The 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team unit crest, or Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), features a stag rampant and encircled by laurel, imagery that is inspired by the design of the crest of the Vermont National Guard, which includes a stag’s head and two branches of laurel. Nicknamed the “Vermont Brigade,” the 86th Infantry Brigade was originally formed in 1878 as a unit in the Vermont Volunteer Militia, a precursor to the state’s National Guard. “Ready To Go,” the unit motto, reflects the unit’s preparedness when called upon to defend its state and country.
Distinctive Unit Insignias are worn by all Soldiers (except General Officers) in units that have been authorized to be issued the device. It is worn centered on the shoulder loops of the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) and the blue Army Service Uniform (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
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Throughout the 20th Century, the units that eventually became the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team served under a variety of designations, including Infantry, Armor, and Service. It wasn’t until 2006 that it was designated as a Brigade Combat Team, and it was as the 86th Infantry BCT that the unit deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; the unit had previously deployed to Iraq as an Armor formation attached to the 26th Infantry Division in 2004 – 2005.
A precursor of things to come for the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team came in June 2015, when the unit was select to take part in multi-echelon integrated brigade training, or MIBT, specifically designed to improve training of Brigade Combat Teams. The following year, the Army announced the start of a pilot program called Associated Units that paired Regular, Reserve, and National Guard units for training purposes. The program, picking up on the concept of readiness training to allow ARNG and AR units to be deployed more rapidly and be better prepared, aligned the 157th Infantry Regiment of the Colorado Army National Guard with the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which itself was associated with the active-duty 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, New York.
Under the Associated Units program, Soldiers will wear the unit patch (Shoulder Sleeve Insignia), CSIB, and DUI of the Regular Army unit that is part of a pairing. In a ceremony held on October 15, 2016 held at Camp Ethan Allen in Vermont, members of the 86th IBCT removed unit patches with the instantly recognizable stag’s head and replaced them with the crossed bayonets of the 10th Mountain Division’s Shoulder Sleeve Insignia.Related Items
86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Patch (SSI)
86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)