR hat was first available in the fall of 2000, unit members were thrilled. Almost everything about the new 185th ball cap was unconventional, which made it even better. Former unit members who were familiar with the old 36-2903 recognized that the NASCAR hat design walked up to the edge of the Air Force regulation guidance and definitely stepped over the line. Suitable for Daytona, the hat had a two-tone black and royal blue bill. The hat featured unconventional bent yellow stitching on the bill that surrounded the unit’s iconic gothic bat graphic. The front of the hat had a depiction of a silver F-16 with arched “185th Fighter Wing” text that included a blue stitched drop shadow. The words “Sioux City, Iowa” were also sewn on the hat near a small unit patch. “It was highly noticed,” said 185th Air Refueling Wing Lt. Colonel Tim Christensen, who worked as an F-16 crew chief at the time, “We loved it.” Christensen recalled wearing the “NASCAR hat” to a Flag exercise during that time. He said he had not forgotten both the positive reactions and scrutiny the hat received. Other 185th unit members from that time confirm that saying, “the hat was noticed” may have been an understatement. Ironically, during the same month the new 185th NASCAR hat became available in the fall of the 2000 it was announced that the unit would lose their fighter jets and convert to Air Refueling. Unit members could wear the NASCAR hat for the next 24 months with the knowledge that the fighter wing mission was ending. Members of the 185th Tactical Fighter Group, Avionics Integrated Systems shop, Staff Sgt. Brian Davis, Senior Airmen Chuck Hammock and Technical Sgt. Keith Tjeerdsma pose for a photo in September of 1990, all wearing grey 185th TFG organizational ball caps with their well pressed battle dress uniforms. Organizational ball caps could be worn in the Air Force with the uniform until the BDU was phased out in 2010. U.S. Air National Guard photo Photo Details / Download Hi-Res Interestingly, the old hats often served as historical markers. The hats marked the time as the unit graduated from the 174th Squadron to the 185th Group and eventually becoming the 185th Wing. When the unit converted to the KC-135 the change brought with it the Wing’s last organizational hat. The new Air Refueling hat was a much more subdued black ball cap with a neat “185 ARW, Iowa Air Guard” stitched on the crown. For unit members at the time, the less flashy 185th ARW ball cap served as a metaphoric precursor to the eventual elimination of ball caps altogether. Current uniform regulations describe the demise of organizational ball caps in part due to a desire to standardize the uniform. Changes were also a result of Airmen increasingly finding themselves “outside the wire” in hostile environments, where drawing attention to oneself is a bad thing. Master Sgt. Tom Baker standing with his family at a family day event on June 20, 2001 wearing the 185th Fighter Wing “NASCAR” organizational ball cap with his battle dress uniform. Organizational ball caps like the NASCAR hat could be worn in the Air Force with the uniform until the BDU was phased out in 2010. U.S. Air National Guard photo Photo Details / Download Hi-Res With the 2011 rollout of the Airman Battle Uniform and subsequent Operational Camouflage uniform in 2019 the current uniform regulation boiled it down to a simple statement, “Ball caps are not authorized.” Nearly twenty-five years after the NASCAR hat, the 185th is again seeking to position itself for its next mission. With the inevitability of change that comes with the passage of time perhaps there may still be hope for reviving the old organizational hat. This past fall, in September of 2023 the William Tell air-to-air competition got the green flag to start again after a nearly 20 year hiatus. The competition’s return to the Savannah Air National Guard’s Air Dominance Center could be just the thing to usher in what was old and make it new again.