Posted on Sep 26, 2015
Can you wear your Marine unit patch as an Army combat patch if you deployed with the Marines? Policy appears to say no.
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Are there any other former Marines turned Army who don't agree with this ? (Have to look like a boot LT until I deploy with the Army)
Deployment
Combat Patch (SSI-FWTS)
DA Pam 670-1
Uniforms
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 257
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My Guard unit was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and we were assigned to the 1st Mar Div since they didn't have nearly enough transportation assets to keep them supplied. We were with them for 6 months and as a result we were authorized to wear the 1st Mar Div patch and the Navy PUC that the division earned.
However, if you were deployed as a Marine and transferred to the Army, you are not allowed to wear any Marine patches. I do believe you are authorized to wear any ribbons earned while you were a Marine, though.
However, if you were deployed as a Marine and transferred to the Army, you are not allowed to wear any Marine patches. I do believe you are authorized to wear any ribbons earned while you were a Marine, though.
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The answer is no, as many here, and the AR and ALARACT said.
Drink water, move out, draw fire.
Drink water, move out, draw fire.
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SPC Patrick Chandler
This is only a partially correct answer. If assigned to a unit company level or higher (meaning a Marine unit company level or higher) the answer is no. Assigned as an individual, yes. I believe there are a few other extenuating circumstances however I do not have the regulation in front of me to reference.
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I just answered a similar post. We had an exchange officer from Ft. Lewis Wa. serving with us in the 1st Marine Division during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I asked him about combat patch and he said AR prohibited it at that time.
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Maj (Join to see)
I don't know about this. When I was at Ft Knox, I saw plenty of officers wearing the 1st MarDiv patch.
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Even in the older version of AR-670-1, there were certain Army units assigned to the Marines in WW-II who were authorized to wear the Marine division patch on their right sleeve. Many of us who were Army & assigned to the Marines in combat take huge pride in that fact. My unit has a letter from the 1st MARDIV saying we could wear their patch for combat service in Fallujah. The first battle of Fallujah was commanded by the Marines had only a handful of Army units assigned to them at the time. The Army still hasn't made a plain & simple rule about it. The Marine HQ would have cleared this up 15 years ago.
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The 1st Brigade (Tiger Brigade) of the 2nd Armored Division, was attached to us (2nd Marine Division) during Desert Storm. From what I saw later on a Soldier's uniform, the 2nd Mar Div patch, they were allowed to wear them because they were under Administrative and Command control of the Marine Division. If they were simply just fighting along side us in the same vicinity, they would have not been able to wear them. I was in the Division HQ after the war was over, on rear-party, and I remember a request coming across some Colonel's desk which was a request for Navy Achievement Medals for EVERY one of the soldiers that served with the Marine Division. I remember what he said, and he pretty much went like this...."If everyone of my Marines does not get a medal, I'll be damned if everyone of these soldiers is going to get one from us!!". It was an interesting situation to say the least!!
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Sir, my question to you is why is this so important now being that your in the Army to wear a combat patch, but while you were in the Marines this wasn't the slightest of problems because DEVIL DOGS don't wear them.
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SPC Patrick Chandler
Yes, one person says they wear combat patches to puff their chest and suddenly anyone who wears one is doing it for that exact reason. Are you also the type of person who sees some dust on a table and suddenly has to clean the ENTIRE house?
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SFC (Join to see)
SPC Patrick Chandler - SPC a question was asked, if you're not going to answer the question you shouldn't comment. Especially if the question was aimed at you in the first place. But to answer your question, yes I do clean the entire house if I see dust on my Kitchen table because that's the last place you should ever see dirty in a home, so that would tell me that the rest of the house could pontentially be in need of a little TLC.
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SPC Patrick Chandler
SFC the point was that there are more reasons people wear combat patches in the Army than to "stand out and feel special". SFC Giles has consistently displayed some sort of disdain for anyone who wears one, on nearly every reply he has made to the original question.
Speaking strictly as a soldier, we take pride in our combat patches. Different traditions for a different branch. You take pride in your Eagle Globe and Anchor, because that is a physical representation of everything you are as a Marine, in addition to your awards on your class A's. As a soldier, more importantly as a soldier who has deployed to a combat zone and not just overseas, a combat patch is a representation of everything experienced during that tour, the blood, sweat, and tears shared with your brothers and sisters in arms, the victories, and yes the defeats, the entire experience, is represented in that combat patch. Yes it is a point of pride, as it should be. Wearing a combat patch also builds esprit de corps, especially so among combat arms units with long histories (101st, 92nd, 75th FA Bde [now FIRES Bde], 4th ID etc.) These patches represent our units history, our parts played in that history, and we take pride in them for all the reasons I have just listed, and more. THAT is why we wear them. Not because of some jaded half understood reason that SFC Giles has consistently stated. I say this with all due respect, but he is wrong.
Speaking strictly as a soldier, we take pride in our combat patches. Different traditions for a different branch. You take pride in your Eagle Globe and Anchor, because that is a physical representation of everything you are as a Marine, in addition to your awards on your class A's. As a soldier, more importantly as a soldier who has deployed to a combat zone and not just overseas, a combat patch is a representation of everything experienced during that tour, the blood, sweat, and tears shared with your brothers and sisters in arms, the victories, and yes the defeats, the entire experience, is represented in that combat patch. Yes it is a point of pride, as it should be. Wearing a combat patch also builds esprit de corps, especially so among combat arms units with long histories (101st, 92nd, 75th FA Bde [now FIRES Bde], 4th ID etc.) These patches represent our units history, our parts played in that history, and we take pride in them for all the reasons I have just listed, and more. THAT is why we wear them. Not because of some jaded half understood reason that SFC Giles has consistently stated. I say this with all due respect, but he is wrong.
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SFC (Join to see)
SPC Patrick Chandler - SPEC, great points, but we are speaking on why this LT wants to wear one so bad that he earned in the Marines while serving, even though he would never be able to wear one as a Devil dog, but being a Soldier it's causing a riff. I understand the Army makes a big deal about combat patches because it gives a sense of pride, and so much more, but if you're not allowed to wear something as a soldier I think you drive on knowing to yourself that you e done it and that the patches don't define that. That's my point.
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I was deployed with the Army reserves to a FOB in Iraq that just switched hands from Army 3rd ID, to Marine 2nd MEF... Because of the change of responsibility, we no longer fell under 3rd ID, and so weren't authorized to wear 3rd ID's patch, but were authorized to wear 2nd MEF. So basically, there is an Army Reserve unit with authorization to wear a Marine Corp combat patch. How does that sit with you?
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SFC Richard Giles
PFC Watkins can you please proof read before you hit the send button. It's not Corp, like a Cooperation. It's CORPS as in MARINE CORPS. It's just a sore spot with me, just take it as constructive criticism.
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SGT Jason Herbert
yeah pfc, what you thinking. Your official rally point status will go down for grammatical errors and you'll get no dessert put on your meal card. privates these days, amaright or amaright?
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PFC LeKendyl Watkins
My apologies SFC Giles, I'm typically much more of a grammar nazi myself, but found myself rushed to finish typing.
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SPC Patrick Chandler
Don't mind SFC Giles, anything will set him off. Examples include, but are not limited to smiles, sunshine, things that build morale, left handed people, 1 day old human beings, anything that has, does, or will exist on the face of, below the surface of, or in orbit around, the planet Earth.
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My understanding is, if you were in an Army unit attached to the USMC, then you're authorized to wear the Marine patch as your Combat Service Identification Badge. At least that was the reg when i was in Fallujah. The regulation may have changed since then.
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I deployed in 05 06 with the 28 inf div “the bloody bucket” the marines authorized their patch to be worn as a combat patch as a combat patch not a unit patch we lost a lot of personnel on that deployment so the patch became a symbol of pride because it was a really rough fucking deployment It became a symbol of were you were at The Sunni triangle at the most violent time of the war not some fucking I want to be a Marine bullshit we also earned 2 Navy unit citations from the 1rst and 2nd MAR DIV I am proud to have served under the Marines at that time but believe me we were never ashamed of the The keystone patch.
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