Sapper Tab
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| Sapper Tab | |
|---|---|
 Full Color Sapper Tab |
|
| Awarded by United States Army | |
| Type | Tab |
| Awarded for | Completion of the Sapper Leader Course |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Statistics | |
| Established | June 28, 2004 |
| First awarded | June 14, 1985 |
| Last awarded | On going |
| Related | President's Hundred Tab, Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab |
  Top: Desert Subdued Tab, Bottom: Woodland Subdued Tab |
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The Sapper Tab is a military badge of the United States Army which was authorized on June 28, 2004 by the Army Chief of Staff, General Peter Schoomaker. The Sapper Tab is worn as a part of the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI) on the following uniforms: Class A's, BDU's, and ACU's. It is one of four permanent individual skill/marksmanship tabs. In order of seniority (based solely on length), they are the President's Hundred Tab, the Special Forces Tab, the Ranger Tab, and the Sapper Tab.
To be awarded the Sapper Tab, a service member may or may not hold the designation (MOS) as a Combat Engineer, but must have completed the Sapper Leader Course, which is operated by the U.S. Engineer Officer Basic Course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. It falls under HHC, 577th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade. This award is retroactive back to the graduates of the first SLC on June 14 1985.
The full color tab is 2 3/8 inches (6.03 cm) long, 11/16 inch (1.75 cm) wide, with a 1/8 inch (.32 cm) red border and the word "SAPPER" inscribed in white letters 5/16 inch (.79 cm) high. The woodland subdued tab is identical, except the background is olive drab and the word "SAPPER" is in black letters and the desert subdued tab has a khaki background with the word “SAPPER” in spice brown letters.
The Sapper Tab is authorized to be worn simultaneously with the Ranger, Special Forces, and President's Hundred Tabs. Only three permanent tabs may be worn at once.
[edit] Sapper Leader Course
The Sapper Leader Course is a fast-paced 28-day course designed to train joint-service leaders in small unit tactics, leadership skills, and warfighter tactics required to perform as part of a combined arms team in a contemporary operating environment. The SLC is open to enlisted soldiers in the grades of specialist and above, and engineer, officers, captain, and below, as well as contracted ROTC cadets.
Phase I of the course lasts 14 days and covers general subjects including medical techniques, land navigation, demolitions (conventional and expedient), air and water operations, mountaineering, expedient antennas, knots and rigging, and land mines used by enemy forces.
Phase II is also 14 days. It covers basic patrolling techniques and battle drills that emphasize leadership. The subjects include urban operations, breaching, patrol organization and movement, and recon/raid/ambush tactics.
The second phase of the SLC concludes with a three-day situation training exercise, and five-day field training exercise. Training missions conducted during the STX/FTX are a 60/40 mix of engineer and infantry missions. Engineer missions include bridge reconnaissance and demolition, covert obstacle breaching, road cratering, minefields, and field expedient demolition.
Leadership is emphasized throughout the SLC. During Phase I the leadership positions are rotated daily. During Phase II, the position of squad leader is rotated daily, and the patrol leader and assistant patrol leader after each phase of the mission. Each soldier will be evaluated at least twice on leadership during patrolling.
The results of the Sapper Leader Course are hardened combat engineers who are worthy to wear the new Sapper tab and qualified to fight and lead on today’s battlefields.
