Big Red One Soldiers join elite ranks of combat veterans

Photo By Sgt. Dustin Roberts | Capt. Ryan Cripps, commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, is presented with his "combat patch" by Lt. Col. David Imhof, commander, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd BCT, 1st Inf. Div, on Camp Liberty on Nov 26. The deployment is Cripps first to combat and the first for approximately 45 percent of the brigade's Soldiers.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

11.26.2008

Story by Sgt. Dustin Roberts 

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs

By Spc. Dustin Roberts
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

BAGHDAD - In a ceremony, Nov. 26, Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers from the 2-1 Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, donned 1st Inf. Div. shoulder sleeve insignias on the right shoulders of their Army combat uniforms.

When a shoulder sleeve insignia, better known as a "unit patch," is placed on a Soldier's right shoulder of the ACU, it becomes a shoulder sleeve insignia for former wartime service, more-widely known as a "combat patch."

"After activating the Battalion 18 months ago from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division as the special Troop Battalion 'Greyhounds,' we finally have arrived in Iraq; this is a remarkable achievement given the short amount of time from activation to today," said Lt. Col. David Imhof, commander, 2-1 STB. "More importantly, the arrival of this battalion was, and is, an important day for our Army. I am extremely proud to report that you are now at the point of the Dagger and poised to make history as a member of a unit with only five months of history since the brigade stood up in March of 2007."

When the Dagger Brigade landed in Kuwait in October, Imhof said the arrival linked the Soldiers with "Big Red One" Soldiers who fought for freedom in the past.

He also spoke about the famed history of the 1st Infantry Division and its elite presence in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Bosnia, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

"I want to look back more than a couple of years to understand what wearing the 'Big Red One' patch means. We, as the 'Big Red One,' were the first to cross the lines in Germany and had the furthest penetration of U.S. troops in World War I," said Imhof. "In 1965, at the helm of the Vietnam War, the 'Big Red One' was again making headlines as the first element of an infantry division to arrive in Vietnam. In 1968, the Division embarked in the largest operation in the Vietnam War and stopped the infiltration of the enemy into the Saigon area."

Sgt. Christopher Conyers, 2-1 STB senior command assistant and master of ceremonies in the event, talked about the origin of the "Big Red One" patch, pointing out there are two different legends.

"The first story suggests that in World War I, the First Division supply trucks were of English manufacture so the drivers painted their trucks with a huge 'figure one' to distinguish their vehicles from those of other allies," Conyers said. "Later, 1st Division engineers carried this is a step further by sewing a red patch on their sleeves, on which was the number 'one.'"

The second tale, explained Conyers, is more known and involves a general and a lieutenant.

Conyers explained that in 1917, a 1st Division general cut a crude numeral "one" from a ragged suit of his flannel underwear after deciding the division needed a suitable shoulder sleeve. A young lieutenant saw the make-shift patch and shouted, "Look! The general's underwear is showing!"

"The lieutenant came up with a prototype of today's patch, using a piece of cloth from a captured Soldier's uniform, which he placed a red 'One' on," he said. "A solid, olive-green background for the 'Big Red One' was officially approved for wear by members of the division in October of 1918."

Conyers also gave the history of the combat patch, dating it back to Gen. George Washington in the Revolutionary War.

He added that the Army is the only military service in the United States that authorizes the wear of the combat patch, which confirms the Soldier's status as a combat veteran.

In the theatre of operation today, said Imhof, the efforts of working with the Iraqi security forces will bring true success and will make future and former Soldiers proud.

"I've seen you in action, and I know you are up to this task. I am extremely proud to lead and represent every Soldier in the Griffin Battalion," he said. "Every Griffin Soldier is critical to the success of our battalion, the Dagger Brigade, our Army and, quite honestly, our nation. Be proud of the history you are creating and be proud of the 'Big Red One' patch."

• Date Taken: 11.26.2008
• Date Posted: 11.28.2008 07:44
• Story ID: 26900
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ