Is wearing a combat patch required? Did you feel you earned it in a support MOS?

Damn. That takes courage to say. Usually it's support MOS that always want what the Infantry Soldier earns. They always have to say-"if it weren't for us you couldn't do what you do." To which I reply,"do you know what the first job was in the US Army? Infantry, and do you know the second? Payroll, and do you know the third? Quartermaster, because in the beginning we did do it all. It worked out just fine for the time being. It was everyone else that suffered when we would have to acquisition what we needed from the locals, but no matter what we got it done."

Wearing a Combat Patch should be seen as an honor, no matter your contribution. You were maintenance without you doing your job could the warfighters do their jobs? Never downplay your contribution to your unit's mission. You should be especially proud to wear it to honor those that paid the ultimate sacrifice in performance of that mission. I wear the Big Red One and will never take it off based off of my contribution and to honor my 10 fallen comrades.

Call it a deplyment patch. That covers the time you were away and the environment you served in without implying actual combat.

Be proud of your Service. And anyone who tries to belittle it...they have a problem...not you. In the Military you don't even have to go to Combat to face fears you wouldn't in a Civilian Job...and in Civilian life NOT doing your job usually doesn't put someone else's life on the line. Every MOS has a purpose and a mission, and the ones who had to fight, didn't get there by walking. Someone brought their ammo, their food, and their way in...or out. And they kept those birds flying, ships sailing, tanks and trucks rolling.

And God forbid someone in Combat got wounded...the trail from the Battlefield to Walter Reed is covered with folks who saw more blood and gore than mosts battle hardened Combat Veterans---and they served too. We were a team. In Peace Time you were training for when the Sh*t hit the fan, in wartime you went into the areas where the fan was.
And thank God for all the experience men and women in all Fields who passed their hard earned experience on. Honor. Duty. Country. You covered all three.

I am Non Combat. And proud that I served. My brother is a Purple Heart Winner, and Bronze Star too...and he is proud of me. My other Brother was Navy...and kept the stuff going to Nam in ship shape (Pardon the pun) and I sat on guard duty on the Czech Border knowing they had fifty tank battalions, and we had...us. You can get scared just thinking about what could happen. Fear isn't restricted to Combat.

They just had to face their fear and carry on...and in a much smaller way...everyone of us had to do the same. Thousands of miles from home, in a country you weren't born in, doesn't speak your language, and have your customs...is a sacrifice. And that is why we all say: "All gave some, and some gave all. "

And we know the difference.

I have one for serving in Iraq in the Surge, My brother has one for Kuwait and Iraq in OIF-1, he doesn't however have one for his 6 monthes in Kosovo in 2000-2001 when his unit actually recieved sniper fire!!!!

It is up to you if you want to wear it or not. I wear mine and I never really was in actual combat, even though I went outside the wire and sat through a few rocket attacks. like many others. I just lets people know I was deployed. I would wear it if I were you.

Regular Army it might be a unit SOP. I was an Engineer when I deployed and performed a variety of combat support ops. In addition we always had convoys going from Ramadi to Baghdad all the time so I did a good amount of convoy security. On several convoys we were hit by IEDs and engaged the enemy. I am authorized 3 different patches and a Valorous Unit Award.

Many miles and hours on the roads in Iraq sometimes taking contact, close calls with IDF. As an 88m at the time, I would say I earned my combat patches.

So I am a 19K M1 Armor Crewman and I was deployed three times in support of OIF. You are not required to wear your Shoulder Sleeve Insignia- Former Wartime Service by regulation. However, if you deployed with your current unit and they issued you an additional patch, your command can order you to wear it. As far as whether you earned it or not. If you served over 30 days in a combat zone then yes, you earned it. I can understand how you feel. I was awarded the CAB and PH. My injuries were not as severe as my comrades that have lost limbs and life to IED blasts and I didn't really feel like I ever earned them. I was doing my job. But as my CSM told me, you earned that and you may not appreciate it now but it matters.

Don't worry about what the high-speed say. Just wear your patch, bro. You were there. It's no one's fault if you didn't get into shit while you were there. Wear your patch. You were there.