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US Army OD Twill SSG Rank Badge

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Part Number: FFV03-VNRANK-SSGT

Availability: In Stock.

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Description

Faithful production of the "in-country" style rank chevrons of the Vietnam War.

When the United States was first engaged in the Vietnam War, the OG107 fatigues and early jungle blouses tended featured all manner of colorful insignia, including the bright yellow rank chevrons on each sleeve. This proved to be an immediate issue for servicemen fighting in the dense Southeast Asian terrain where these bright chevrons made for excellent targets for the enemy. As the American involvement in Vietnam escalated with the deployment of large combat units, an urgent need for subdued insignia was required. Beginning with nametapes, insignia gradually changed from high contrast colors to a subdued black and olive drab. In 1966, subdued rank insignia was approved for wear, and US forces in the field quickly made the change. The change was in fact so swift, that US supplied insignia failed to sufficiently supply all troops with subdued rank insignia. Soldiers in the field opted at times to forgo insignia entirely, or procure insignia from indigenous sources in South Vietnam.

These "in-country" patches generally were constructed from simply olive drab twill cutouts, with black material sewn over top. They tended to fray quite a bit in the field, and their consistency in shape and quality tended to vary from badge to badge. Over time, these would be finally supplanted by US provided embroidered insignia, which included merrowed borders as a standard and an overall more durable construction. However as the Vietnam War progressed into a political and social quagmire for the United States at large through 1968-69, things like uniform regulation were not at the foremost priority for the fighting man. As a result, the simpler "in-country" style insignia continued to be utilized by personnel, right up until the last major combat units left Vietnam completely by 1973.

This "in-country" style twill patch represents the rank of Staff Sergeant with the pay grade of E-6 - a mid-level leader who could find himself commanding anything from a 10-man squad, to a a 30-man platoon within an infantry company. More often than not, it tended to be the latter and many Staff Sergeants found themselves in the role of both Platoon Sergeant and Platoon Commander. Constant attrition in the field, and the chaotic rotation of combat soldiers in and out of country with recurring R&R periods, and the end of the famous one-year terms in Vietnam put a great deal of strain on men filling Staff Sergeant billets. The Vietnam War in particular was known for it's significant proportion of "shake-n-bake NCOs", men who were fast-tracked through NCO training in the United States and arrived in Vietnam to instantly take over a squad. The difficulty of showing up as a fresh "cherry", and having to lead men into combat is worthy of mention and praise.

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US Army OD Twill SSG Rank Badge

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