Rumor Doctor blog archive
Can troops in Iraq wear old units' combat patches?
Published: June 21, 2010
The Rumor Doctor heard from a soldier whose unit was told it could not wear combat patches from former units. That sounded strange considering Gen. Ray Odierno still wears the combat patch for the 4th Infantry Division, which he commanded in the early days of the Iraq war.
The soldier in question wanted to wear a patch for the 101st in honor of a fellow soldier who was killed in Mosul in 2003, whom he called his “brother in arms.”
“Losing my brother was the deciding factor in my life to continue to serve this country. I will continue to fight for this right to honor him in this way even if it does mean being discriminated against by my chain of command,” the soldier wrote in an e-mail.
But according to U.S. Forces-Iraq, commanders do not have the authority to tell soldiers what combat patches to wear.
“Leaders are reminded that the selection of which combat patch to wear is strictly the decision of the individual soldier; there will be no mandatory combat patch wearing of a particular patch,” according to the USF-I uniform policy.
The policy holds true for all soldiers in Iraq, said USF-I spokesman Lt. Col. Bob Owen.
“There have been cases in the past where unit leadership has tried to have all soldiers in the unit wear the same combat patch in order to promote esprit-de-corps, however, this would be in violation of the USF-I policy,” Owen said via e-mail. “It is the decision of the individual soldier to decide which former wartime service patch he or she chooses to wear.”
The Rumor Doctor talked to Lt. Col, Michael Mammay, the deputy commander for the soldier’s brigade, who said there is no order for the entire brigade banning soldiers from wearing combat patches of former units.
So, The Rumor Doctor gave Mammay the name of the soldier’s company commander, and shortly afterward the soldier said the issue had been resolved.
“As with any problem a soldier in our brigade has, when it reaches the proper command channels, we deal with it quickly,” Mammay said.
THE RUMOR DOCTOR’S DIAGNOSIS: This rumor was true, but it seems to be an issue with one company that was resolved by the chain of command.
If you have an issue with combat patches, e-mail The Rumor Doctor at:
jeffrey.schogol@stripes.osd.mil
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