Should we remove combat patches to be sensitive to those who don't have them?

Combat patches are earned people should be able to wear them with pride

I wasn't in the Army, I was Air Force.

I was injured in the line of duty incident. While it would have been cool to ge a purple heart, I was not injured in combat. Does that mean that I should be offended by service members who received a Purple Heart? HELL NO! Those individuals EARNED the patches and medals they wear. These crybabies need to to STFU

If someone is such a wuss that seeing the patches is offensive, they are too stupid and self-centered to be in the military

The use of a combat patch has nothing to do with a new recruit feeling left out. Feelings have nothing to do with it, if that were the case then lets take away every MSM because not everyone has one and we dont want them to FEEL left out.

These new Soldiers didnt go through what the rest of the unit went through to earn that combat patch. They just need to grow up and be more though-skinned. Just my opinion.

Hell no! Soldiers identify through out their careers by patches. Everyone, if they are committed and serve will have some patch. If You want whine you don't have patches then get out and be a civilian.

This story gets circulated a lot, and I'm pretty sure it's fake. Someone probably made it up just to give sm's a reason to thrash new recruits.

I say they earned them yet some get the privilage even if no where close to any action. First responders see a different action such as EMS, Firemen , Military police, that take several risks and injuries but no recognition. Officers all get things for just passing gas and say yes sir. Air Force can join and go from Basic Training to a thirty year retirement at that same base never having left the base ever. Being up to a senior grade and a chest full of ribbon s and for what? The spouse going to the tea his wife the commanders have had. Making it to morning coffee and every group gathering for afternoon drinks. There are very few that actually do much of anything worth while.

I was a Paratrooper, would they take that away as well?? WHINERS??!! Grow a life!!

Wait...what?! How is this a thing? What's next, feeling left out for qualifying marksman instead of expert?

What next?! Force jump qualified soldiers on Ft. Bragg not to wear their jump wings because there are some "legs" on post? How ludicrous!

When I was an E nothing nothing gave me more motivation than seeing those who return from battle with honors. Absolutely not the place to worry about someones feeling these are the things the military strengthens because feelings will get you killed.

Your feelings do not override the regulations, I didn't see combat until my 19th year in the military whereas a lot of my peers did and there was no crying involved. Wait your turn just like everybody else if you didn't participate you don't wear one it's as simple as that.

Absolutely ridiculous. This is how the military works. Don't like it? You should not have signed up. What kind of stupid reduction of military tradition, code, ethics, standard, regulatory guidance is this coming to?

This is all summed up in one word: "Stupid."

Most stupid thing I've heard lately. Better break out the pink berets.

They should remove those without a combat patch, that way they'll be sensitive towards those of us that earned the right to wear a combat patch.

That has got to be one of the most ludicrous requests I have ever read. If I were required to take off everything I wear on my uniform, just because some other Soldier doesn't have the same experience that I do, I would have a blank uniform, with a single rainbow ribbon to show I graduated from Basic.
The uniform tells your story, it shows others what they could aspire to, or give them goals. It's motivation.
Now, if you ask me whether a Soldier who spent his entire deployment in Kuwait during OIF/OEF, should remove his/her combat patch??? I would say damn straight.

Are we seriously going to entertain the participation award and everyone gets a trophy era? It isn't enough they receive the National Defense ribbon just for coming in the Army during the conflict, now they cry because we earned a patch on our right shoulder for actually deploying to said conflict areas. Looks like I retired at the right time. I hope SMA Daily is looking into this.

I see this an old post but for reason RallyPoint included in an email but it cannot be true , No details are included to assist in corroborating this. The story is designed to get people angry for no reason and looking at this it worked. Why would Rallypoint promote this. The suggestion is that today's soldiers are not as tough as we were years ago and I know some young soldiers and they are as much soldiers as we ever were. When I joined in the 80's and served in the 101'st so many of my sergeants and officers served in Viet Nam and had combat patches and numerous other medals and I or any other new soldiers never had any problem with that in fact It made us proud to serve under them and relieved that when we deployed for war we had leaders that had experience in combat and knew the gravity of their decisions. I would never actually see combat but I did deploy in a war mission years later "Desert Storm" and even though I knew I might see combat I felt good that so many in charge of my unit had those patches as I knew I had the best chance of getting through it with them. If you are authorized to wear a combat patch wear it proud and know it makes new recruits feel better not worse.

No.

There's an easy fix for not having a combat patch!

The patch maybe the only award for combat service that some earn. Not all service gets a service ribbon, or a CIB.