Bo Burks

DAY 84 (H -281)

Welcome to my diary as a soldier deployed in the Global War on Terror

The military has a very long history of symbols and heraldry.  The army in particular uses uniform devices to show associations and qualifications. Medals on the chest are the most recognizable symbols, but to those of us on the inside, patches tell a lot.

Left shoulder patches show what unit you belong to. Your patch tells other soldiers, generally, what you do and where you’re from.  Army patches, even in peacetime, intimate a definite pecking order. For example, the 7^th Armored Combat Regiment patch garners more respect than the 1^st Theater Sustainment Command. The killers, as they should, get the nod.

The next hierarchy and the most important these days, is the combat patch. This patch is worn on the right shoulder and tells everyone you have served in a combat zone. When I enlisted in 1986, about five percent of soldiers had a combat patch. These guys were older and veterans from Vietnam.  A few more earned combat patches during the “Gulf War” in 1990. Today, as a result of nine years at war, about ninety five percent of soldiers have a combat patch. If you’re one of the five percent, you stick out in a bad way.

Combat patches are awarded after thirty days in a combat zone. I got mine this week. That’s a milestone and something that fulfills a career.  As mentioned before, a lot of my unit already had combat patches. This tour just gives them another option or two to wear. 

I’m very proud of my patch, what it means, what it represents, and who it says I belong to. But even with over twenty year’s service and a lot of rank, I don’t see my patch the same as others. The 20 year old sun burned private with the torn uniform and the shaggy hair; when I pass him on the street, his patch trumps mine. I know where he’s been and I know how he earned it.

So I finally joined an elite club, but even within that group, we recognize some patches carry more weight than others; rightfully so.

Thanks for following,

Bo

Remember and pray for the families and those with a patch that stand in the gap, even when our country’s leaders say they can’t even have a beer.