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If you or a loved on is in service you either have or have heard of an Army challenge coin.  Challenge coins have been part of US military for over 100 years but are really becoming popular with the US having troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

The true origins of challenge coins goes back as far as the Roman Empire.  There, a soldier would be given a printed challenge coin to represent a particular campaign in which they served (hence the name, challenge coin).  They served the same function as the ribbons on modern uniforms do.

Their use has changed a bit for the modern US military.  Now, while not officially sanctioned by the US military or the US government, they are more used to signify a particular unit.  In fact, the first challenge coin was  an Air Force challenge coin. It can be argued that these would have been Army coins because in WWI there was no Air Force; it was known a the Army Air Corps.

The unit that first used them was the 48^th Intelligence squadron.  Remember, this was WWI so the only real purpose of air planes was as an intelligence vehicle.  They were really not bombers or attack planes although that did not stop an effort to make them into just that.  The first bombings via airplane was little more than hand grenades tossed out of the open cockpit of the bi-wings.  The very first “dogfights” where just two pilots shotting hand guns at each other.

Back to the 48^th ,the first challenge coins Where printed for them and even managed to keep one young officer from getting executed for being a spy and the tradition of challenge coins was born for the US military.  Now days, as they have become increasingly popular, their importance has grown.  For the men and women in uniform they serve as part of the bond and help develop unit cohesion.   For the families they have had to leave behind while they  serve they are little reminders, almost like little yellow ribbons.  Now, when you see one, you well know what it is and give it it’s due respect.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 10th, 2010 at 9:44 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.