TCQC patches

[TMBN]

Hi

 

Got some more patches I need alittle help with.

Hell on wheels-2nd Armor Div

The first team-1st Cav Div

 

What is the difference between:

Expert

Distinguished

Superior

Qualified

Are these just levels of how high you qualified?

 

Just wanted to get the right term for the insignia on the patches.

Crossed Cannons= Gun section or artilley section?

Crossed rifles= infantry squad or rifle squad?

Crossed sabers and tank= tank crew or armor crew?

Crossed sabers and wings= avaition crew?

 

Any info on where and when they where used?

 

Thanks,

Ole

[TMBN]

The back.

 

[CaptCav]

All these TCQC (Tank Crew Qualification Course) patches came out of Ft Hood, TX. As I remember, all the light-brown/OD patches came out in the very late 1970s (I remember 1979). I have never seen the three, clustered in the bottom right. Common sense says they were from roughly the same time-frame, possibly slightly later?

 

In those years, III Corps (headquartered at Ft Hood) consisted of III Corps Arty (mostly at Ft Sill, OK), 3d Armd Cav Regt (Ft Bliss, TX); 1st Cav Div, 2d Armd Div, and 6th Cavalry Brigade (Air Combat) - all at Ft Hood.

 

All the branch insignia (inf, armor, arty, etc) were for crews, who qualified on their branch specific courses. Example - Infantry squads qualified on what was known as the MISPIC course (Mech Inf Sqd Proficiency Course). The crossed sabers over aviator wings patch was awarded to attack helicopter crews. In the case of the III Corps air cav patch - it was awarded to crews of the 6th Cav Bde.

 

You are are correct, with regard to the different levels of qualification, seen on the patches. Just as there was individual small arms qualification levels in the Army at that time (marksman, sharpshooter and expert), there were levels of qualification for crew served weapons. In those years, there never seemed to be any standardization, Army-wide, as to the different levels. I qualified at Graf (Germany), Ft. Riley, KS and Ft Bliss, TX. The numerical score requirements and corresponding award levels were different at all three posts (and often had different titles). To muddy the waters even more - after all three of my qualification runs, I was awarded the Expert marksmanship badge with a TANK WEAPONS bar. I never saw any DA regs that spelled out scoring, Army-wide, so I suspect the annual program criteria were left up to local commanders.

 

In later years,, it got "snazzier". After crews completed their crew qual; then they competed in what we called (in the 3d Armd Cav) Battle Runs. That was a combined arms course, consisting of armor, arty, mortars and attack helicopters. It basically was as close to a real combat situation, in peace time, as you could hope to replicate. The vets on this site will understand what I'm about to say....... turn a cav platoon loose (with supporting arty, mortars and air) in the dark (no night vision goggles in those days) and the "pucker factor" was often sky high. In the Cav, we referred to it as a "goat f**k" - total controlled chaos.

 

Hope this helps -

[Teamski]

Another version of the patch.

 

-Ski

[gwb123]

Ah memories....

 

I was stationed at Ft. Hood in 1978 and 1979. Even when you were living off post in beautiful Killeen, it always seemed you could hear some kind of noise coming from the post. Artillery, tanks, helicopters, you name it.

 

I remember the day they decided to scramble the entire 6th Air Cavalry Combat Brigade all at once! I was off that day for some reason. I believe they had taken an brigade plus of the 2nd Armored Division and had them hide all over the range with some silly hope of remaining undetected.

 

I remember standing on the balcony of may apartment. I couldn't see all those Cobras and Kiowas, but I could hear them. It was a mechanical version of the flight of the Valkyries. You would have thought the entire Warsaw Pact had crossed the Fulda Gap and somehow made their way to the center of Texas! The thought crossed my mind that I sure would not have wanted to have been downrange of those birds.... whoever they were looking for were in for a rough time.

 

And yes, I remember these patches being worn. In fact, the way you could spot someone who was new to either the 1st Cav or 2 AD was if they did not have one of these! It was also a way to spot the combat from non-combat arms troops.

[TMBN]

Hi

 

Thanks for the replies and info. Ill get the patches sorted out and put into system.

 

Ole,

in snowy Norway

[TMBN]

Some more patches Id like information on.

 

 

[TMBN]

A few more.

 

 

[tredhed2]

For you ASMIC members, beginning in the Apr-Jun 09 issue of the TP, there will be a two-part series on TCQC patches; it is well-researched, well-documented, well- written and in color - not all the TCQC patches are subdued.

[TMBN]

For you ASMIC members, beginning in the Apr-Jun 09 issue of the TP, there will be a two-part series on TCQC patches; it is well-researched, well-documented, well- written and in color - not all the TCQC patches are subdued.

 

Hi

Thanks for the Info, Im a ASMIC member and is really looking forward to that article. Ill guess Ill pu this part of the collection onhold for awhile then.

Cheers

[Salvage Sailor]

one acronym.......

 

REFORGER

 

I'd see some of these patches on the Army liasion troopers during our concurrent STANAVFORLANT wargames for the sealift portion of these annual exercises.

[TMBN]

Ill post the rest of them also.

 

 

[TMBN]

Some more.

 

 

[TMBN]

Allmost done.

 

 

[TMBN]

Few more left.

 

 

[TMBN]

 

[TMBN]

 

[Teamski]

Wow, that is an incredible collection!! Here is my only Tank Qual patch. I don't know what the distinguished tab is for.

 

-Ski

[TMBN]

The last ones, just tabs and arc`s left.

 

 

[TMBN]

Wow, that is an incredible collection!! Here is my only Tank Qual patch. I don't know what the distinguished tab is for.

 

-Ski

 

Hi

 

Cool patch, if he misses the other TCQC patches...his always welcome here : ))

 

Ole

[TMBN]

[TMBN]

[CaptCav]

 

A few from my collection. The last two (on the bottom row) were awarded to my crew:

 

Distinguished Crew (Regt Hi Score Crew), 2d Sqdn, 3d Cav, Ft Bliss, TX 1976

 

Qualified Tank Crew, 14th Armd Cav Regt, Fulda, Germany 1970

 

The others:

 

Qualified, Ground Surveillance Radar, 3d Armd Div, Germany, Kirch Gons/Friedberg/Gelnhausen, Germany 1966

 

Qualified Tank Crews, 3d Armd Div, Kirch Gons/Friedberg/Gelnhausen, Germany 1967

 

Distinguished Scout Crew, 14th Armd Cav Regt, Fulda, Germany 1970

 

Qualified M60A1 Crew, 11th Armd Cav Regt, Fulda, Germany 1978

 

Qualified, 3d Sqdn, 7th Cav (3d Inf Div), Schweinfurt, Germany late 1970s

 

Qualified, 3d Sqdn, 8th Cav (8th Inf Div), Sandhofen, Germany late 70s

 

Qualified, Scout Crew - Scout Squad Proficiency Course, Recon Plat, 3d Bn, 37th Armor (4th Armd Div), Germany 1969

 

Qualified Tk Crew, 3d Bn, 63d Armor (1st Inf Div FWD - 3d Bde), Boeblingen, Germany 1972

 

Qualified Scout Squad Proficiency Course, Recon Plat, 4th Bn, 35th Armor (4th Armd Div), Germany 1969

[Proud Kraut]

WOW! I have had no idea how many different typs of these qualifikation patches exist! Ole, your thread seems to become the reference for this kind of insignia so I would post my ones here again.

 

Lars

[Proud Kraut]

Some more out of the trade box.