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The angle makes it a little hard to notice, but look closely, and it's there. Come on dude.
The angle makes it a little hard to notice, but look closely, and it's there. Come on dude.
Indefinitely Wild

Hey, Ryan Zinke: You’ve Got Your Ranger Hat on Backward

[Insert exasperated Jean-Luc Picard meme]

Published: 
Wes Siler
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Above is a picture of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke  last week to promote a new children’s version of the National Park Service passport book. So far, so good, right? Well, upon closer examination, you might notice he’s wearing his hat backward. 

A closer look reveals the lack of the "USNPS" embossing on the band, and you can see a brass button on Zinke's right side.
A closer look reveals the lack of the "USNPS" embossing on the band, and you can see a brass button on Zinke's right side. (DOI)

Why does this admittedly small detail matter? According to , “The ranger hat is the most important, recognized and respected symbol associated with the NPS, and should be worn with pride and care.” (The bolding comes straight from the NPS.)  

Here's the hat in it's correct orientation. You'd think the USNPS embossing would be hard to miss, and hard to get backwards, right? "The hatband is to be worn with the USNPS logo centered in the front," read the Park Service's uniform regs. The brass buttons should be over the wearer's left shoulder.
Here's the hat in it's correct orientation. You'd think the USNPS embossing would be hard to miss, and hard to get backwards, right? "The hatband is to be worn with the USNPS logo centered in the front," read the Park Service's uniform regs. The brass buttons should be over the wearer's left shoulder. (Smithsonian Museum)

“Our uniform represents our pride and commitment to serving our country by protecting our most cherished public lands,” says a park ranger I spoke with on Thursday. (He asked not to be named for fear of reprisal from the DOI.) “If I posted to the Internet a photo out of uniform and wearing my ranger hat backwards, I would at the very least receive a verbal thrashing from my chief.”

I spent about half an hour browsing photos of rangers online, and could not find a single example of anyone wearing their hat the wrong way around.
I spent about half an hour browsing photos of rangers online, and could not find a single example of anyone wearing their hat the wrong way around. (USNPS)

As Interior Secretary, Zinke heads the federal department responsible for the Park Service. He’s the boss. During his time in that office, Zinke has presided over one of the largest reductions in federal-lands protection in history, seen the majority of the National Park Service Advisory Board over his management, proposed park entry fee hikes that would effectively have prevented low-income families from visiting, and prevented efforts to diversify the park service’s workforce. Now, he's got the iconic hat on backward. (You'll notice his SEAL trident is correctly displayed.) 

“As a former Navy SEAL, Zinke should know the respect a uniform deserves,” says the ranger. 

This is just the latest in a pattern of public gaffs by Zinke. Last May, he posed on horseback during a staged photo op with Vice President Mike Pence while . When Elliott Woods (who posted about the backward ranger hat on Facebook this week), met Zinke for a day of fly-fishing last year to profile him for ϳԹ, the Interior Secretary rigged his fly rod… backward. Zinke posted a video on Twitter (above) of himself casting a fly rod as if it were a bait rod. 

“Every action he has taken as Secretary has diminished, devalued, and mocked the values of the National Park Service, and undermined our mission to protect America's National Parks for this and future generations,” says the ranger. “He has shown no respect.”

Corrections: (02/23/2025) The first version of this article incorrectly stated that the picture of Zinke at the NPS event was published this week. It was actually published on April 20. 'ϳԹ' regrets the error.
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