[Note: Customers purchasing this patch may also be interested in the 76th Operational Response Command Distinctive Unit Insignia, commonly referred to as a unit crest or a DUI.]The U.S. Army Reserve 76th Operational Response Command has been in existence for less than a decade, but the 76th Operational Response Command Shoulder Sleeve Insignia has been worn by Soldiers for more than a century. That’s because it was originally approved for wear by the 76th Division, later designated as the 76th Infantry Division, on 23 June 1922 and had been worn since 1918.
Originally constituted in the National Army on 5 August 1917 and organized at Camp Devens, Massachusetts on 25 August 1917, the 75th Division was designated as a Depot Division and its troops used as replacements for units on the front lines; it was awarded a World War I campaign streamer with no inscription because the Division did not take part as a whole in any given battle or campaign.
For the rest of its history as a Division, the unit would be allotted to the Reserves and called into Federal service as needed. This happened twice, first during World War II when the Division was deployed to the European theater (it took part in three campaigns there) and then nearly fifty years later during the Persian Gulf War (although less than 1,000 Division personnel were deployed overseas and the Division did not earn campaign participation credit). For the rest of its active periods, it served in a training role for Reserve units, up until its reorganization as the 76th Operational Response Command (ORC) in 2013.
Based at the Stephen A. Douglas Armed Forces Reserve Center in Salt Lake City, the 76th ORC is the Army Reserve’s organization that provides Defense Support of Civil Authorities, or DSCA. The 76th ORC coordinates support for first responders, local and state government officials, and Federal agencies in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.
The 76th Operational Command Shoulder Sleeve Insignia has a white heraldic device called a label, a symbol of cadency (sequence) that denotes the 76th Division as one of the first to be constituted in the National Army. For decades, the Division was known as the “Liberty Bell” Division—not because it had been garrisoned in Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, but because its numeric designation was the final part of the year 1776. Both the Division and the ORC are now referred to by the word “ONAWAY,” which is also the battle cry. The 76th Division had trained upon Chippewa ground, and “ONAWAY” was the word the Chippewa used to alert their warriors that enemies had been spotted.