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Sniper BDU


Texas36th
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Just happen to stop by estate sale on the way to work and came across this great jacket. I usually don't buy BDU's but after seeing the patches on it there was no way I could leave it. Also picked up some boonies and other misc.. stuff. As I was leaving a lady was standing outside the house and told me that the uniform was her husbands. So what better way to get the history then straight from the vet. She said she would have him contact me. I look forward to that and will pass it on when I do.

 

post-13045-0-70964600-1424472458.jpg

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Can't imagine anyone wearing that unauthorized sniper tab above a Ranger tab. Seems a bit odd, to say the least.

 

The tiger stripe boonie is a modern surplus store variety. Not sure who in KFOR ever wore that, but maybe both of those are just souvenirs.

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When I was in, we used to call troops like this "badge collectors". There was always that guy who seemed to make a profession out of attending schools and courses.

 

Granted, there were certain MOS's where there was more opportunity for this. And many of these folks were very professional. But there were some that made you wonder when they had time for regular troop duty.

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I don't see someone that was on a HALO team wearing their Master Halo Wings below the Air Assault badge they mostly likely learned before joining SF.

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riflegreen297

I'm sure you got a good deal on this jacket and if your happy with it then all is fine. My concerns on this jacket would be the sniper tab in the stack. Not an authorized tab to be worn in the "tower of power" stack. The other is the sewing of the other skill badges, they just do not have that, "done at Choi's" look to me. They look more like they were done by someone that had very little experience sewing on skill badges. The other concern is it looks like the highest sewn on rank was SP4 or SGT/E5 stripes by the small area left from the rank being removed. That would be too many skill sets and qualifications for a SP4/SGT and generally anyone who would go to the trouble of having all those skill badges sewn on would also have sewn on their rank and doubtfully would have worn pin on rank. With these amount of skill sets (especially MFF Jumpmaster) you would be looking at generally a SFC for rank. To me it looks like a poser jacket. But I could be completely off the mark.

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EIB but no SSI-FWTS? Not sure if i've seen that before.

 

SSI-FWTS? Is that the official fancy lingo for combat patch?

 

If so, I've seen it. Fairly common with dudes that went to Korea but never got a "deployment"

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SSI-FWTS? Is that the official fancy lingo for combat patch?

 

If so, I've seen it. Fairly common with dudes that went to Korea but never got a "deployment"

Yes, SSI-FWTS, Shoulder Sleeve Insignia-Former Wartime Service. It is and has been the official term for the misnamed "combat patch." It describes perfectly the original intent and purpose of the wear of the insignia.

 

And, yes, why would no SSI-FWTS be unusual for a holder of an EIB? The EIB test has been given for many years since WW2 where no SSI-FWTS was authorized due to no qualifying actions or deployments happening.

 

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OK gents, I am going to disagree about the sniper tab. It absolutely IS an authorized tab.

 

At least in some places. Notice my avatar pic from of the insignia from the 135th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Division. The 135th is Minnesota National Guard.

 

Troops in the 135th HAVE worn a sniper tab on BDUs, at least for a time anyway. I saw it for myself multiple times. I was never in the 135th but did know guys who were in the unit, I dealt with them a number of times when they were on duty / at drill / being paid. And there were in fact members of the 135th who were authorized to where the sniper tab. This was in the mid 1990s and the late 1990s. I got to know one guy who wore the tab on his shoulder and asked him all about it. I recall that he went to the Minnesota National Guard sniper school and graduated / successfully complete the course. He was authorized the tab as a result. And he wore it sewn to his shoulder on his BDUs, they were woodland camo at the time. I want to say he told me that if they would have been called to Federal service he would likely have had to remove it, but that while a drilling member of the National Guard he was authorized to wear it and it was OK. My one friend was a Sergeant and squad leader when I first met him and last I saw him was a Staff Sergeant.

 

Now bear in mind that this was all pre-Iraq and Afghanistan, and I never saw it being worn after those wars started, but guys DID have them on when National Guard troops did airport security duty after 9/11.

 

As with many National Guard units, the 135th Infantry of the Minnesota National Guard did at least one or two deployments to Kosovo as peacekeepers. I want to say that at least once while there they purposefully worked hard to meet the requirements for the Expert Infantry Badge and those that did so earned that badge.

 

With the insignia on the BDUs in this post, and the KFOR hats (I believe they are Kosovo souvenirs), and what I have noted about the Sniper tab, I believe that it is highly likely this BDU top came from a guy who had a lot of National Guard service. The high octane SF and Airborne badges may be from an active duty tour, the EIB and Sniper tab from National Guard service.

 

So a right as rain BDU top, with the Sniper tab an authorized badge from some state's National Guard.

 

MW

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I see that the rank insignia has been removed from the collar of the BDU too. I wonder of the patch on the right shoulder was missing as well?

 

Also, does anyone know if Kosovo peacekeeper tours rated the "combat patch" being authorized?

 

The air assault badge could have been from the soldiers airborne or SF time, but again, using the Minnesota National Guard example, the 135th Infantry went through a mechanized infantry phase and also an Air Assault unit phase, when that happened a portion of the unit had to get air assault qualified and thus earned the Air Assault badge. I have no idea how many Guard units in the country were in the same situation.

 

Again, I strongly suspect the soldier owner of the BDU jacket was likely National Guard based on all that.

 

I think the KFOR stuff which I think was from Kosovo supports that.

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Yes, SSI-FWTS, Shoulder Sleeve Insignia-Former Wartime Service. It is and has been the official term for the misnamed "combat patch." It describes perfectly the original intent and purpose of the wear of the insignia.

 

And, yes, why would no SSI-FWTS be unusual for a holder of an EIB? The EIB test has been given for many years since WW2 where no SSI-FWTS was authorized due to no qualifying actions or deployments happening.

 

 

Yeah, I know it's a bit of a misnomer since there are dudes with "combat patches" that didn't qual for a CIB, CMB, or CAB, or were working SECFOR missions with literally zero combat in country. Just clarifying the acronym to make sure we were on the same page.

 

And yeah, I'm thinking maybe confusion between EIB/CIB.

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So a right as rain BDU top, with the Sniper tab an authorized badge from some state's National Guard.

 

MW

 

The sniper tab is absolutely NOT an authorized insignia. Just because some commander in a local Guard unit looks the other way and lets his soldiers wear something on their uniform does not make it authorized. The Guard is bound by the same uniform regs as the Regular Army, regardless of being on federal active duty or not. Now obviously this is sometimes ignored, but regardless, that tab is not an authorized piece of insignia.

 

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Sure, locally authorized by some commanders and worn by some units maybe, but not a DA authorized or officially manufactured insignia. Do you have an idea where National Guard uniform regulations might be found to show any state authorizations?

OK gents, I am going to disagree about the sniper tab. It absolutely IS an authorized tab.

At least in some places. Notice my avatar pic from of the insignia from the 135th Infantry Regiment of the 34th Division. The 135th is Minnesota National Guard.

Troops in the 135th HAVE worn a sniper tab on BDUs, at least for a time anyway. I saw it for myself multiple times. I was never in the 135th but did know guys who were in the unit, I dealt with them a number of times when they were on duty / at drill / being paid. And there were in fact members of the 135th who were authorized to where the sniper tab. This was in the mid 1990s and the late 1990s. I got to know one guy who wore the tab on his shoulder and asked him all about it. I recall that he went to the Minnesota National Guard sniper school and graduated / successfully complete the course. He was authorized the tab as a result. And he wore it sewn to his shoulder on his BDUs, they were woodland camo at the time. I want to say he told me that if they would have been called to Federal service he would likely have had to remove it, but that while a drilling member of the National Guard he was authorized to wear it and it was OK. My one friend was a Sergeant and squad leader when I first met him and last I saw him was a Staff Sergeant.

Now bear in mind that this was all pre-Iraq and Afghanistan, and I never saw it being worn after those wars started, but guys DID have them on when National Guard troops did airport security duty after 9/11.

As with many National Guard units, the 135th Infantry of the Minnesota National Guard did at least one or two deployments to Kosovo as peacekeepers. I want to say that at least once while there they purposefully worked hard to meet the requirements for the Expert Infantry Badge and those that did so earned that badge.

With the insignia on the BDUs in this post, and the KFOR hats (I believe they are Kosovo souvenirs), and what I have noted about the Sniper tab, I believe that it is highly likely this BDU top came from a guy who had a lot of National Guard service. The high octane SF and Airborne badges may be from an active duty tour, the EIB and Sniper tab from National Guard service.

So a right as rain BDU top, with the Sniper tab an authorized badge from some state's National Guard.

MW

 

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