"Enlisted Chaplain’s” Collar Brass

[pelseth]

I haven’t been able to find an example or even description of this one.

 

Obviously not actually Chaplain’s branch insignia as it is not the officer’s version. From what I’ve been able to find, the Chaplain’s assistant branch insignia is relatively recent and that in WW2, they wore the branch insignia correct for their unit instead. 

 

🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[patches]

Interesting for sure. Meyer made a load of insignia for non U.S. Army things like ROTC and Latin American , maybe this is a religious item for one of  them????

[pelseth]

Oh, I hadn’t thought about that! 🤔

[Rakkasan187]

Here is what the current US Army Chaplain's assistant enlisted collar brass looks like...

 

Leigh

 

[pelseth]

1 hour ago, Rakkasan187 said:

Here is what the current US Army Chaplain's assistant enlisted collar brass looks like...

 

Leigh

 

 

 

That is the "relatively recent” Chaplain’s Assistant branch insignia I was referring to. Do you know when it was authorized?

[Rakkasan187]

Pelseth,

 

Here is some information about the "Religious Affairs Specialist" Insignia.. This insignia was approved in 1985. Chaplain assistant was authorized on December 28, 1909 and the MOS awarded was 56M. That MOS was later changed to 71M but in 2001 it reverted back to the MOS 56M and was redesignated "Religious Affairs Specialist"..

 

Leigh 

 

https://thechaplainkit.com/chaplain-assts/

[pelseth]

I found some WW2 history on this web site: https://www.med-dept.com/articles/the-chaplain-corps/

 

Quote

Remark: Chaplains were entitled to assistants, who cared for the Chaplain’s official property, acted as his clerk, and helped with the educational, religious, and general entertainment programs. One enlisted person, mostly a Tec 5, was assigned to assist the Chaplain in the performance of his official duties. It should be noted, that such assistants did not wear any official insignia connected to their assignment (except those from their unit). It is important to note that Chaplain Assistants, when not involved with sick or wounded personnel, were allowed to bear arms allotted to them as per T/O & E distribution.

 

(Bold added).

[pelseth]

I got a copy of Scipio’s The Collar Disk Story (that was pricy!), and upon leafing through it I discovered, to my surprise, my Chaplain Assistant collar disk in the section on Type III Collar Disks, Miscellaneous. Number 31 matches my collar disks quite well!

 

[manayunkman]

Did you think there was a problem with your disk? 

[pelseth]

Yes, I couldn’t find evidence elsewhere of a Chaplain Assistant disk from this time period, and as I cited above, the WW2 US Medical Research Centre web site indicated that one was not worn during WW2. The point of my original post was to find out what everyone else knew.