The design of the United States Army Vietnam Combat Service ID Badge, or CSIB, is taken directly from the organization’s Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patch, that was approved for wear on 10 February 1966.
The United Army Vietnam CSIB is crafted in the shape of a shield, a military weapon used almost exclusively for defense, to reflect the United States Army Vietnam's mission of assisting South Vietnam (officially the Republic of Vietnam) in its defense against the invading forces of North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam),
Inside the shield, the yellow and red stripes on the left and right are the colors of the nation of the Republic of Vietnam, while the blue stripe in the middle represents the United States. An upright sword represents the U.S. Military presence in Vietnam in bot advisory and combat roles.
Ironically, the Combat Service ID Badge was not an approved device at the time the Vietnam conflict was raging. It was not introduced until the turn of the century when the Army replaced the old Class A Army Green Service uniform with a blue Army Service Uniform. The CSIB replaced the colored patch known as the SSI-FWTS, or Shoulder Sleeve Insignia-Former Wartime Service, a unit insignia that when worn on the right sleeve of the old Green uniform indicated the wearer had been deployed with that unit when it had officially seen combat. This explains why the designs of the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia and CSIB are almost always the same.
Related ItemsUnited States Army Vietnam Patch (SSI)