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Collar discs


Jutter
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Hello all,

 

I was just wondering,

 

It's a bit unclear to me what collar discs a soldier would wear on his dress uniform.

 

If for instance a soldier was in a armored division, but in an artillery regiment, would he wear the armored or artillery discs on his uniform.

Same goes for soldiers in an infantry regiment and/or medical battalion as part of an armored division.

 

So are the discs based on the type of divsion the soldier was in or based on the regiment/battalion?

 

Kind regards,

 

Sebastian

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Sebastian,

 

The disk worn by enlisted soldiers would match their Military Occupational Specialty or MOS. In most combat units, the soldier would hold an MOS matching that unit. As an example, if a soldier was an artilleryman serving in an artillery battalion, he would wear artillery brass. It wouldn't matter if the soldier was in an armored division or in an infantry division. You would probably also find soldiers wearing signal brass, ordnance brass, and medical brass in the units also.

 

Collar brass can be a bit confusing because there are a few exceptions. Soldiers serving in Cavalry units would normally wear crossed swords even if they had other MOS's. Infantry soldiers serving in the 1st Cavalry Division wore Cav brass as the army designated the infantry assets in the division as Cavalry.

 

There was also no Tank Destroyer Corps, but soldiers assigned to Tank Destroyer units generally wore Tank Destroyer brass.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Allan

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I second what Allan says, it depends on what the soldier's job (MOS) was. A trained supply clerk would wear quartermaster collar brass even if he was assigned to a bomber wing in the 8th Air Force. However, an aircraft mechanic temporarily assigned to help the supply clerk still wore aviation brass because of his training.

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Please correct me if I am wrong but my understanding is that in WW2/Korea the enlisted brass was more "regimental," so a clerk/typist or a cook in an infantry unit wore infantry rifles (sometimes with unit numbers and letters). Medics were an exception, though, I think.

I remember a few posts here from members over the years about the transition from unit-based to MOS-based branch brass, and IIRC it was in the '70s but I can't find it right now.
Justin B.
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You have to remember that there have been a lot of changes that have occured in the army over the years. In WWII and Korea, many jobs in a unit were an additional duty and were not necessarily a primary MOS. As and example, I have known a number of WWII paratroopers who were radio operators, clerks, etc. but they were riflemen first and thus wore crossed rifle brass. Cooks were integral to all units, so they too were doing the job with extra training.

 

With many "old Hand" WWII veterans, they would call the PFC chevron the "third cook's rank" because in the TO&E of an infantry company, the PFC ranks were assigned to the mess section. You have to remember that the units were very different in WWII compared to Vietnam and later. If you were a sergeant, you were one of only a few in the company, if you transferred to another unit, your stripes stayed and you became a private again.

 

I hope this helps.

Allan

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Yes, great info, thanks. That's what I meant by "regimental," how back in the 1800s most everybody enlisted in and identified as members of one regiment until they discharged. Though back then there were far fewer specialized jobs, of course.

 

Here is one of the posts I was thinking of:

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/256252-bos-for-new-eod-specialist/?p=2059073

 

Justin B.

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If I am recalling correctly, up until around 1977-78 a soldier wore the Branch of Service (BOS) insignia of his or her assigned unit. In 1970, I was a General Draftsman, an Engineer MOS, but I wore Air Defense Artillery BOS insignia because I was assigned to an artillery brigade. Later, I wore Military Police BOS insignia while assigned to an MP brigade and later still, Signal Corps BOS insignia when assigned to a Signal unit. In Recruiting Command, I woer the Unassigned to Branch insignia since the unit was branch immaterial. After 1977 or 1978, I wore the BOS of my MOS which by then was a Signal Corps MOS (Unassigned to Branch insignia was then worn by Command Sergeants Major).

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1SG_1st_Cav

1st Cavalry Division [AIRMOBILE] in Vietnam, Infantrymen wore Infantry BOS in the 5th Cav, 7th Cav, 8th Cav, 9th Cav, & 12th Cav. Field Artillerymen wore BOS Artillery in the 2-17th Artillery, 2-19th Artillery, 2-20th Artillery, 1-21st Artillery, 1-30th Artillery, & 1-77th Artillery.

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Thanks for all the responses! Always learning!

 

Verstuurd vanaf mijn GT-I9505 met Tapatalk

 

 

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  • 1 year later...
Retired Army Noncom

In the case of Drill Sgts.....when I went on the DS duty, I could wear my MOS brass or the brass of my last unit which is what I did for 5.8 years (1970-1975), since DS duty was a specialized duty, either could be worn.

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If I am recalling correctly, up until around 1977-78 a soldier wore the Branch of Service (BOS) insignia of his or her assigned unit. In 1970, I was a General Draftsman, an Engineer MOS, but I wore Air Defense Artillery BOS insignia because I was assigned to an artillery brigade. Later, I wore Military Police BOS insignia while assigned to an MP brigade and later still, Signal Corps BOS insignia when assigned to a Signal unit. In Recruiting Command, I woer the Unassigned to Branch insignia since the unit was branch immaterial. After 1977 or 1978, I wore the BOS of my MOS which by then was a Signal Corps MOS (Unassigned to Branch insignia was then worn by Command Sergeants Major).

Total opposite from anything I ever saw in the 70's. I had an MP MOS, but was never in an MP unit. As such, I wore MP insignia. All others around me did likewise according to their MOS.

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Total opposite from anything I ever saw in the 70's. I had an MP MOS, but was never in an MP unit. As such, I wore MP insignia. All others around me did likewise according to their MOS.

AR 670-5 May 1969, paragraph 14-11h was my guide (and the rest of the Army, too, I suppose) in 1970. Paragraph 14-11h2 seems to cover your situation.

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Any chance you have an online link to that paragraph? A quick Google search resulted in the usual run around with no luck.

Here is a scan of the pertinent page. See h.

post-943-0-04110400-1505661723_thumb.jpg

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  • 6 years later...

Hi, sorry to resurrect this thread.


I worked on some shadow boxes of my late Dad’s awards and medals earlier this year. When learning about branch insignias and speaking to some of my military friends, I was told to ditch two branch discs that my Dad wore because they didn’t match his MOS. He was always a heavy equipment and tracked vehicle mechanic. So, his branch was ordinance.

 

However, from 69-72, he was in the 2-6FA, 3AD, and I have lots of pictures of him in his khakis wearing cross barrels, and I have his originals. Later, he was in a very proud armored cavalry battalion and I have pics of him wearing armor discs. After that when he was reassigned to a maintenance battalion, he wore the flaming ball.

 

All this said, my Dad was not a rebel and did not care much for decorations or recognition, so I don’t see him wearing something not authorized by his battalion. 
 

Does anyone have experience with wearing branch insignias not matching MOS due to their battalion authorizations or rogue rules?

 

thanks in advance.

 

Karl

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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