Combat Patches Removed For INSANE Reason- Soldiers Are Seriously Ticked Off There is an unofficial creed when it comes to military patches. You earn it. You keep it. You wear it. Apparently, that motto doesnt matter to the brass at Fort Carson. Brigade Commander Col. David Hodne has issued a new order for all personnel assigned to the 1st Styrker Brigade. They have been instructed to strip their uniforms bare to the bone, only showing the name, rank, American Flag, U.S. Army tape and the 4th Infantry Division insignia according to the Army Times. Soldiers are extremely upset that they are being forced to remove their combat patches. The reason behind the move is mind boggling. Evidently, the new recruits who have not seen combat are feeling a little left out. Seriously. in order to boost morale those who have earned the right to wear the patches are being told to remove them. Upon first hearing of this, I honestly thought it was a hoax. Unfortunately, however, it is all too true. Officials have backtracked somewhat. There are now saying the move is designed to promote a unified army culture. Col. Hodne has said that heissued the requirement for a number of reasons, one of which was to welcome new blood. His unit has a large number of new recruits whose uniforms do not have the combat insignia. Rather than standing out, these newbies will now look just like the rest of the brigade. Hodne attempted to rationalize his decision during a recent training exercise.Its about the collective, its not about the individual. It goes back to culture. Character counts more than your resume, he stated. Its heart more than what you did five or six years ago. Perhaps a contributing factor is that some of the soldiers under his command had just as many patches and insignia on their uniforms as he did. The anger of those having to take off their combat gear is evident in the comments some are making. U.S. Army Afghan war veteran Stephen Carroll made his opinion blatantly clear. I think its an absolutely horrid idea. Simply because some of them dont fall into the group of those who have gone down range doesnt mean that everyone else should hide what theyve done. Its the military, not a group of middle school students. Others have expressed similar views, some more colorfully than others. Their disgust is completely understandable. It is a sad day when those who have signed up to fight our enemies can not even fight their own jealousy. 2016 Vianna Vaughan source: The Federalist Papers 