U.S. ARMY LIEUTENANT COLONEL SHOULDER MARKS

Our Lieutenant Colonel shoulder marks feature the rank insignia of a silver oak leaf embroidered above a golden stripe 1/8th of an inch thick. Designed to slide over the shoulder loops manufactured on the Service uniform shirts (short- and long-sleeved for both AGSU and ASU), the ASU Maternity shirt, Black Unisex Cardigan, and both Black and Heritage Green Pullover Sweaters, shoulder marks are offered in a Large and a Small size to help achieve a proper fit. (DA PAM 670-1 defines this as “when the hook-and-loop attachments or buttons are completely exposed, enabling exact alignment of the hook-and-loop attachments or fastening of buttons.”)

Like all our products, our LTC shoulder marks are Berry Amendment-compliant and meet or surpass all Mil-Spec standards. All personnel may choose between Large shoulder marks (4.25 inches in length) and Small 3.25 inches).
 

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

In both the Continental and British Armies of the Revolutionary War, Lieutenant Colonels were considered the regiment’s second in command—but at the start of the war this meant two different things in actual practice. According to the highly respected reference work The Continental Army by military historian Robert K. Wright, Jr., Colonels were indeed designated as commanding officers of British regiments, but it was actually a titular rank: they dealt only with financial issues and left the actual command and control of the unit up to the Lieutenant Commander and Major. In the Continental Army, on the other hand, regiments were assigned three (sometimes four) field officers—a Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and a Major (or two)—and Colonels actually commanded the troops.

As the war progressed, the Continental Army and Congress began to realize that the discrepancy between the two systems made prisoner exchanges—a common practice of warfare at the time—more difficult that necessary because while the British might hold American Colonels as POWs, the British Colonels were not combat officers and therefore were almost never captured—and thus never available to be used for the exchange.

More Army Lieutenant Colonel Insignias

• Coat Ranks
• Garrison Cap / Beret Rank Insignia
• Embroidered Bullion Rank Insignia
• AGSU Officer Service Cap Device
• ASU Male / Female Officer Service Cap Device
• Army Combat Uniform (ACU) Rank Insignia

In 1778, Congress decided to take steps to address this by mandating that each regiment was to eliminate its Colonel through attrition—i.e., not replace them when captured, wounded, or killed—and place command in the hands of to the Lieutenant Colonel, with a Major serving as a subordinate.

This formula was never achieved in all the Army’s regiments. In those cases where Lieutenant Colonels were serving as the senior officers, their title was expanded to the more descriptive Lieutenant Colonel Commandant.