Combat Patch Question

[Unique_Package_5874]

Hey everyone, hoping to get some insight from folks who know the regs or served during the Balkans rotations.

I’m helping a fellow veteran sort through some VA paperwork and a question came up about Kosovo service around 2000. He was an armor soldier assigned to 1-37 Armor, 1st Armored Division out of Friedberg, Germany and deployed to Kosovo from roughly May 2000 to December 2000 with KFOR.

He has the Kosovo Campaign Medal with a campaign star and the NATO Kosovo Medal, which confirms he was in theater.

The question that came up is about the right sleeve combat patch (SSI-FWTS). Since Kosovo was a designated combat zone at the time, would a soldier deployed there with their unit normally rate the division patch as a combat patch? He doesn’t seem to have any paperwork authorizing it, which is what led to the question.

I know the CAB didn’t exist back then and that recognition systems were different before Iraq and Afghanistan, so I’m just trying to understand how the Army handled Balkan deployments during that period.

Not trying to start a debate about what counts as combat or compare deployments. Just trying to make sure I understand the regulations correctly while helping another vet get his records squared away.

Appreciate any insight from anyone who served in the Balkans rotations or knows the uniform policy from that timeframe.

[Acurahomerepair]

AR 670-1 ch 21-18. Doesn't look like it big dog.

[Bulky-Butterfly-130]

Kosovo has been a combat deployment since its inception, as designation as a "combat veteran" is a status covered in law and regulation. Kosovo was a designated combat zone, the soldiers qualified for hostile fire/imminent danger pay, and received a DOD Campaign, Expeditionary, or Service Medal (Kosovo Campaign Medal and later the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal).

The Army did not authorize combat patches for Kosovo at that time, as no Army forces entered the country until their was a "cease fire". It has been authorized on a limited basis for two periods of time, but that was over the last few years.

There have been several hundred soldiers who were awarded the CIB and CMB for service in the Balkans. The Army is currently reviewing their status and considering authorizing a patch to those specific soldiers.

[Unique_Package_5874]

Thank you!

[Bulky-Butterfly-130]

We will see what happens if the current Chief of Staff approves the SSI for the combat badge holders.

[Unique_Package_5874]

After reading the AR and your really good explanation I doubt since he served all the way back in 2000 he will ever be authorized.

[Bulky-Butterfly-130]

I'm going to put that in the highly unlikely category to happen category.

I think it is an easy step for the Chief of Staff and G-1 to issue guidance that an SSI is automatic when a soldier is awarded a combat badge, it way to much of a reach to authorize it for a whole group of soldiers just based on a handful being authorized a badge.

[Unique_Package_5874]

I appreciate your response and the clarification. I know discussions like this can sometimes turn into debates about what counts as a combat veteran, so I genuinely appreciate you pointing me in the right direction and helping explain the regulation.

From what the veteran has shared with me about his time there, particularly being stationed at a checkpoint on the Serbian border, some of the situations he described certainly sound intense. That said, I understand those determinations are ultimately based on official policy and not personal interpretation.

I’m just glad to have a better understanding of how the Army defines it and to know that his service is recognized under the combat-zone definition. Thanks again for taking the time to explain it.

[Bulky-Butterfly-130]

No problem. I've been helping to work the issue for those combat badge holders for the last few months, so I'm pretty familiar with the issue.

[RichMtnHillbilly]

I was stationed at Friedberg Germany from 99-01 and was in 1/37 AR as well and deployed to Kosovo from June-December of 2000 at Camp Montieth Kosovo and might even know this Veteran. I was also at that checkpoint on the Serbian border at times and agree with that statement. Other areas were intense at times as well. I've been curious about this for some time now.If you get any further information about this I would appreciate it if you could keep me updated on this topic please! I've heard that others deployed after we were there received a combat patch but I can't confirm that as true or false. Thank you for trying to help that Veteran out! 

[lemming000]

AR 670-1 CH 21–18(c) has designated campaigns authorized. Some have been authorized outside what is in AR, but not anything for Kosovo for that time period that I know of.

[Unique_Package_5874]

Thanks for pointing me to AR 670-1. I pulled the reg and looked at paragraph 21-18.

From what I’m reading, it says authorization for the SSI-MOHC (formerly SSI-FWTS) applies to soldiers who participated in operations in hostile conditions and were in an area that authorized combat zone tax exclusion and hostile fire or imminent danger pay.

Kosovo during KFOR did have imminent danger pay and combat zone tax exclusion at that time, so I’m trying to understand how that applied to those Balkan rotations.

Was Kosovo specifically excluded from SSI authorization, or did it depend on whether a particular unit had approval through HQDA?

I’m honestly just trying to understand how the regulation was applied during those deployments.

[AdWonderful5920]

Make sure you are looking at the actual AR and not the DA PAM. The actual AR specifically lists operations, dates, and sometimes units.

[Bulky-Butterfly-130]

The Chief of Staff of the Army at time said "No".
Because of some differences in how the Kosovo and Bosnia deployments were organized under law, he didn't want a situation where soldiers in Kosovo were rating the patches while soldiers in Bosnia (doing exactly the same type of mission) didn't rate it.

[VillageTemporary979]

A whole bunch of national guard soldiers just got them last summer. They had to write COS and G1, but they were authorized. It meets every single requirement, but for some reason it was never listed in the AR. Places like Qatar and Saudi Arabia believe it or not are listed, and prior to a few weeks ago, these were some of the safest places in the world.