The branch insignia for the Transportation Corps features three elements: a ship’s wheel representing water transportation, a U.S. highway marker symbolizing land transport, and a winged wheel on a rail denoting the use of railroads to move troops and supplies. This design has its origins in two earlier branch insignia, one for the Motor Transport Corps and another for the Transportation Corps, which combined the rail and waterborne transportation functions of the Inland Traffic Service and the Embarkation Service.
An eight-spoked truck with the winged helmet of the Roman god Mercury superimposed over its center was the insignia approved for the Motor Transport Corps in September 1918, just a month after the Corps had been established from the Motor Transport Service. The Transportation Corps, on the other hand, was established the day after the signing of the Armistice; its insignia eschewed Mercury’s helmet, instead using a winged wheel on a rail to represent rapid delivery of essential supplies.
The Transportation Corps currently comprises just six active-duty Military Occupational Specialties, one of which is a Senior NCO position (88Z). Of the remaining five, two specialize in waterborne transportation (Watercraft Operator and Watercraft Engineer), one is devoted to motorized transportation (Motor Transport Operator), and another involves cargo handling, storage, and movement (Cargo Specialist), with a Transportation Management Coordinator performing administrative oversight duties.
Three Specialties involving Railway operations and maintenance are open only to members of the Army Reserve; none of these serve as feeder specialties for the three Technical Corps Warrant Officer positions of Mobility Officer, Marine Deck Officer, and Marine Engineer Officer.
Commissioned officers in the Transportation Corps ranked Captain or above who have completed requisite Logistics courses become members of the officers-only Logistics branch and wear its insignia.
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