No matter which branch of U.S. military service you look at, they’re all well decorated in their different plaques, ribbons, patches, and awards. Having that kind of mindset keeps the ambition high, and veterans seek to better themselves throughout their careers because of it. In this article, we dive deeper into the importance of patches in the armed forces and how they impact performance.

Wearing a Resume

As a military service member, an individual is given their uniform during their basic training with little to no insignias of any kind. This is to resemble their new commitment to the U.S. military and the government. Moving along through their career, throughout every training post and command, awards are given, rank is earned, and service medals and ribbons are decorated on the military veteran.

This is done publicly in front of every command to show what the individual has accomplished while they’re in military service. This is akin to a resume, where you start very inexperienced and gradually earn and accomplish things such as degrees and experience that define future roles. So, it’s only natural that the veteran’s military identity is based upon their uniform as it gives a detailed description of who they are and where they are in their career.

A Different Perspective

There exists something of a pendulum swing in the mindset of military thinking. The objective side of things recalls all the rules and regulations that are upheld and carried out. Meanwhile, the subjective reality veterans experience is one where they must best themselves and everyone else constantly. The patches signal special warfare campaigns that they achieved high recognition for, which is what makes them all unique. Not every veteran has the same patches, but they long for them due to their levels of status as some are higher ranking than others.

Alongside this psychological framework, veterans have a cooperative mentality where they’re called to look out for one another as part of a cohesive and familial understanding. So, there is a particular conflict of interest. This is where U.S. military patches and ribbons take precedence as a physical symbol of the conflict.

War and Peacetime

There is a threefold understanding taught throughout military operations during both war and peacetime. This method revolves around armed conflict, competition, and cooperation. These three concepts are tiered: cooperation is at the bottom and represents peacetime, and armed conflict is at the top, and represents wartime. Different patches are given for all three states of wartime, which also keeps competition high, as some veterans find themselves in wartime consistently and others do not.

Competitive Versus Cooperative

With a competitive state of mind, veterans can truly focus on themselves without completely turning inward and lessening the inner conflict among units and branches. With a competitive mindset comes the more cooperative mentality, which has been garnered great rewards in service operations since not all military members are called to be involved in armed conflict. This is a new wave and era of military thinking that is progressively minded. Alongside that, the peacetime patches now have a greater established meaning, whereas wartime patches would be harped upon as the ones of greatest importance in times of the past.

Many older methods of operations might have been solved through heavily-armed conflict, as where now there are more cooperative and strategic tactics in place to get the best results. As such, you can see why patches are important in the armed forces—they’re an honor to receive rather than a privilege.