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Some Interesting BDUs


Andrew
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For those who collect BDUs, here are a few interesting finds. Each of these came from thrift shops in Canada.

 

These two are from the same man, although the name tape is missing. These are the first jackets I have seen with the ram's head device. Also, I had never seen the mountian tab worn with any other shoulder patch besides the 10th Mountain Division. I would be interested in any feedback regarding the mountain tab.

 

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This one is pretty cool too - a USAF meteorological technician from 20th Air Supt Ops Sq with a 10th Mountain Division shoulder patch. I found this one near Fort Drum (no surprise there).

 

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Waw, the first one is amazing ! There're some interesting insignia !!! Never saw them before !

 

Here's what I found about this patch I never saw before :

 

The Ram's Head Device is a qualification badge awarded to any soldier after completion of the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School, based at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont. The device is also sometimes referred to as the "Princess Leia badge" due to its physical similarity with the Star Wars character.

 

From : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%27s_Head_Device

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The Air Force BDU is for an Airman assigned/attached to an Army unit...I had a friend in Bosnia who was a USAF combat weather woman who wore a 1st Infantry Division patch....when I was in the desert the first time, I wore a 7th Signal Brigade patch on my DCUs....ah, the joy of being the only Air Force guy in an Army unit....good times....goooooddddd times.....although, you can only wear the Army insignia while you're attached to that unit...once you go back to the Air Force, you have to take it off....

 

Mark sends

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Sometimes I feel like I'm one of only a few people who will collect BDUs so these are a real treat for me to see. Very nice finds for a thrift store and in Canada no less. Those are better than anything I've found here in California, BDU wise. I love those first two.

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Is the mountain tab worn by staff at the Army Mountain Warfare School? Could explain the first one.

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Greetings,

 

I've never seen the USA flag worn on the left sleeve. Seems a little odd.

 

Best,

 

Peter

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Further to your comment Peter, the flag is also irregular in dimension - it is not as wide as the standard reversed flag we usually find on the right sleeve of BDUs and DCUs.

 

The other jacket (with the Vermont NG patch) also had a flag on the left sleeve, but it had been removed at some point by the time I laid hands on the jacket. I can't tell if that jacket also had the First Army patch at some point where the NG patch is now sewn.

 

I seem to recall an earlier discussion somewhere on this forum with respect to flags being worn on the left versus right sleeve in cases where a reversed flag was not available.

 

Greetings,

 

I've never seen the USA flag worn on the left sleeve. Seems a little odd.

 

Best,

 

Peter

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Steven,

 

A lot of US military clothing finds it way to Canada through the rag/recycling trade (presumably the stuff was in someone's closet that got cleaned out and donated to Goodwill or the Salvation Army). Especially common are Ike jackets, 4-pocket tunics, EM wool shirts, Class A jackets, OG 107 fatigues, jungle fatigues (later versions), and BDUs. Navy jumpers are also relatively common, as are most generations of field jacket from M1943 forward. In fact, after finding about 6 different examples of M1943 field jackets and various trousers to match, I simply stopped buying them for lack of space. I recently found a nearly mint M1951 parka from 1953, complete with liner. Sage green flight clothing is very common lately. For a while DCUs were very common, but they seem to have dried up. I've also had good luck with ERDLs, including the slant pocket and straight pocket versions.

 

A

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I feel like I'm one of only a few people who will collect BDUs so these are a real treat for me to see. Very nice finds for a thrift store and in Canada no less. Those are better than anything I've found here in California, BDU wise. I love those first two.
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  • 1 year later...

Don't know if your still interested on that first jacket but I have a little first hand knowledge on the topic. The first army with the mountain tab is the 172nd infantry (mountain). "the army's only actual mountain battalion" yes more mountain than even the tenth mountain. Headquarters is based in Vermont at the mountain warfare school. The combat elements reside in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont as National Guard units. I am part of what was once Delta company 3-172 INF (mountain) now alpha company 1-182 INF. and we just returned from Afghanistan, hence why I haven't posted on the forum in a while. As far as the sew on rams head device we are one of the few units authorized to wear at all time the device awarded upon completion from mountain warfare in Jericho.

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flashesandovals
Don't know if your still interested on that first jacket but I have a little first hand knowledge on the topic. The first army with the mountain tab is the 172nd infantry (mountain). "the army's only actual mountain battalion" yes more mountain than even the tenth mountain. Headquarters is based in Vermont at the mountain warfare school. The combat elements reside in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont as National Guard units. I am part of what was once Delta company 3-172 INF (mountain) now alpha company 1-182 INF. and we just returned from Afghanistan, hence why I haven't posted on the forum in a while. As far as the sew on rams head device we are one of the few units authorized to wear at all time the device awarded upon completion from mountain warfare in Jericho.

I remember reading about that unit having an airborne component as well.

They were affiliated with the SETAF ABCT - this could explain the size and location of the flag which is the same as the one worn by SETAF members for the past 3 decades...

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Don't know if your still interested on that first jacket but I have a little first hand knowledge on the topic. The first army with the mountain tab is the 172nd infantry (mountain). "the army's only actual mountain battalion" yes more mountain than even the tenth mountain. Headquarters is based in Vermont at the mountain warfare school. The combat elements reside in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont as National Guard units. I am part of what was once Delta company 3-172 INF (mountain) now alpha company 1-182 INF. and we just returned from Afghanistan, hence why I haven't posted on the forum in a while. As far as the sew on rams head device we are one of the few units authorized to wear at all time the device awarded upon completion from mountain warfare in Jericho.

 

Thanks very much for sharing this information. I was actually just thinking about that BDU the other day. I collect a lot of BDUs, and am trying to assemble as much information on them as possible while memories are fresh.

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I remember reading about that unit having an airborne component as well.

They were affiliated with the SETAF ABCT - this could explain the size and location of the flag which is the same as the one worn by SETAF members for the past 3 decades...

 

Yes, come to think of it, I think I have a SETAF BDU with a similar flag.

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Don't know if your still interested on that first jacket but I have a little first hand knowledge on the topic. The first army with the mountain tab is the 172nd infantry (mountain). "the army's only actual mountain battalion" yes more mountain than even the tenth mountain. Headquarters is based in Vermont at the mountain warfare school. The combat elements reside in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont as National Guard units. I am part of what was once Delta company 3-172 INF (mountain) now alpha company 1-182 INF. and we just returned from Afghanistan, hence why I haven't posted on the forum in a while. As far as the sew on rams head device we are one of the few units authorized to wear at all time the device awarded upon completion from mountain warfare in Jericho.

Was your unit assigned to the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team? According to the Institute Of Heraldry, the "MOUNTAIN" tab is authorized for the 86th:

 

http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Heraldry...nit.aspx?u=7992

 

And according to this wikipedia entry, the 3/173nd Infantry is part of the 86th Brigade:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/86th_Infantry...nited_States%29

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Was your unit assigned to the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team? According to the Institute Of Heraldry, the "MOUNTAIN" tab is authorized for the 86th:

 

http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Heraldry...nit.aspx?u=7992

 

And according to this wikipedia entry, the 3/173nd Infantry is part of the 86th Brigade:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/86th_Infantry...nited_States%29

No a few year back after the unit returned from Iraq the mountain company was lost to Connecticut. It's alot of politics and brass who know brass (good ole boys club) and my company was kind of free floating for a while until the 26th ID picked us up and were now connected to Massachusetts alpha company 1-182 infantry. Around the same time the state lost its LRS unit and they are now C 1-143 INF (airborne) attached to Texas.

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  • 8 months later...

Waw, the first one is amazing ! There're some interesting insignia !!! Never saw them before !

 

Here's what I found about this patch I never saw before :

 

The Ram's Head Device is a qualification badge awarded to any soldier after completion of the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School, based at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont. The device is also sometimes referred to as the "Princess Leia badge" due to its physical similarity with the Star Wars character.

 

From : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%27s_Head_Device

 

Vermont NG officer wearing the Ram's Head badge

 

 

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The Rams Head device must be a National Guard item only. It is not authorized by big army or in the Army Reserve. I believe that graduates from the Mountain Warfare School now receive a skill identifier upon graduation. I attended the school back in 1987, great training.

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  • 3 years later...

I remember seeing some 172nd Infantry guys at the PX at Camp Doha in 2004. This was still during the DCU era but their patch caught my eye - it was a 1st Army (big A) patch with a "Mountain" tab on it. I went over and talked to them and they said they were in a (I think) NH or VT Army Reserve unit that fell under 1st Army. At that time their brigade didn't have an SSI so they wore the 1st Army SSI with the Mountain tab on it. It was the first time I'd ever seen a "mountain" tab on anything other than a 10th Mtn Division patch.

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