There's a spot for the slot to be cut in the beret, just be careful. I had to cut the slot right through the cardboard backing and that way my badge didn't ever come off and couldn't be pilfered easily. Also the badge lay flat against the wool. Your beret should come with a liner, we cut the cloth liner out of the beret and shrunk them in hot water and formed them to our heads, or you look like the actors on movies that pull theirs on . It's also worn from the eyebrows back, not pulled on like a baseball cap from the back forward.