Posted on Aug 28, 2020
Can a soldier be punished for wearing a deployment patch that was not earned?
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Soldier was found on a social media post about a year ago wearing a deployment patch that was not earned. Wondering what actions can be taken and regulation sources on the subject.
UCMJ
Article 15
Punishment
Army Regulations
Combat Patch (SSI-FWTS)
Posted >1 y ago
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UCMJ -Article 134-56 - "Wearing unauthorized insignia, decoration, badge, ribbon, device, or lapel button".
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LTC Michael Hrycak
This carries significant exposure if found guilty. It is a violation of good order and discipline, which our Soldiers take very seriously
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SSgt Kevin Hopkins
PO3 Alphonso Everett - ive never seen any proof he did this, as far as im concerned its pure speculation. did you see his personal records or DD 214?
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SFC William Farrell
CW2 (Join to see) - Yeah, that's pretty much what I think of the phonies and wannabees Chief. What do you fly? I flew a lot in Nam, gunner as often as I could and occasionally we'd take our oil samples up to Danang for analysis in a Birddog which was a two seat tail dragger! Got me me taking flying lessons when I got back from Nam. By the way, did your profile change from fixed wing to rotary? Pilot was telling me he could do barrel rolls in these. This is the flight line at Fort Hood on my last assignment prior to retiring in 1995.
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CW2 (Join to see)
SFC William Farrell I fly the Apache. I realized it said initial entry aviator (153A) so I just changed it.
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It starts with a deployment patch, then an added ribbon for a campaign, then a ribbon for valor, then a CAB/CIB, etc....
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PO1 Jeff Gingerich
I was a Student Brigade Company Commander at NATTC Memphis in the early '80s, in charge of a barracks of 250 men going to various 'A' schools. I was sitting in my office one day and one of the other CCs walked in with one of my guys in tow. The other CC had seen the kid - fresh out of boot camp - walking down the sidewalk in broad daylight wearing his tropical whites with six rows of ribbons and the combination cap of a full Commander. I confess to being speechless for a good half a minute.
As it turned out the young man was so completely clueless about uniforms and awards generally - he must have slept through that class in Basic, I'm thinking - he honestly thought he could get away with wearing whatever looked "cool". I'm sure I'll be criticized for my leniency, but I convinced the other CC to let me handle it and the kid performed a lot of extra duty for the next couple of months and wrote a long, detailed report for me on awards and their precedence and correct wearing. He was not a bad kid - just very, very green, and I could not in good conscience let something like that go on his service record so early in his Navy career.
As it turned out the young man was so completely clueless about uniforms and awards generally - he must have slept through that class in Basic, I'm thinking - he honestly thought he could get away with wearing whatever looked "cool". I'm sure I'll be criticized for my leniency, but I convinced the other CC to let me handle it and the kid performed a lot of extra duty for the next couple of months and wrote a long, detailed report for me on awards and their precedence and correct wearing. He was not a bad kid - just very, very green, and I could not in good conscience let something like that go on his service record so early in his Navy career.
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SGT Ronald Peter
PO1 Jeff Gingerich - I think you were right in the way you handled it. I hope the kid turned out alright.
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Sgt Dale Briggs
Lol, that’s kinda funny actually , wearing a braided cover at 18. Maybe one of his “friends” set him up and he's a bit dim.
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Sir,
Be mindful that the SSI is not “earned” but issued. There isn’t really anything that can be done unless you want to pursue stolen valor but even that in and of itself is hard to prove. You need to be 100% certain the questioned soldier was not in fact in an area designated for combat operation. I am authorized a SSI even though my SRB shows an operational deployment.
Be mindful that the SSI is not “earned” but issued. There isn’t really anything that can be done unless you want to pursue stolen valor but even that in and of itself is hard to prove. You need to be 100% certain the questioned soldier was not in fact in an area designated for combat operation. I am authorized a SSI even though my SRB shows an operational deployment.
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SFC William Farrell
SSG (Join to see) - I was just going by this article as I was curious after reading your response. It says page not found but it comes up!https://www.army.mil/article/104894/soldiers_earn_emblem_of_combat#:~:text=The%20insignia%20is%20commonly%20called,for%2030%20days%20or%20more.
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SGM Jeff Mccloud
SFC William Farrell - The article is mistaken, the operation that authorized it must have been longer than 30 days. The Soldier just has to land in country.
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CW3 Kevin Storm
Counseling statement with corrective action with a statement to the effect of "continued actions of this kind can and will result in actions under the UCMJ. Next time they do it, release the Kraken on his butt.
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See my comment to 1LT Richard Lesher below. Additionally, while attending PNCOC/CA at Ft Sherman, RP at the end of '83 I had the distinct displeasure of encountering a TAC NCO whom we all believed to be a SSG. This guy was so obnoxious I had to talk myself out of kicking his ass a minimum of three times a day. Turns out he was actually a SP5 who wanted to be a SSG. IIRC, he was court martialed for this. If these guys had half as much brains as they do balls they'd be unstoppable.
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I had a PSG that wore a fake Ranger Ribbon in the 1980's on Active Duty and was caught via records check. He went AWOL after he heard the records check was comming. So I have no idea what the punishment would be, he didn't stick around to find out. But I would expect there is punishment that is fairly severe otherwise he wouldn't have run like that.
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SPC Erich Guenther
SPC Elijah J. Henry, MBA - Ranger tab on the shoulder. It is actually is a ribbon if you look closely at the image though it is referred to as a tab.
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SPC Elijah J. Henry, MBA
SPC Erich Guenther - your doubling down makes me doubly confused. Ribbons are one thing. Tabs are another. I've seen many of both things in person, not just images, and the Ranger Tab is clearly a Tab. It is clearly not a ribbon.
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SPC Erich Guenther
SPC Elijah J. Henry, MBA - Nevermind officially it is a tab for the school and scroll for the unit. I interpret the scroll more as a ribbon in imagery but I guess it is the Army's call.
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SPC Elijah J. Henry, MBA
SPC Erich Guenther - now, I understand. I earned the Scroll, but not the Tab.
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Is this a case of someone who has deployed, but is wearing a different patch than who he deployed in support of?
Or a Soldier who has never deployed, wearing a patch?
Either way, I would have that face to face conversation, and let them walk themselves into a corner. People like that can not handle face to face confrontation.
Or a Soldier who has never deployed, wearing a patch?
Either way, I would have that face to face conversation, and let them walk themselves into a corner. People like that can not handle face to face confrontation.
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Yes. I had a Sgt report in after DS with quite a rack of ribbons. No problem with that as it was fairly common then. Except he had a PUC, CAR and gold jump wings. I didn't add up. I was checking out to deploy, but passed it on to BN XO. Found later he only rated NDSM, had a buddy in S1 put them in his SRB on Okinawa. He took a bust to LCpl at a court martial.
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Do you know for a fact that it was an overt act or could it have been a mistake of what he thought was authorized? A lot of units (and leaders) mistakenly think they are authorized to wear a patch by virtue of being attached to a unit, while in reality most times they are not.
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CW2 (Join to see)
I know exactly where you're coming from, but this is not the case with this individual.
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MSG (Join to see)
unless the rules changed from 08 i thought that you could only wear the patch of the assigned unit not the unit of attachment
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CW4 Keith Dolliver
MSG (Join to see) - That's still true about 99% of the time. If you deploy as a Company element or larger than you wear the patch of the unit you are assigned to, however if you deploy as part of an element smaller than a company, for example, Detachment, Platoon, Team, or IA then you wear the patch of the unit to which you are attached.
I will speak from personal experience, however, and say that every CDR wants you to show that you're a part of their team, even if you're not technically allowed to wear their patch. When our BN was attached to 101, the BDE Commander we were attached to visited our FOB to welcome the unit and show us we were part of the team. In front of the whole Battalion, he presented our Battalion CDR and CSM with the 101 Patch and told the Battalion that we were authorized to wear it. Of course, we weren't actually authorized to wear it, but also, of course, the Battalion CDR and CSM aren't going to turn down the patch in front of the BDE CDR. So they accepted it and after the BDE Cdr left the BC and CSM told the Battalion that we were actually not allowed to wear the patch. But now the entire Battalion has personally seen and heard the O-6 say we could wear 101st patch and now there's an O-5 telling them they can't... even though that's the right answer, who are you going to believe?
I will speak from personal experience, however, and say that every CDR wants you to show that you're a part of their team, even if you're not technically allowed to wear their patch. When our BN was attached to 101, the BDE Commander we were attached to visited our FOB to welcome the unit and show us we were part of the team. In front of the whole Battalion, he presented our Battalion CDR and CSM with the 101 Patch and told the Battalion that we were authorized to wear it. Of course, we weren't actually authorized to wear it, but also, of course, the Battalion CDR and CSM aren't going to turn down the patch in front of the BDE CDR. So they accepted it and after the BDE Cdr left the BC and CSM told the Battalion that we were actually not allowed to wear the patch. But now the entire Battalion has personally seen and heard the O-6 say we could wear 101st patch and now there's an O-5 telling them they can't... even though that's the right answer, who are you going to believe?
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