11/17/2025
Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2/34th Infantry Brigade Combat Team had the honor of earning their combat patches at the beginning of September. The combat patch is a long, honored tradition that reminds us of those who served before us. During the ceremony, soldiers got to put a Red Bull patch on their right sleeve. This comes from a World War II tradition, before the concept of combat patches. Soldiers who transferred to a new unit moved the patch of their previous unit to the right sleeve as a form of remembrance for their fallen comrades, and to demonstrate that the wearer was a combat veteran, not an inexperienced replacement.
The significance of the Red Bull patch comes from the 34th Division’s origin in Camp Cody, New Mexico in October of 1917. The shape of the patch is an olla, or Mexican water flask, and the bull skull symbolizes the dry, desert area. The black denotes durability, firmness, and stability, while the red is for courage and action. After everyone in the unit was patched with the Red Bull, Chaplain Lucas Murphy led the company in a prayer and moment of silence to remember the sacrifice of our fellow soldiers.
