The 1st Sustaiment Brigade has recently changed its patch to the Big Red 1. Does my combat patch changed as well? Where would I find out?

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 14:52:04 -0400

Response by 1SG Patrick Burke made Jun 5 at 2016 4:03 PM

1SG Patrick Burke — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 16:03:27 -0400

Your combat patch will remain the same. Think of it as a whole unit PCS...

Response by CPT Joseph K Murdock made Jun 5 at 2016 5:28 PM

CPT Joseph K Murdock — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 17:28:27 -0400

I have never heard of retroactively changing a patch.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 5 at 2016 5:31 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 17:31:53 -0400

I am in the 1st sustainment brigade and those who went on deployments prior to the changeover still wear the small shield and sword. If you have deployed since the change then you would wear the BRO patch

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Jun 5 at 2016 7:47 PM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 19:47:41 -0400

Your combat patch remains the one you supported during the war!

Response by SGT Shawn Schweinberg made Jun 6 at 2016 1:03 AM

SGT Shawn Schweinberg — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 01:03:37 -0400

No your combat patch stays as it is. Your patch reflects your service in whatever unit you were with at the time. If unit changes Divisions after that then the only thing that changes is your unit patch.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 7 at 2016 6:59 AM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 06:59:03 -0400

My best guess would be the unit history and deployment date. Because your deployment date was let's say 2013 and the unit was wearing a shoulder sleeve insignia of _______. That means you wear the insignia of that time period.

An example would be coscom, long time ago they werent airborne, then they were, now they're 1st TSC. People who deployed with them while they had the airborne designator would wear the tab. People who deployed with them prior to that or after that period would wear the patch minus the airborne tab.

Response by SFC John Hill made Jun 7 at 2016 10:43 AM

SFC John Hill — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 10:43:31 -0400

The Chief of Staff, Army must approve the authorization for wearing the SSI for FWTS. So whatever authorized unit you were in at the time is the SSI you may wear. I always received paperwork authorizing me to wear the SSI for FWTS.

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Jun 7 at 2016 10:48 AM

LTC Paul Labrador — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 10:48:15 -0400

As others have stated, your combat patch will remain whatever patch you earned while downrange. Unit patches change all the time, if your unit reflags, or transfers to under a different HQ. When I was with the 14th CSH, we were under the 44th MED when we were downrange. When we got home, we were realigned under a new higher HQ, the 1st MED, so we switched patches....but the 44th MED patch we earned downrange stayed.

Response by LTC Nathaniel Balentine made Jun 7 at 2016 11:14 AM

LTC Nathaniel Balentine — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 11:14:09 -0400

No, keep your original patch. You can change if you go to combat with the Big Red 1

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 7 at 2016 1:06 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 13:06:52 -0400

Two of my patches are for commands that no longer exist. I can wear them because, at the time of my deployments, I served under them. If you didn't serve under the Big Red 1 while deployed, you don't wear it.

Response by MAJ Hugh Blanchard made Jun 7 at 2016 1:44 PM

MAJ Hugh Blanchard — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 13:44:06 -0400

No. Your combat patch remains the same, even if the unit is deactivated. GEN Colin Powell wore the patch of the 23rd Inf Div (the Americal Division) on his right shoulder even though that unit had been deactivated for several years before he retired.

Response by LTC Stephen Franke made Jun 7 at 2016 3:58 PM

LTC Stephen Franke — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 15:58:52 -0400

Dear Sergeant (P) Haase (congratulations also on your selection),

Greetings.
Ref your good query.

Was that 1st Sustainment Brigade during that creditable service [1] a separate and "stand alone" unit or [2] an assigned, organic subordinate element of the 1st ID (M)?

If [1] applies, then the answer is no for designated combat service; the patch authorized for that recognized period remains unchanged, per my read and recall of the AR when I was an Adjutant/S1.

If that brigade has since been integrated ([2], but for the present) into the 1st ID (M) force structure, then the Big Red One shoulder patch would apply for the next creditable period of service in a declared eminent danger / wartime zone.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
(LTC, US Army Retired)
San Pedro, California
(Fort Riley -- especially the Custer Hill area -- remains sharp in my memory,
as BRO was my unit for BCT as an E-1 many, many years back)

Response by 1SG Rick Ochoa made Jun 7 at 2016 4:45 PM

1SG Rick Ochoa — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 16:45:31 -0400

Your right shoulder patch or combat patch (SSIFWS shoulder sleeve Insignia former wartime service) represents your personal history of service in a combat/ hostile fire pay zone. Thus it basically reflects what you wore on your left shoulder at the time when you were in the combat zone. Don't make it complicated! Over the years many units will get realigned, have different designations or even become disbanded. If your former unit got disbanded, would you take off the patch? I didn't think so!
Wear it with pride and be glad you came back alive.

Response by MSG Don Burt made Jun 7 at 2016 6:50 PM

MSG Don Burt — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 18:50:35 -0400

Check with your Quartermaster section and/or Supply.

Response by MAJ F. Patrick Filbert made Jun 7 at 2016 9:09 PM

MAJ F. Patrick Filbert — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 21:09:41 -0400

Given 1st Sustainment Brigade is in direct lineage to the 1st Infantry Division's Division Support Command (DISCOM), the shift back to the Big Red One patch makes sense. However, as has already been noted, whatever unit you were with for combat is the SSI/patch you wear.

Response by SFC Timothy Reynolds made Jun 8 at 2016 11:20 AM

SFC Timothy Reynolds — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 11:20:32 -0400

The answer should be found in 670-1 or some other regulation. Not sure what the answer is off the top of my head.

Response by SGT David Petree made Jun 8 at 2016 12:13 PM

SGT David Petree — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 12:13:25 -0400

Combat Patch stays the same !! Only the Unit patch changes.. it`s in the AR`s.

Response by SSG Robert Albright made Jun 8 at 2016 7:43 PM

SSG Robert Albright — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 19:43:40 -0400

No; Shoulder Sleeve Insignia For Wartime Service are from on the unit you served in while you were there. The SSI shouldn't change because the unit has been redesignated. I earned my first one with the 3rd/325th Aiborne in the first Gulf War which wore the SETAF SSI. It has since been redesignated as the 173rd but that doesn't mean that I would have been authorized to wear the new unit patch as an SSIFWS.

Response by SGT Scott Banks made Jun 10 at 2016 10:01 AM

SGT Scott Banks — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 10:01:32 -0400

from my expierience, your combat patch does not change. as a former soldier, i was a member of the 18th airborne/aviation and upon my return my unit was disbanded but was still allowed to wear the 18th airborne patch as my combat patch.

Response by LTC Stephen Franke made Aug 12 at 2021 1:14 AM

LTC Stephen Franke — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 01:14:58 -0400

Greetings.

Your combat service shoulder patch is good and valid.
Hang in there and advise anyone who questions that matter to refer to the AR, which DA-level reference the S1 shops in most US Army units -- at all levels -- usually have on on file and available for examination and helpful clarification.

HTH. Today is Wednesday, 11 August 2021.

Regards to ALCON in this thread.

Stephen H. Franke
LTC, US Army Retired
San Pedro, California