Individual Ready Reserve Variation

[36-tex]

This is the stuff that patch collectors love and others hate. The patch on the left is the "right" design. The right patch has the center colors reversed.

[patches]

The reverse colored one is a unautherized combat patch version

[36-tex]

The reverse colored one is a unautherized combat patch version

 

That was my thought. Has to be rare!

[36-tex]

I am sure it is a patch variation I never noticed over the years. I was sorting patches for an upcoming show and I laid these two out thinking they were the same. I did a double take and put them in the keep pile.

[VMI88]

The reverse colored one is a unautherized combat patch version

I don't think this patch would ever be worn as a combat patch. Individual Ready Reservists who are mobilized wear the SSI of the unit to which they're attached and this would also be the patch worn as an SSI-FWTS (I've been through this process!). Now of course it's possible that somewhere, sometime an individual decided to wear the IRR patch on his right sleeve, but the patch in question is US made and the market for these would be tiny. My guess is that it's a simple error patch.

[36-tex]

I don't think this patch would ever be worn as a combat patch. Individual Ready Reservists who are mobilized wear the SSI of the unit to which they're attached and this would also be the patch worn as an SSI-FWTS (I've been through this process!). Now of course it's possible that somewhere, sometime an individual decided to wear the IRR patch on his right sleeve, but the patch in question is US made and the market for these would be tiny. My guess is that it's a simple error patch.

 

 

We were joking about it being a combat patch.

[VMI88]

 

 

We were joking about it being a combat patch.

Well, that one went right over my head!

[patches]

Well, that one went right over my head!

 

ZOOOM Yeah guy, I was referencing those reverse unauthorized combat patches that one sees, to be sure some of those were actualy worn here and there, like the 2nd Division, 1st Cavalry Division, hmm, oh the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.

 

You know I used to have a couple of Army Reserve magazines from like 1984, I got them sent to me after I briefly re-upped in a local active reserve unit here in NYC, HHC 411th Engineer Brigade, there was an artical in one issue on IRR guys who voluntarily agreed to undergo a two week refresher, I think they were 11Bs, and were conducted at a post other than Benning, can't remember which one, from the artical I gathered, and quite correctly, that there was no commitment or obligation to return to active duty, or even the remotest chance of being dragooned involuntarily back into the regulars, it was from what I recall some kind of IRR trial program to see about the feasibility of conducting this sort of refresher training as a perminant feature of personel while they were in IRR status. In the artical, photos did show this patch in subdued form being worn as an organizational patch by the men on their BDUs undergoing the refresher training.

[1SG_1st_Cav]

Hey, this is easy to solve. Just turn the IRR patch upside down and the colors will be correct! Danny

[36-tex]

Hey, this is easy to solve. Just turn the IRR patch upside down and the colors will be correct! Danny

 

 

But then the star would be upside down silly!

[ASMIC2971]

I bought a IRR patch at amn alterations shop in Iraq in 2011. When I was at Camp Shelby for Mobilization, there were lots of guys who got picked up on IIR there, they were wearing this patch as there current assignment (left sleeve).

[1SG_1st_Cav]

36-Tex: Hey you can't have both ways!

[Stuart GI]

I was recalled to active duty from retirement in 2009. When I was deployed, I wore this as my combat patch for four days until I was called on it.

 

 

Mike

[gwb123]

I was recalled to active duty from retirement in 2009. When I was deployed, I wore this as my combat patch for four days until I was called on it.

 

 

Mike

 

Now that is funny! And so official looking as well!

 

After about 5 1/2 years Active Duty and another 2 with an Army Reserve unit, I stumbled into Individual Ready Reserve. I wish I'd found out about it later. Living in Hawaii at the time, they had all sorts of postings all over the Pacific region that you could volunteer for as your 2 week annual training requirement. Of course, you were responsible for making enough points each year to have it qualify for retirement.

 

I knew of an Air Force major who was in a similar program. He made his money as an individua day trader (stocks and bonds) back when it was profitable in the 1980's. The local intel shop at Hickam would call him up whenever they had a TDY slot they could not fill and off he would go. Nothing like a self managed military career!

[J_Andrews]

Every so often, IRR can be a very nice deal. In USAR Special Forces, I knew a guy (E-6) who HAD to drop out of a TPU drilling/paying slot and go into the IRR. He and everyone else though that it would the kiss of death for getting decent tours and completing enough points for a good year, let alone promotion.

 

Not to worry. As a fully SF-qualified NCO with a TS clearance and fluency in German, Spanish, French and Thai (a 46th SF Co vet), St Louis LOVED him. He was a student working on his master's, so he wound up being on active duty, usually on TDY with per diem, for two full summers.

 

In his last academic year, devoted to writing his thesis, he spent two 90-day tours in Europe, with whatever Specs Ops EUCOM was at the time. In this period, he was a "assessor" of non-US training courses, and he qualified for British, Greek, Norwegian and Spanish jump wings, the German and Italian mountain badges and a French Commando badge. (At a dining in, in dress blues, he wore them all.)

 

Thereafter employed as a jr college teacher, he once again "played army" over the summers. Last known (circa 1982) he was in Alaska as an instructor at the Ft Greeley arctic warfare school.

[Stuart GI]

I went to more different places and did more interesting things in the IRR than I did on active duty. I did have to keep good contact with the branch guy at St. Louis. A six month tour with 1st ROK Army Hqs; served one month in the Bundeswehr and visited the the old East Germany shortly after the Wall went down and the Russian Army wasn't gone yet; a couple summers at Ft. Lee where I toured around all the Civil War sites; a couple weeks with Range Control at Ft. A.P. Hill; participated in the last Team Spirit in Korea and the last REFORGER.

 

Mike

[J_Andrews]

I know another "happy customer" of the USAR IRR. For over 10 years, he had a standing active duty tour at the Army War College in Carlisle PA.

It was, on advance orders, for 90 days, 15 Jan to 15 April. But it was always amended for another 30, 120 days total. The job: supporting the graduation CPX for AWC students, and getting ready for their annual security IG. The USAR checks were his major source of income for the entire year -- he lived in a self-built log home on a mountain in Montana, working intermittently as a hunting/fishing/trekking guide, horse-shoer, carpenter and electrician. He left MT in his pickup for Christmas with family in NV and/or Upstate NY, then down to PA, then back to MT in time for the thaw and fishing season, etc.

 

Starting with 1990-91 DESERT SHIELD, he ADDED a 30-day tour with us (in DC) before Carlisle and another one AFTER, coming back each year thereafter. With 9/11, Carlisle called up him as post Provost Marshal and DCSINT. As an AWC grad he had no prob making O-6before retiring back to MT.

[VolunteerArmoury]

I bought a IRR patch at amn alterations shop in Iraq in 2011. When I was at Camp Shelby for Mobilization, there were lots of guys who got picked up on IIR there, they were wearing this patch as there current assignment (left sleeve).

 

I saw lots of IRR SSIs being worn at Shelby in 2010 as well.

[patches]

Well here's an update for this topic, as a Combat Patch, posted by seanmc1114 inthe uncommon combat patches topic.

 

[patches]

The commentary on it, see VolunteerArmory's comment.

 

Posted by VolunteerArmoury on 16 December 2018 - 09:21 PM in MISCELLANEOUS / OTHER

seanmc1114, on 14 Dec 2018 - 11:41 AM, said:

I always thought the Individual Ready Reserve SSI for reservists not assigned to a particular unit who would be assigned to a unit if called up. Yet here we see the IIR SSI worn as a combat patch. ???

patches, on 14 Dec 2018 - 8:27 PM, said:

Interesting

There were some folks at Camp Shelby in 2010 while I was there wearing these as current assignments while preparing to go over & some wearing them as combat patches whilst demobing with one I recall wearing the IRR SSI as book ends.