The military of most armies in the world have signs that distinguish between ranks and stripes on military uniforms. RF is no exception. Russian servicemen, as well as their Ukrainian and Belarusian colleagues, are actively using elements that make it possible to determine the belonging of soldiers to a particular branch of the army, in full dress and field clothes. When did the stripes appear? What elements of clothing have historically preceded them? How are they usually worn?
What are patches?
The personnel of the armed forces of almost any army in the world are represented in many military ranks. In order to understand which of the military is a soldier and who is a general, there are so-called insignia. The main of them are shoulder straps, fixed, as a rule, on the shoulder areas of military uniforms. But, besides them, there are also other types of insignia, including stripes. They are attached to military uniforms using sewing stitches - hence the name.
They are located mainly on the sleeves of military clothing. In addition to the distinctive function, patches can sometimes reflect certain achievements of a soldier, belonging to some kind of army or units. This element of army clothing is also popular among civilians. With the help of stripes, people indicate belonging to any organization, movement, association.
Stripe Technology
There are no universal standards for the manufacture of stripes; each garment factory uses its own technology. The option is quite popular when the patch is a cloth glued with high-quality non-woven fabric (for stiffening). Such samples, as a rule, are resistant to external influences, washing. Their shape will last a long time. There are stripes made using sublimation (or thermal transfer). They are characterized by the possibility of applying any images to them. Patches can be sewn to the fabric manually or with the help of sewing machines. There are devices capable of applying stripes as part of large batches of clothing - by the "conveyor" method. There are those that are adapted to the processing of certain types of clothing - trousers, jackets, baseball caps.
What is chevron
Among the popular insignia are chevrons. This word of French origin, means (in the most common interpretation) rafters (usually ship). Chevrons are stripes on a military uniform in the form of V-shaped elements. Can be made of galun, cord, braid. They are usually located on the sleeves. At a time when the armed forces of our country were called the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, what is now called the chevron was called the "sleeve insignia".
This element is used in heraldry (as part of flags and emblems), as an architectural component (for describing parts of structures, ornaments), on military military equipment (mainly as insignia). Many conscript soldiers of the Russian army call chevrons of an image or patches on clothes, which do not necessarily have a V-shape.
Chevron History
As such, the word "chevron" appeared and began to spread in the Middle Ages. The fact is that in even more ancient times, sailing ship officers sewed sleeve signs on camisoles in the form of rafters, that is, triangular. This was done so that the commanders of the ship were clearly visible during the battle. "Chevron", as mentioned above, - it "rafters" in French. Despite the fact that the shape of the stripes located on the military uniform, in subsequent years, could differ from the classical triangular, the name "chevron" remained.
Historians note that over time, the purpose of chevrons has changed. At some times, military chevrons on the sleeves of soldiers meant seniority in rank. At other times, the number of patches could mean the number of wounds received by a soldier or the term of service. Chevrons were not an exceptional attribute of military clothing. They were used in civilian life. For example, as symbols of a professional or social identity of a clothing carrier.
How are rank insignia used in the army
Military uniform patches are one of many insignia used in the armed forces. Among others - epaulets, cockades (on headgear), epaulettes, gorget, buttons, edging. The insignia are fixed on military uniforms in order to indicate the rank of a military officer, class rank, position, or personal military rank. Often - to determine whether a soldier belongs to a particular military branch or department. The first insignia appeared during tribal relations. They were used so that people belonging to different genders could distinguish each other (and those that were from the same one could make mutual identification). Insignia helped people form a hierarchy in relationships. Some historians consider tattoos the prototypes of modern stripes. The first insignia affixed or depicted on clothing, according to some historians, were in ancient China. Legionnaires in the army of the Roman Empire also used such signs. Gradually, military uniforms of other European powers began to place patches on military uniforms.
Military and non-military uniform
In Russia, the status of a military uniform is determined at the state level by the Heraldic Council under the President. This type of clothing is worn by citizens serving in several authorities. These are the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, the FSO, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia, the Ministry of Emergencies, as well as the Federal Agency for Special Construction of the Ministry of Defense and the Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President of Russia. For other departments, two other types of uniforms are provided - the clothes of civil servants of the state law enforcement service with special ranks, as well as the clothes of civil servants of the law enforcement and civil service with cool ranks.
Elements of distinction of military ranks on buttonholes
In a number of modern armies or military units (for example, in the Russian armed forces) the so-called lapel insignia are used. These are emblems (almost always paired) located on the collar of the uniform (buttonhole). During the time of the Russian Empire, the main distinction was epaulettes.
But the buttonholes appeared after the 1917 revolution. For the first time, historians recorded their use in 1922. The emblems of the combat arms were introduced in 1924, and a year later the military command of the USSR decided that soldiers were obliged to wear buttonholes with insignia on categories of service and specialties, as well as emblems of units (units). In 1935, military ranks appeared in a sound close to modern. Lapel insignia were used in the Soviet Army until 1943, when shoulder straps were introduced (and instead of emblems, buttonholes were placed on a button).
In the future, the rules for wearing this insignia changed. In the 1950s, the tradition of wearing emblems on the buttonholes was returned, and it continued until 1994. After the buttonholes were not worn (except for the location of the emblems on the corners of the collars and shoulder straps). But in 2004, “classic” emblems were introduced. The uniform of the Russian army contains lapel insignia on almost all military branches.
Chevrons in the Russian army
The official name of the chevrons in the modern Russian army is “sleeve insignia”. They determine the membership of a soldier in a specific army formation. The location of the stripes on the military uniform is the left sleeve of the uniform.
Chevrons are officially in most branches of the Russian Federation, but not all. Patches of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, soldiers of the Ground Forces, employees of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, pilots of the Russian Air Force, sailors of the Navy, paratroopers of the Airborne Forces, and also soldiers serving in the Missile Forces and units of the Aerospace Defense of the Russian Armed Forces wear sleeve insignia.
Army of Ukraine: elements of military uniforms
Among the countries whose army uses military uniform patches are Ukraine. In particular, sleeve elements are on the uniforms of soldiers of the Marine Corps. Such patches are used in order to determine in which part the military serves.
They are worn on the left sleeve and are located 10 cm from the shoulder strap. On the field form, it’s different: on the left sleeve there is a patch pocket. A patch is attached to it.
Army of Belarus: features of rank differences
Military uniform patches are actively used by the Belarusian military as insignia . Depending on the rank, the military personnel of the Republic of Belarus wear a certain type of clothing and uniform. For example, soldiers and sergeants (when wearing full-dress jackets) wear red stripe epaulets, warrant officers in protective colors, and officers in gold. Regardless of rank, protective uniform epaulets are used on the field uniform, and they are also removable. On dress shirts - epaulets of the same color as on a tunic, but, as well as in the case of a field uniform, removable.