Often called a shoulder patch or unit patch, the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia-Military Operations in Hostile Conditions (SSI-MOHC) insignia for the Special Troops Battalion (STB), 75th Ranger Regiment was approved on 7 April 2006, but in a way it could be said it was approved on 26 July 1984. That’s the date on which the format of the insignias for the 75th Ranger Regiment and its organic component units was approved—a format that allowed the viewer to “read” the unit’s name from right to left on the three folds of the scroll.
For instance, for the 1st Battalion’s patch, this meant place “1st” on the viewer’s leftmost scroll, “Ranger” in the middle, and “BN” on the rightmost fold; for the Special Troops Battalion, the “1st” is replaced with “75th” and “STB” replaces “BN.”
While the Special Troops Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment was not activated under that designation until 16 October 2007, its lineage and history goes back to October 1943 and includes sixteen campaign credits from World War II, a seemingly impossible number until you consider that units that were consolidated into the Battalion’s lineage brought their campaign credits with them.
It also helps you appreciate how the Battalion is credited with an astonishing six Presidential Unit citations—from locales ranging from Tunisia to Italy and France to Burma (now called Myanmar). Besides World War II, the Battalion’s history prior to 2007 also includes three campaigns in Korea (where it earned a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation). Its campaign participation record during the War on Terrorism is yet to be determined.
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75th Ranger Regiment, Special Troops Battalion Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)