CAMP SIMBA, Kenya –
Task Force Paxton’s command team, Lt. Col. Eric Ponzek and Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Barclay, led one of the most memorable moments of a Soldier’s career at during a ceremony here March 21, 2024.
Known colloquially as the combat patching ceremony, this signifies the Soldier’s service in a combat zone and forever links that Soldier and their service to the history of the unit. The official name of the patch earned is the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia Military Operations in Hostile Conditions. The Soldiers comprising Task Force Paxton, drawn from nine separate companies across Pennsylvania, have come together under the banner of the task force and earned this honor.
With temperatures reaching into the mid-90’s and the afternoon African sun shining down, Barclay stepped up to address the Soldiers on the significance of earning the patch. The history of the tradition reaches back to the days of George Washington, who authorized the wear of a patch called the Badge of Military Merit, the forerunner to what is now known as the Purple Heart.
The tradition of using patches to signify a Soldier’s unit and rank evolved through the following two centuries and became very prevalent in World War II. As Soldiers shifted from unit to unit, they would move the insignia of their old unit to signify they were a combat veteran and to remember their fallen service members.
Ponzek spoke to the Soldiers about the history of the 28th Infantry Division and the significance of the patch. The red keystone, the official emblem signifying the 28th Infantry Division, was commonly referred to as “the Bloody Bucket” by the Germans in World War II due to its shape and red color. This nickname has stuck with the emblem through the years, and it is with great pride the Soldiers of Task Force Paxton have earned the right to wear the Keystone on their right sleeve, below their American flag.
This has been a day long coming for many of the Soldiers. It has been 15 years since the patch was awarded to these units. The ranks have grown thin of Soldiers wearing the vaunted combat patch on their right shoulder through retirement and discharge.
Many of the Soldiers that now stand tall in the ranks followed in a long line of volunteers to raise their right hand and take the oath of enlistment were only toddlers the last time the units that make up Task Force Paxton were awarded the combat patch. They have been trained under the watchful eyes of the officers and NCOs who previously earned the right, who have stayed in to make sure the next generation of Soldiers are passed down the knowledge and experience they gained as a younger Soldier.
The patching ceremony is an unofficial rite of passage for the American Soldier. One that forever after sets that Soldier apart. It binds together the Soldiers deployed together in a combat zone as not just friends, not just Soldiers, but brothers and sisters who lived and served together with common experience.