Duke Brigade Soldiers embrace status, heritage with combat patch ceremony

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class John Zumer | Col. Christopher Toner, a native of Topeka, Kan., and the commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division based out of Fort Knox, Ky., addresses soldiers of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3/1 at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Khowst province, Afghanistan, Feb. 1. The soldiers had attended a ceremony awarding the Big Red One shoulder sleeve insignia, designating former war time service, or combat patch, that officially signified their status as combat veterans serving in a war zone. Toner used his comments to speak on the legacy of the soldiers who had preceded those in attendance, and how current generations are expected to live up to the same lofty standards.  

KHOWST PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

02.01.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. John Zumer 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Young soldiers away from home on their first deployment experience a wide range of emotions. A ceremony on Forward Operating Base Salerno Feb. 1, officially designating them as combat veterans of the U.S. Army’s storied 1st Infantry Division, or Big Red One, helped serve as positive reinforcement for many as to why they proudly wear a soldier’s uniform.

“You represent what’s great about America,” said U.S. Army Col. Christopher Toner, a Topeka, Kan., native and commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke.

He shared his thoughts after the ceremony with the assembled soldiers of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd BCT, 1st Inf. Div., at the event.

U.S. Army uniform guidelines authorize soldiers to wear a shoulder sleeve insignia designating war-time service, more commonly known as a combat patch, if they have served in a war zone. For many of the young soldiers, it is their first opportunity to wear a combat patch.

“It means you’re not just a soldier, but that people look at you differently,” said U.S. Army Pfc. Travis Williams, a native of Newark, N.J., and fire support specialist with HHC, 3rd BCT, 1st Inf. Div., who is on his first overseas deployment. He added that serving overseas is completely different than in his Kentucky garrison environment, largely because of the added importance surrounding events and daily military life in eastern Afghanistan.

“You get to see what we’re fighting for,” said Williams.

What they’re fighting for, according to Toner, includes honoring the proud legacy of Big Red One soldiers who served long ago by ensuring pride in service, integrity and selfless sacrifice continue. Those soldierly attributes are timeless, and the combat patch serves as a constant reminder to maintain that unbroken line of excellence, he said.

“You have just entered the ranks of young soldiers like Spc. Ross McGinnis,” said Toner, conjuring up the name of a contemporary hero soldiers could look to for inspiration if times get tough.

McGinnis, a member of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, which is one of the battalions in the 3rd BCT, 1st Inf. Div., was serving as a vehicle turret gunner during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He died in 2006 after throwing himself upon a grenade an insurgent had thrown into his vehicle. For saving the lives of his fellow soldiers in the vehicle, McGinnis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

That type of devotion and selfless sacrifice, said Toner, ultimately symbolizes the depth of feeling all Soldiers must commit themselves to when they wear the Big Red One combat patch.

“Don’t ever let anybody take it away from you,” said Toner.

• Date Taken: 02.01.2011
• Date Posted: 02.02.2011 05:50
• Story ID: 64638
• Location: KHOWST PROVINCE, AF