Military Service Encapsulated in a Frame

Today I accomplished a milestone in the ongoing project to sort out my military mementos and appurtenances and put some of the most interesting ones out on display in my study.  An important part of this was to gather together the various insignia representing units I served in, places I served, and my awards and rank insignia, and organize them into a frame.  The final result is a more-or-less chronological record of my military service as represented by these insignia:

A 16" x 28" encapsulation of my military career through insignia. 

I was limited by the size of frame I could find, but I am happy with the result.  My walls, bookshelves, and cabinets will display a large variety of other things associated with my time in the Army, but this frame summarizes the official record quite well.  A detailed description of the meaning of each item follows.

The top row contains the flags of all the countries in which I served while in the Army.  With the exception of the U.S. flags, these are not official insignia and were not worn on the uniform. From left to right:  USA, Federal Republic of Germany, South Korea, USA again (this is the subdued-color infrared reflective version worn in the combat zone), Kuwait, Qatar, and Romania.  I only had room for one of each, although I did three tours in Germany and served on and off in the USA as well. 

The next row contains the shoulder patches of the units in which I served.  With the exception of the first one, I did not include units to which I was assigned for training or schools, only units to which I was assigned for duty.  From left to right, they are:

1. U.S. Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, GA   (1980-81)

2. Third Armored Division, Hanau, Germany (1981-85)

3. Michigan Army National Guard (1985-1993)

(MMA is the Michigan Military Academy, where I was Director of Instruction in 1993)

4. Individual Ready Reserve (1993-1997)

5. Eighth Army, Korea (2006)

6. Third Army (USARCENT), Kuwait & Qatar (2006-2009)

7. U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR), Heidelberg, Germany (2010)

8. U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), Ft. McPherson, GA and Fort Bragg, NC (2011-2017)

9. U.S. European Command (EUCOM), Stuttgart, Germany (2016)

The next row down (staggered a bit due to space limitations) are the distinctive unit insignia associated with each patch.  From left to right, they are:

1. Officer Candidate School: I was at the Infantry School for OCS, so I included OCS insignia.

2. 23rd Engineer Battalion:  This was the unit I served in while in the 3rd Armored Division.

3. Michigan Army National Guard: I served four years with HQ STARC (State Area Command)

4. 177th Military Police Brigade: Also Michigan Army National Guard.  I commanded the 1775th MP Company, 210th MP BN, 177th MP Bde, MIARNG from 1989 to 1991.  They waved their magic wands and made me an MP.  The National Guard does that sort of thing...

5. Individual Ready Reserve (top)

6. Military Police Regimental Crest (bottom).  Each specialty branch in the Army has a regimental crest that is worn on the dress uniform.  While in the IRR I was still officially an MP officer.

7. Eighth Army, Korea

8. Third Army (USARCENT) 

9. U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR)

10. U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM)

11. U.S. European Command (EUCOM)

The round patch and U.S. flag armband in the lower left are from my participation in the 67th annual four-day marches in Nijmegen, Holland in 1983.  I was selected to take my platoon to represent our battalion. We did not wear American flags on the old green fatigue uniform, so they issued us American flag armbands just for the Nijmegen marches. I also bought an American flag for us to carry, and every time we went through a town or village, the people would stand up and applaud and cheer when they saw our flag. It was quite an experience, and the trip was one of the highlights of my military service. 

The next row of metal insignia are branch insignia and special skill badges.  From left to right, they are: 

1. Corps of Engineers

2. Military Police Corps

3. Parachutist Badge (Airborne)

4. Expert Marksman Badge (Rifle and Pistol)

5. Corps of Engineers (When mobilized from the Army Reserve in 2006, I returned to the Engineers)

6. Corps of Engineers Regimental Crest

The next row of metal insignia represent the ranks I held:

1. Private First Class, E3.  I enlisted as a PFC after college, and went to OCS.

2. Second Lieutenant, O1 (gold bar)

3. First Lieutenant, O2 (silver bar)

4. Captain, O3 (two silver bars, or "railroad tracks")

5. Major, O4 (gold oak leaf)

6. Lieutenant Colonel, O5 (silver oak leaf)

7. Colonel, O6 (silver eagle)

The ribbon rack in the center contains my service ribbons and awards.  In order of precedence, from lower right to top left, they are: 

1. Michigan Army National Guard Broadsword Service Medal

2. Army Reserve Overseas Training Ribbon

3. Overseas Service Ribbon (the numeral device designates how many qualifying tours - I actually have four)

4. Army Service Ribbon

5. Armed Forces Reserve Medal (with "M" mobilization device)

6. Global War on Terror Service Medal

7. Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal

8. National Defense Service Medal

9. Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal

10. Army Achievement Medal

11. Army Commendation Medal

12. Joint Service Commendation Medal

13. Meritorious Service Medal (with bronze oak leaf for 2nd award)

14. Legion of Merit

Finally, I decided to include the name tapes and U.S. Army tapes from my field/duty uniforms, as they also represent a chronological record of my service.  I actually wore four different basic uniforms:

1. The green nametapes were worn on the OG-107 green fatigue uniform from the Vietnam era to the early 1980's.  The same nametapes were worn on the woodland camouflage Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) that came into service in 1984.

2. Universal Camouflage Pattern.  This "foliage green" digital camouflage pattern came into service in 2006 with the Army Combat Uniform (ACU). This was the uniform I wore when deployed to the Middle East.  It was not a good camouflage pattern.

3. Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP). This much more versatile and sensible camouflage pattern was put into service in Afghanistan and later adopted for the ACU Army-wide.

So that's my attempt to encapsulate my service record with the associated insignia.  Putting it together was a rewarding trip down memory lane, as is going through the other mementos, training aids, field manuals, field gear, and other things that I accumulated over the years.  I will enjoy having it on the wall above my desk to remind me of how I spent a large portion of my life.

Mood: Reflective

Music: Daniel Barenboim, Beethoven Piano Concertos