A black cavalry Stetson that has ridden along on every mission for 22 years is missing somewhere over North Austin, and the Army pilot who owns it wants it back. U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Josh Muehlendorf, who serves with the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade based at Fort Hood, lost the hat during a pre-game flyover ahead of the Texas-Florida football game, and he is now asking residents in the neighborhoods below the flight path to check their yards, rooftops, and streets.
Muehlendorf originally bought the custom 1st Cavalry Division Stetson at The Hat Store in Houston back in 2004, the same year he was appointed a warrant officer, according to the FOX 7 Austin report that first detailed the search. He and his crew had been asked to perform the flyover and wear their 1st Cavalry Division Stetsons for on-field recognition, per a Facebook post from October 17 cited in that reporting. The flight itself involved a four-aircraft formation over Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium made up of one CH-47F Chinook and three UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, according to The National Interest.
How the Wind Took the Hat
Muehlendorf had stowed the Stetson by hanging its chinstrap on a hook behind his seat inside the Black Hawk. As the formation slowed about three miles north of the stadium, crew members opened the cabin doors to display Longhorns flags, and the resulting wind current dislodged the hat and swept it out of the aircraft, per the same reporting. He didn't realize it was gone until after landing. Because he was concentrating heavily on holding formation during the flight, he only learned the hat had blown out from his crew once they touched down at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
The moment wasn't without its own slice of game-day spectacle. Before the flight, actor and University of Texas alumnus Matthew McConaughey waved to Muehlendorf, and after landing, UT officials picked the crew up so they could attend the game themselves.
A Search Zone North of Campus
The hat is believed to have fallen roughly three miles north of the stadium, putting the likely search zone across the Hyde Park, North Loop, and Triangle neighborhoods, according to FOX 7 Austin. Muehlendorf has asked residents, workers, and pedestrians in those areas to look for a black cavalry Stetson in yards, on roofs, or in the street, and he's asked anyone who shares his Facebook post or finds the hat to send him a direct message.
Muehlendorf described the hat's sentimental value as irreplaceable, having carried it through 22 years of his aviation career since starting with the same unit in 2004. As a Chief Warrant Officer 5, he holds the highest warrant officer rank in the Army, a designation reserved for master-level technical experts who provide strategic leadership across military aviation units, according to the U.S. Army.
A Tradition Dating to Vietnam
The black Stetson campaign hat is more than a prop. The Air Cavalry tradition of wearing it traces back to the mid-1960s, when Lt. Col. John B. Stockton of the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, sought to link the Army's new helicopter mobility to its 19th-century horse-mounted cavalry roots, per The National Interest's history of the headgear. The hat later found cultural fame well beyond the Army through Robert Duvall's portrayal of Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film Apocalypse Now.
Muehlendorf's home base carries its own layered history. Fort Hood, the Central Texas Army post that houses the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, was officially renamed Fort Cavazos in May 2023 in honor of Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, the Army's first Hispanic four-star general, though past Hoodline coverage notes the post is still frequently referenced by its legacy name.
Low-flying military helicopters are not a rare sight over Austin during major events. In March, a five-ship formation of Apaches and Chinooks swept over downtown Austin toward Circuit of The Americas during MotoGP weekend, part of a broader pattern of regional military flight routes tied to big local gatherings. For now, though, the attention is on one missing hat, and whether someone in Hyde Park, North Loop, or the Triangle happens to glance up at their roofline and spot it.
