Army seeks recommendations for Maneuver Center of Excellence patch, crest, motto

By Fort Knox Public AffairsJanuary 5, 2007

FORT KNOX, Ky. (Army News Service, Jan. 5, 2007) - The Army is accepting design ideas through March 31 for the shoulder sleeve insignia, distinctive unit insignia and motto for the Maneuver Center of Excellence.

The infantry and armor schools will collocate and become the MCOE at Fort Benning, Ga., during the next five years. The center will be responsible for all Army land-based maneuver training development, doctrine, and capabilities development for armor and infantry proponencies.

"Throughout the history of modern warfare, infantry and armor have fought side-by-side as brothers in arms," said Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, chief of infantry. "With the creation of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, infantry and armor will now train together forging an Army Strong partnership which produces America's best Soldiers, more capable than ever. The selected patch, crest and motto must reflect the historic strength of this partnership and the future strength of our Army."

Personnel assigned to the infantry and armor schools will continue wearing current shoulder sleeve and distinctive unit insignias that reflect the contributions, sacrifices and spirit of each branch.

Soldiers assigned directly to the MCOE will wear the new insignia.

"The challenge in designing the new insignia will be to capture the historic essence of each branch and their collective embodiment of maneuver as a principle of war," said Maj. Gen. Robert M. Williams, chief of armor. "We're looking for innovative ideas to capture the significance of both Army and the Infantry lineage."

Current and retired military personnel and Department of Army civilians may provide input for just one or all of the items.

Designs should be drawn on paper or provided as JPG or BMP electronic files, and may be sent on diskette or CD-ROM via normal mail or as an e-mail attachment. The motto must be in English and is limited to 26 characters (letters and spaces).

All submissions must include the name, phone number, e-mail address and mailing address of the individual submitting the designs and motto.

Submissions may be sent via e-mail in files no larger than three megabytes to MCOE_Insignia_Suggestions@knox.army.mil or mailed to ARMOR Magazine, ATTN: ATZK-DAS-A (MCOE Patch), 201 6th Ave., Ste. 373, Building 1109A, Fort Knox, KY 40121-5721 or to Headquarters, U.S. Army Infantry Center, ATTN: ATSH-ATH, Building 4, Room 451, Fort Benning, GA 31905-5000.

Submissions will be screened by the MCOE Board of Directors, which is chaired jointly by the chief of armor and chief of infantry. The best concepts will be used by the Institute of Heraldry in final production of the patch and crest.

The individual(s) who submit the shoulder sleeve insignia, distinctive unit insignia and motto design selected by the board of directors will receive a framed final patch. Top entries in each category will also receive an MCOE coin with certificate of recognition for top entries. These acknowledgements will be issued in the fall of 2008.

Disclaimer: The Army will acquire ownership of all entries, and each submitter agrees that submission of a design constitutes (1) assignment to the Army of any and all rights in the design, including copyright, and (2) a disclaimer of any trademark rights. All entries become the property of the Army, and the Army will have the sole right, at its discretion, to alter or modify any submitted design. By submitting a design, the submitter warrants that the design is original; that it has not been previously published; and that it does not infringe upon the copyright of any other person or entity.

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