question about military unit shoulder patches

[SAC69]

I see high-ranking Army officers on the news and they often have unit patches on their shoulder for the 101st, 82nd, Old Ironsides, etc. The question is, they are so highly-ranked such as a theatre commander, Chief of Staff, etc., that they are no longer a direct member of that unit, or are they? Does a Captain in the 82nd ever move to be a Major in the 101st, and so on? So, does the Army Chief of Staff or another high-ranked officer wear the patch of his first ever unit ever assigned, last unit assigned, or maybe they never switch units?

Thanks for any info.

 

[stump]

I see high-ranking Army officers on the news and they often have unit patches on their shoulder for the 101st, 82nd, Old Ironsides, etc. The question is, they are so highly-ranked such as a theatre commander, Chief of Staff, etc., that they are no longer a direct member of that unit, or are they? Does a Captain in the 82nd ever move to be a Major in the 101st, and so on? So, does the Army Chief of Staff or another high-ranked officer wear the patch of his first ever unit ever assigned, last unit assigned, or maybe they never switch units?

Thanks for any info.

It's important to know that the patch for the current unit assigned is worn on the left shoulder, and on the right shoulder is the patch for the unit assigned during a tour in a combat zone. Usually, the "combat" patch does not change, while the "unit" patch changes with assignments (and, yes, that happens all the time). Actually, it's likely, with as long as we've been engaged, for people to have multiple "combat" patches; in that case, I believe, it's the wearer's choice...