[Story from April 2015] Soldiers Being FORCED to Remove Combat Patches From Uniforms

Army Times and Colorado Gazette via The Federalist Papers ^ | March 2 , 2016 | Robert Gehl

[george76]

Soldiers are livid after being told to remove their combat patches in an attempt to be “welcoming” to new recruits.

It’s an insane move that goes against the unofficial combat patch creed: “You earn it. You keep it. You wear it.” But that’s apparently the policy now for Fort Carson’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

Soldiers are told to strip their uniforms bare to the bone, only showing the name, rank, American Flag, U.S. Army tape and the 4th Infantry Division insignia, the Army Times is reporting.

According to officials, the move is designed to promote a “unified army culture.”

Brigade Commander Col. David Hodne issued the requirement. He told the Colorado Gazette it’s not about making new recruits feel jealous.

...

Hodne’s unit, which has seen a radical reorganization over the past year from tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles to eight-wheeled Strykers, is loaded with brand-new privates whose uniforms are bare of insignia. Instead of standing out, the new guys look like everyone else in training.

...

U.S. Army Iraq war veteran Drew Norman:

“This was obviously started by officers without combat time. This isn’t about making the new guys feel welcome, it’s about making the new officers feel superior.

The fact that we have 22 year old college kids ordering 18 year multiple combat tour veterans and lecturing them on war tells you all you need to know about how broken our commissioning system is.”

U.S. Army Afghan war veteran Stephen Carroll:

“I think it’s an absolutely horrid idea. Simply because some of them don’t fall into the group of those who have gone down range doesn’t mean that everyone else should hide what they’ve done. It’s the military, not a group of middle school students.”

U.S. veteran Michael Mumford, who used more colorful language:

[castlebrew]

To quote the latest buzz phrases: Not in my squad. Not in our Army.

I’d wager his first platoon sergeant and a few squad leaders had to suffer his no-time-in-grade shiny butter-bar butt ordering them around. Still hasn’t learned to listen to his NCOs. Where’s the Division & Brigade CSMs on this?

LTC, EN, USA (Ret.); 1980-2012

[theBuckwheat]

The “unified army culture.” should be that every soldier should be successful in combat, instead of removing the very symbols of success, which by definition new recruits have not yet earned.

[Gamecock]

I retired just in time.