Division Shoulder patches

[voltigeur]

Which shoulder does the division patch go on? When I was in the Marines we didn't wear them and whne I was in 2nd Armor we had a special designation so I honestly don't remember.

I do remember one shoulder was current and the other your last unit.

Interested in the regulation as it was in WW2 and VIetnam.

[Pitfall]

IIRC, the divisional patch goes on the left sleeve.

[voltigeur]

Thanks! That helps a lot.

[Rutgervanm]

I think the divisional patch was sometimes worn in Vietnam. Theres some pictures in my Ospreys that show them (on the left shoulder indeed), but they faded so fast in the sun and the jungle conditions that I wouldn't wast my effort on them as most are barely visible.

[redleg]

When I got out of the Army in 2005 the patch of the unit you were currently assigned to was worn on the left sleeve. If you were in combat before (or deployed to a combat theater) you could wear the “combat patchâ€￾ on the right shoulder. It was not uncommon to see a group of soldiers from one unit hanging out, all with the same unit patch but with different combat patches.

Individual units sometimes forced troops to wear a certain combat patch, but it was up to the unit commander.

**It should be noted that the requirements for wearing a combat patch are much more lenient than for a CIB, CMB, or CAB.

That was several years ago though and regs may have changed with the new uniforms.

-Mike

[voltigeur]

I'm thinking more aobut WW2 the only Vietnam patch I owuld even attempt is the 1st Cav cause it was sooo big. THe Army during vietnam went to the black and green patches and I agree no reason to try and put them on hte miniatures.

I have been toying with painting a couple of very very very small. I know I can doo one just not sure I'll do a company.

[Pitfall]

A small yellow doy would probably suffice for wargaming purposes.

Although, Ritter would probably disagree. He probably has some examples of fully-detailed, hand-painted microscale insignia to show off!

[Edited once for grammar and snarkiness]

[Ritter]

Snark! Snark!

[ACWBill]

I have caught on to Troy's game now. He has been stealing dummies from department stores, dressing them in re-production gear and using his maliciously-devised shrinking device to make them look like 1/285th scale miniatures. All I need to do is get hold of one of them from E-Bay. I have the device my ex-wife used to make them bigger. She used to call it a frying pan, but I know better.

[redleg]

[quote="sfcmac"][quote="redleg"]When I got out of the Army in 2005 the patch of the unit you were currently assigned to was worn on the left sleeve. If you were in combat before (or deployed to a combat theater) you could wear the “combat patchâ€￾ on the right shoulder. It was not uncommon to see a group of soldiers from one unit hanging out, all with the same unit patch but with different combat patches.

Individual units sometimes forced troops to wear a certain combat patch, but it was up to the unit commander.

**It should be noted that the requirements for wearing a combat patch are much more lenient than for a CIB, CMB, or CAB. Hense the eligability for soldilers in Kuwait and Qatar.

That was several years ago though and regs may have changed with the new uniforms.

-Mike[/quote]

Ok, guys, it's not a "combat patch", worn on the right sleeve it's a "shoulder sleeve insignia for former wartime service" or SSI-FWTS, there is no combat requirement or even a time in theatre requirement to get one, unlike the CIB, CAB, & CFMB. This explains why people in Kuwait, Qatar, the Philippines and the Horn of Africa are currently authorized wear of the SSI-FWTS. Admittedly, it is commonly called a "combat patch", but that is a myth, there's no such thing.

Commanders cannot force anyone to wear anything as far as SSI-FWTS goes, according to AR 670-1 (if you don't know what it is then google it) that is solely up to the wearer and commanders that try that crap are jackasses as far as I can see. That being said, there are rules about what ones you can wear based on who you were deployed with. I temporarily served with some SOF units and the 2/325 Airborne Infantry Battalion but cannot wear and am not authorized a SOF or 82nd Airborne patch because I was assigned to another unit, so it's who you were assigned to, at the lowest level, by orders. It just so happens I have orders for three units, so my choices are 2D ID, 25th ID and SOCCENT, I've never worn SOCCENT. This kinda prevents folks who "saw" a 75th Ranger Regiment Scroll in theartre but did not serve with the 75th from wearing that patch.

So, now, you guys should move out and draw fire.[/quote]

Forgive me for using the term "combat patch" (I put it in quotes for a reason). I used the common slang term for the SSIFWTS because I thought the focus was on what patch was worn where, not what the correct terminology and justification for wear were. I concur with everything you say about it, SFC Mac.

I also agree that any commander who would force his/her troops to wear a particular patch is a jackass - nevertheless it has happened to me and many of my colleagues. I suppose you could argue the case, but who wants to rock the boat when your unit is getting ready to redeploy and the commander is looking for a stay behind detail?

[voltigeur]

especially since one comment here was " left sleeve is current unit and right sleeve is last unit" Gah, I wanted to puke when I read that one

Ok slight mistake in punctuation. The risk of posting at way too early in the moring. My statement wasn't a comment it was a question.

[redleg]

Funny you should mention the color vs subdued patch issue. It meninded me of my last CMTC rotation where we wore full color US flag and Big Red One patches on our BDUs, but we had to camo our faces and hands! The tankers even had to put camo on when they dismounted!

Must be the same school of thought that required howitzer batteries to maintain noise discipline during fire missions!

Thanks for your service, SFC Mac!

-Mike