Guardsmen receive combat patch, mark first month as advisers in Helmand

Photo By Maj. Kay Nissen | A member of the Army National Guard 38th Infantry Division receives his combat patch during a ceremony in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2017. Guardsmen who received their combat patch hail from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, Michigan and Tennessee and their primary role in theater has been to train, advise and assist Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. (NATO photo by Kay M. Nissen)  

HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

03.12.2017

Story by OF-2 Kay Nissen 

Resolute Support Headquarters

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Soldiers from the Army National Guard’s 38th Infantry Division received their combat unit patch, marking 30 days as part of the train, advise, assist mission with Task Force Forge here, March 10-12, 2017.

Forty-six guardsmen received the 1st Cavalry Division Patch in a ceremony which confirmed their status as combat veterans supporting the NATO Resolute Support mission and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

“Today we are being conferred the right to forever wear, as a symbol of wartime service, the patch of the 1st Cavalry Division,” said Lt. Col. Michael Grundman, 38th ID commander. “I can’t think of a more fitting way to recognize these citizen soldiers whose own lineage now merges with our Task Force Forge teammates.”

The U.S. Army is the only military service that authorizes a soldier to wear the unit patch of a wartime element on their uniform as part of a tradition which draws its roots from the revolutionary war.

Guardsmen who received their combat patch hail from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, Michigan and Tennessee. Their primary role in theater has been to train, advise and assist Afghan National Defense and Security Forces to provide a more stable and secure Afghanistan.

• Date Taken: 03.12.2017
• Date Posted: 03.13.2017 04:02
• Story ID: 226609
• Location: HELMAND PROVINCE, AF