Unusual Staff Sgt. Rank

[Nkomo]

I really need some help on this rank. I only found one of these, but was completely dumb-founded by it. It is a Vietnam era Staff Sgt. rank. What is odd about this piece is how it is meant to attach to a uniform. On the back, it has a white piece of leather that has been sewn on. Between the rank and the leather has also been sewn what appear to be US collar devices with the pins stickng through the back so it can be pinned to a uniform. Has anyone seen this before? Would it have been worn on the arm? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Arch

 

p.s. This modification appears to have been done MANY years ago.

[tredhed2]

There are many blazer patches - gaudy bullion patches meant to be worn on a blazer at reunions or other functions and usually noted by clutch attachments - maybe this is a blazer chevron!

 

There were many Central and South American military personnel trained at the School of the Americas, and their units adopted insignia similar to that worn by the US Army - so maybe it belonged to one of these personnel.

[Strictly GI]

My guess would be stage prop but its tough to say for certain.

[KurtA]

It could be for ROTC training. It was common to "rotate" rank positions throughout a group of cadets during a period of field training. Being able to pin-on the insignia was the most efficient means of changing ranks.

Kurt

[Salvage Sailor]

I believe this is a novel way to apply an 'acting' staff sergeant rank.

[Bill]

It could be for ROTC training. It was common to "rotate" rank positions throughout a group of cadets during a period of field training. Being able to pin-on the insignia was the most efficient means of changing ranks.

Kurt

 

 

Not only ROTC, but at the old Army leadership schools of PLC then PLDC, we used cloth NCO rank that was on a brassard, safety pined to the shirt or that was sewn on 2 elastic bands.

 

I've got an old pair of Air Force JROTC chevrons that have the pins glued on the back.

 

Bill

[hbtcoveralls]

Army cooks and bakers who wore whites often needed pin on ranks. They wore their whites but turned them in for laundry and just got clean ones back. To signify rank, they would pin on their rank patches or pins and their name plates. On some posts they would actually sew on rank, but I've seen it done both ways. At posts in hot climates, the kitchen uniform of the day would be white T-shirts, and then the ranks could be pinned to cooks and baker's hats. My opinion is that this is what this rank would have been used for.

Proud son of an Army cook

Tom Bowers (jr)

[Captainofthe7th]

My first thought was a cap badge. It might be big, though, but it could fit on a pile cap. It looks cut edge to me, so it's probably pre-1970? That's giving some leeway since cut edge was abolished in 1968 (if I've got my facts straight).

 

Rob

[Nkomo]

Thanks for everyone's replies. This rank was found in with a large grouping of Vietnam era patches, specefically ones for Medical and Dental services. There were several Vietnamese made pocket hangers in the mix as well. Don't know if this information will help or not.

[Brian Dentino]

Velcro's great-great grandfather? :laughing1:

[Nkomo]

Velcro's great-great grandfather? :laughing1:

[hbtcoveralls]

That actually makes sense. The medical and dental orderlies wore scrubs or lab coats which were done by laundry service, same as the cooks. So again Pin on the rank to whatever scrubs your pulled out of the laundry that morning and when done with them just unpin the rank and dump them in the laundry hamper until duty tomorrow. Neat rank, Thanks for sharing.

[Nkomo]

That actually makes sense. The medical and dental orderlies wore scrubs or lab coats which were done by laundry service, same as the cooks. So again Pin on the rank to whatever scrubs your pulled out of the laundry that morning and when done with them just unpin the rank and dump them in the laundry hamper until duty tomorrow. Neat rank, Thanks for sharing.

Actually, this makes sense. I would like to thank everyone who responded to this thread. What a great forum!