New Pride: Guardsman describes significance of being allowed to wear combat patch

To the untrained eye, the 2½-by-1½ inch rectangle is just a piece of odd-looking cloth. It looks like a volleyball net set inside an oval.

But to Jeff Triplett, a Winston-Salem native and a sergeant first class in the N.C. National Guard, the patch means everything. Yes, it's a symbol of his unit, the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, currently deployed in Iraq. And it represents service to country, duty and sacrifice.

A Navy veteran, Triplett, 52, had been deployed to the Persian Gulf on the destroyer USS Comte de Grasse in 1985, part of a Navy mission to protect Kuwaiti oil tankers during the war between Iraq and Iran. To the young men he serves with now, Triplett's previous service was "lots of water under the keel."

That changed in November 2002 when he enlisted in the N.C. National Guard. His reasons were part financial and part patriotic. He wanted to beef up his military retirement benefits and "make a contribution after 9/11."

He got his chance when the 30th was sent to Iraq earlier this year. Nine days ago, after more than three months in Iraq, the soldiers from the 30th were awarded the privilege of wearing that patch on their right sleeves -- an honor that signifies service in a combat zone.

"It's a very proud moment, especially for the first time, when a soldier is allowed to wear a combat patch," said Maj. Matt Handley of the N.C. National Guard headquarters.

Proud history

Triplett was so moved by having earned his patch that he sat down to write in an attempt to capture his feelings.

The resulting correspondence landed in a Journal in-box, and was forwarded to me yesterday. A lucky exchange of e-mails followed. It was about 7 p.m. in Baghdad, and Triplett just happened to be logged on to the Internet. I'd met him once before, in December before the 30th started training for deployment, and so had asked permission to quote his thoughts.

"Thank you for your interest in this story," he wrote before digging to see if he could find a photo of the patch suitable for e-mailing.

To soldiers, the placement of a patch on a uniform carries great significance and tells a story by itself. On the left sleeve, a soldier wears a patch from the unit he (or she) is currently assigned to. On the right, underneath a battle flag (a U.S. flag with the field of stars on the right, facing forward) a soldier who has served in combat can wear the patch of the unit he or she was assigned to in combat.

For members of the 30th combat brigade -- made up of soldiers based in North Carolina and a battalion from West Virginia -- this particular patch reminds them of their collective history.

Nicknamed "Old Hickory" in honor of Andrew Jackson, the 30th Infantry Division was originally formed from Guard units in North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina on July 18, 1917, for service in World War I. It was called up for overseas deployment shortly after Pearl Harbor, and went ashore 11 days after the Invasion of Normandy (D-Day, plus 11) as an infantry outfit, fighting with great distinction.

Great symbolism, pride

The patch itself is an oval shape that forms the letters "O" and "H" with three X's formed across the "H." (The "OH" stands for "Old Hickory.")

Although the patch might not be as recognizable as the Screaming Eagle representing the Army's 101st Airborne Division, to the soldiers who wear it, the patch symbolizes the Guard's place in history, and its role as a service available for deployment overseas or in time of crisis in this country. And it marks the sacrifices made by its members.

As if anybody needed reminding of those sacrifices, four members of the 30th were killed by an IED in Baghdad on June 29 -- the second-to-last day of U.S. combat operations in Iraq's cities.

A fellow soldier who had been deployed to Iraq three times before told Triplett that although "a combat patch does not make the man," it does help identify others who have had similar experience. And so it was that Sgt. Jeff Triplett stood alongside fellow soldiers sometimes derided as "weekend warriors" and accepted with great pride an odd-looking piece of cloth.

"That tangible piece of fabric held in place by Velcro loop-and-pile fasteners carries so much weight," Triplett wrote.

■ Scott Sexton can be reached at 727-7481 or at ssexton@wsjournal.com.

The 30th

The 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team's patch carries a great deal of symbolism for the brigade, which started life as an infantry division in World War I. The name, Old Hickory, refers to the nickname of former soldier and President Andrew Jackson, who was born near North Carolina's border with South Carolina. The black outline of the patch represents the letter "O" and the inner lines represent the letter "H." The three "X's in the "H" are the Roman numerals for 30. The black and green patch is for use on the Army's combat uniform; on the Army's dress uniforms the patch outline is in royal blue and the inside is scarlet red.

SOURCE: PFC. KELLY LECOMPTE, 30TH HBCT