Should the Army do away with Patches and go to one universal Symbol like the Marines EGA?

I dont think this has anything to do with the Marines, (Former Marine here) but I would bet this has more to do with the Army hating to recognize achievement. When they gave berets away to all units instead of ones that earned a special badge of recognition , that was the first step. Why have a badass lightning bolt on your sleeve or some cool jump wings on your uniform when other troops (or officers) feelings get hurt. Everyone gets a participation trophy and there can be no achievers or else someone gets offended.

The Army uniform has become overburden with too much stuff. The combat patch especially has caused a rift between the Haves and Have Not's. The military from day one teaches to work as a team, be as one and think as one. I would agree that the combat patch should stay on the dress uniforms.

As someone with a connection on both sides, I did my active duty with the Marines and then transitioned to the Army Guard, my opinion is this. The Marines for a very brief time did have patches, this was during WW2 hence why each Marine Division has a unit patch. However the Marines specific reasoning to go back to no patches was the idea that, unlike the Army, a single Marine should have identity and fidelity to the Corps. Hence the EGA being the image and symbol of the Marines, and we'll it works we are Marines throughout and have loyalty to our common bond. For the Army unit patches make sense especially given the diverse history of the Army as a whole, we have units that represent major shifts in military doctrine and that legacy SHOULD be identifiable in the men and women that serve in these units. From divisions like 1st CAV, 82nd Airborne, 10th Mountian, even reserve and guard divisons such as the 34TH ID each was form during a shift in doctrine and holds it place in American history. Patches as another comment or mentioned offers a recruiter the chance to talk about the thing that are unique to the Army as a total force.

There's a lot of tradition embodied in the Army unit patches. USAF doesn't wear much in the way of unit designations except for Service HQ and Unified Command badges. The key is Army people knowing enough about their unit to explain what the patch means in terms civilians can understand. If you're part of the 82nd Airborne, you need to know why the patch as two "A's" in it. Every Soldier should have an "elevator speech" about his or her unit ready all the time.

The Marine Corpse is much smaller than the Army. Patches started in the Civil War. Their purpose was to identify which unit a person was in and grew to be a morale builder. Troops were proud of the accomplishments of their unit. So eleminating them would have the opposite effect.
I served in the Air Force No unit atches on our dress uniforms but we have ways to show membership in elete units. CCT scarlet beret, PJs in Maroon, TACP in dark Blue, bloused Jump Boots etc.

As a USAF vet (‘64-‘68), I believed that the Air Force should have kept its Army heritage and worn shoulder patches of major commands to distinguish the uniform from that of Greyhound.

We aren’t the marines, keep the patches!

NO

F you go Army

I think that is a poor reason to get rid of patches, just to avoid a question that they will ask regardless of a patch. I do however think we should put Battalion or company affiliated patches on our right shoulder to promot Esprit De Corp. I understand that some or most people will disagree because they like their deployment patch, but I feel that it will help the newer and younger Soldiers feel more a part of the team. What do you guys think? Give me a thumbs up if you agree.