Soldiers mixed on more expensive pin-on CSIB

[unhappycamper]

Some of the Combat Service Identification Badges available for soldiers. The CSID badges will be worn with the new dress blue uniform.


Soldiers mixed on more expensive pin-on CSIB
By Matthew Cox - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 7, 2009 5:15:55 EST

The Army’s new Combat Service Identification Badge is now available in stores and on Web sites for soldiers to buy and display on the new Army Service Uniform.

The CSIB — a pin-on metal badge showing the insignia of major combat units — is for sale alongside the coveted sew-on combat patch it will replace over the next six years.

They cost between $11 and $16 and so far are approved for more than 75 active, National Guard and Reserve units. Depending on availability, soldiers can buy them at Army and Air Force Exchange Service clothing stores as well as commercial military clothing stores and Web sites.

The Army’s Institute of Heraldry began designing the new badges last year to give soldiers the option of displaying their combat service on the ASU, a revised version of the classic, dress blue uniform. Senior Army leaders in 2006 chose the ASU to replace the green Class As and Bs.

About 98 percent of soldiers surveyed by the Army expressed a desire to display combat credentials on the uniform, since the combat patch is not authorized for wear on the current dress blues, Army officials maintain.


Rest of article at; http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/army_combat_badges_120609w/