406th Mobile Medical Laboratory

The 406th Mobile Medical Laboratory was the first unit of its type to arrive in South Vietnam, with a detachment arriving from Japan in 1962.  The Mobile Medical Laboratory was part of the US Army's Medical Service, with their mission being to generate medical technical information for patient care, disease prevention, and forensic activity.  In 1965 the 406th was placed control of the blood program with the responsibility to: calculate estimates of blood requirements, establish blood depot facilities, coordinate for delivery, establish procedures for appropriate utilization of blood, consolidate blood reports, and conduct inspections of medical treatment facilities utilizing blood.

WWII 82nd Airborne Gliderman

Here's a neat period photo from my collection of a WWII glider man of the 82nd Airborne Division.  Likely that this photo was taken in England during the war.

1st Cavalry Regiment

Here's another great studio portrait.  This time it's a trooper from the 1st Cavalry Regiment (Mechanized), taken about 1940 or 1941.  The colorization was done after the picture was taken, a common practice with portraits back then.  Note the mechanized infantry, or "Tank Infantry" collar disk on this left collar (viewers right).

31st Infantry Regiment, Occupied Japan

Here's a great post WWII/Pre-Korean war studio portrait of a young member of the 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.   Note the heavy cross stitching on the shoulder patch, a common enhancement of the time.

IED Hunters: Route Clearance and Mine Field Clearance patches from OEF

Here is a selection of Counter IED and mine clearance patches made at Bagram Airfield Afghanistan and worn by US Army Engineers.  The rectangle shape is designed to be worn on the top frap of the sleeve pocket on the Army Combat Uniform (ACU).   A few have misspellings, a common mistake since the people who made them don't speak english.

B Co 2/238th AVN OEF 2009

Here's an interesting Army aviation patch, designed and worn by B Company, 2nd BN 238th Aviation in Afghanistan during 2009.   This was a National Guard CH-47 unit, but the operated as part of a Aviation Battalion Task Force from the 101st Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. They were based at FOB Salerno in Eastern Afghanistan and in direct support of 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.

The photo below shows a CH-47 from this unit sling loading a howitzer from FOB Salerno in April 2009.

Multi-National Corps Iraq "JOC Rats"

This Iraq theater made patch is a perfect example of soldiers with a sense of humor and too much time on their hands.   Its been said that if you have to explain a joke then it's no longer funny, but here it goes anyway.

Multi-National Corps Iraq (MNCI, as seen on the left of this patch)  was the intermediate level command, stuck between the Division commands (two star generals) and the Multi-National Forces Iraq command (the 4-star general in charge of all Iraq, once GEN Petraeus).  In reality, they often acted as a go-between for the higher and lower HQs.  So you can image there was some animosity between MNCI and MNFI, especially since their offices were literally next door to each other.

The "OIF Infinity" on the right of the patch referencing the military's system of numbering OIF rotations.  It started with OIF I in 2003, but within a few years the system of sequential numbers became too confusing, so they went with simply using the years which the rotation spanned (i.e. OIF 06-07).   Infinity is a clear reference to our seemingly open ended commitment.

"JOC" stands for Joint Operations Center, same as a Tactical Operations Center but in a joint environment. So a "JOC Rat" would would be the same as a "TOC Rat", which is a slang term for someone who works in a TOC all day and rarely sees the light of day.  Similar species to a TOCroach.  Yes, this patch says Rates instead of rats, but misspellings such as this are common and most likely why the patch was being sold to just anyone and not the person who ordered it.

The "spear" the rat is holding is taken strait from the middle of the MNCI shoulder patch (shown left), and the reference to "here kitty kitty" is about the "lion of babylon" that is the major item on the MNFI shoulder patch (shown right).