Photo By Michael Curtis | Troops wear a wide assortment of insignia, ribbons, medals, badges, tabs and patches...... read more read more
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -Troops wear a wide assortment of insignia, ribbons, medals, badges, tabs and patches — but, what do they really mean?
“Throughout the history of our Army, units have used distinctive uniforms, insignia, colors or accoutrements to represent their special skills. Likewise, we use flags, banners and guidons to rally our troops in combat and in ceremonies. It is as important today as it was in colonial times for units to have symbols to represent their unique skills and serve to unify them,” said Col. John Riley, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence G3 Operations, Plans and Training officer.
To outsiders, the emblems may seem perplexing. Each device is a symbol of a service member’s accomplishment — or that of his or her unit — and is a great source of pride.
This stands true of the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence shoulder sleeve insignia and distinctive unit insignia.
“Our MSCoE patch is a representation of the unity we have in our Maneuver Support skills and abilities here at Fort Leonard Wood,” Riley said. “While the Army has taken steps over the past decade to ensure our Soldiers and leaders are adaptive and agile — able to do a multitude of tasks — it is still important for us to leverage our specialized skills in order to make our Army successful when technical expertise is necessary to overcome an obstacle or an adversary.”
He wears the shoulder sleeve insignia on his uniform, and said he is proud of the work he has done and continues to do as a member of MSCoE.
“For me, the MSCoE SSI represents membership in a command whose mission is to train our experts in the Engineer, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nulcear, and Military Police technical skills and the Army profession,” Riley said. “I am honored to be able to leverage my experience in the Army to ensure our soldiers are ready to serve around the world in response to any incident or in combat.”
According to Riley, the SSI is worn on the Army Combat Uniform and the DUI is worn on the Army Green or Class A uniform, which is being phased out, and on the beret of enlisted personnel.
“The DUI carries that same symbolism. The motto ‘Victory Through Skill’ carries with it the implied task for members of the MSCoE staff to train skilled professionals,” Riley said.
Sgt. Andrew Lee, 2013 Fort Leonard Wood Soldier of the Year, said the motto on the distinctive unit insignia means the most to him.
“To me it means we at MSCoE have the most skilled soldiers and that is why we are victorious. If you are skilled at your job and everyone else around you is skilled at their particular job everyone comes together and the job gets done, while upholding the standard and that is victory,” Lee said.
He is proud to wear the insignias and said he thinks it is important for MSCoE to have it’s own insignias.
“We represent a bigger picture and that is the support of all the soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen here at Fort Leonard Wood. When people see our insignia they should automatically think of excellence and support,” Lee said.
When using the MSCoE patch or crest in a presentation, flyer or other electronic or printed material, the MSCoE should appear on the right-hand side of the display with the Army logo appearing first and prominent on the left-hand side. Both MSCoE patch or crest and Army logo should be nearly equal in size, officials said.
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 10.29.2013 09:00 |
| Story ID: | 115878 |
| Location: | FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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