U.S. Army Central’s motto, “Semper Prima Tertia,” is Latin for “Third Always First” and is based upon the command’s former designation as Third Army. In 2006, nearly 90 years after Third Army was originally activated in France, that motto took on a new meaning when the Department of the Army decided that numbered Armies were to be redesignated Army Sevice Component Commands and consequently be renamed based upon the combatant commands they support. Because Third Army had served as the Army component of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) since 1982, it was redesignated United States Army Central in February 2008, becoming the first Army to be renamed under the new system. It is commonly referred to by the shorthand name ARCENT.
The design of the U.S. Army Central CSIB (Combat Service Identification Badge) is taken from the Third Army Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patch, and reflects the command’s original mission: to enter Germany and enforce the armistice that brought World War I to a close while a formal peace treaty was being negotiated. The “A” inside an “O” stands for Army of Occupation, a task the Third Army performed admirably. U.S. Army Central retained this unit patch when it was redesignated in 2008.
U.S. Army Central has been headquartered at Patton Hall at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina since 2011. It also has a forward operating element stationed at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.
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U.S. Army Central Patch (SSI)
U.S. Army Central Unit Crest (DUI)