Slovakian Army Women's Service Cap
This is a Slovakian Army woman's service cap from the Post-Cold War era (1991-Present). The cap is olive green/brown with a metal Slovakian cap badge on the front, which features the Slovakian coat of arms. Around the crown is red piping. A gold chinstrap is attached to the front by two gold side buttons embossed with crossed swords, a symbol of the army. The hat is cut with the short back in order to allow for women's hair styles.
Historical Context and Provenance
The hat was given to Major Sara Hall Abel of the Indiana National Guard during a trip to Slovakia in 1998. Major Hall Abel was a director of Public Affairs and participated in a Partnership for Peace program implemented by NATO in order to offer former Soviet Bloc countries, such as Slovakia, help integrating into Western European politics and security. Major Hall Abel was sent along with a group of women in order to present several topics of discussion on how to establish a new volunteer army suited for a democratic government. The team was also sent as a cultural exchange and thus spent some time looking at local sites and talking with various Slovakian military personnel. One night, Major Hall Abel went to dinner at a local winery where she, along with other members of the NATO team, met with several female members of the Slovakian Army. These women shared much in common and where able to converse on various topics including family, career, and military life in general. At the end of the night, Major Hall Abel was presented with this cap by Yana Kosinkova. Major Hall Abel donated the cap to the Wilson History & Center in July 2012 to show that not all military souvenirs need to be obtained through warfare.
Major Sara Hall Abel wearing the presented hat in Slovakia in 1998
| Slovakia | Post-Cold War |
| Visor Hat | |
| Kras Narodni Podnik | |
| SLC-02-0712 | |
