According to a story in Stars and Stripes about a new Air Assault School being started at Fort Bragg, NC: “In the 1980s and ’90s, few soldiers wore coveted combat patches on the right shoulder of their uniforms. Soldiers would dream of earning the honor while they would ‘train, train, train,'” said Command Sgt. Maj. Isaia T. Vimoto. He said that after 9/11, soldiers had numerous opportunities to earn combat patches in Iraq and Afghanistan, but “those days are coming to a screeching halt.” Even so, “the air assault badge worn on the left side of the chest can become a source of pride for soldiers,” he said.
As one veteran put it to me: “This really means that soldiers dream of going into combat, killing people and destroying things, as well as putting their own lives at risk, just to have a neat patch to wear on their right shoulders, something to show off to their pals.” Thanks to TM.
7:17 pm on November 14, 2013
