Published: March 31, 2011

40th CAB Soldiers Earn Their 'Combat Patch'

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CAMP TAJI, Iraq - The patch placed on their right shoulders marks them for the rest of their careers as Soldiers who have deployed to a combat zone.

Members of the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) conducted "combat patch" ceremonies across Iraq this week. On March 28, brigade commander Col. Mitchell Medigovich told the Soldier's of the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, Headquarters and Headquarters Command to wear the patch with pride.

The 40th CAB's five battalions arrived in country in February and are now conducting full-spectrum aviation operations in support of Operation New Dawn. With about 3,000 Soldiers and 200 helicopters, the brigade is a formidable force in the skies of Iraq, providing transportation and security across the country.

Command Sgt. Maj. David McFerrin puts the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade's combat patch on the right shoulder of 1st Sgt. Reggie Jones on Camp Taji, Iraq.
Photo: Spc. Darriel Swatts)

Army regulations allow Soldiers who have served in a combat theater to wear the insignia of their wartime unit on their right shoulder. With a month in Iraq under their belts and plenty of missions completed, the time arrived for the CAB's Soldiers to don the coveted "combat patch."

"We here, brothers in arms, sisters in arms, serving side by side-we sometimes forget the sacrifices that we're making every day," Medigovich said to the formation of 40th CAB Soldiers in front of the brigade headquarters building on Camp Taji.

"I know what you've given up. I know the dangers that you're facing and I know the risks that are involved, and I can tell you unequivocally that you are a very small percentage of the civilian populace in the world today that has served in a combat theater-and for that you can be very proud."

Medigovich then commanded his troops to place the 40th Infantry Division's sunburst insignia on their right shoulders.

Command Sgt. Maj. David McFerrin puts the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade's combat patch on the right shoulder of Master Sgt. David Gallagher during a combat patch ceremony.
Photo: Spc. Darriel Swatts

"Many of these Soldiers have not deployed before," Command Sgt. Maj. David McFerrin said. "We've come to a combat theater and we have the opportunity to perform our jobs for our country, and at the same time we're helping the people of this country, Iraq, prepare to be on their own."

1st Lt. Joseph Gentry, of Fresno, Calif., said he was proud to serve his country in Iraq. "I'm doing my duty like others have done before me," he said.

"Not everyone gets to wear them," Pfc. Yesenia Mendoza, of Modesto, Calif. said of the combat patch. "We're some of the few that can look back and say, 'We were here.'"

This was the second combat patch for Master Sgt. Rudy Fuentes, of Lancaster, Calif., who earned his first in Iraq in 2004. He said placing the first patch on his shoulder was a meaningful moment. "I hadn't deployed yet, and seeing my Soldiers deploy, I felt I had to do it."

Fuentes said the combat patch ceremony gives Soldiers on their first deployment a sense of pride. "It is a rite of passage," he said.

Now serving during Operation New Dawn in what could be the last year of the Iraq War, Fuentes said he had different feelings receiving his second patch. "If this is our last deployment here, when all is said and done, we as Soldiers can say we did our jobs."

Col. Mitchell Medigovich puts the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade's combat patch on the right shoulder of Lt. Col. Mark Van Dyke.
Photo: Spc. Darriel Swatts