A Headdress Adds A Feather: The Speial Unit Designation of 2nd Brigade, 98th Training Division

A HEADDRESS ADDS A FEATHER: THE SPECIAL UNIT DESIGNATION OF 2ND BRIGADE, 98TH TRAINING DIVISION

By Col. Theron Spurgeon

What do you want your call sign to be?” asked my S6. That marked the start of a multi-month effort that ended in April 2022 when, at our headquarters at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, members from the 2nd Brigade, 98th Training Division commemorated the award of the Special Unit Designation (SUD), “SENECA.”

The story begins a bit early, however…the day I took command of 2nd Brigade. That day, I asked my Command Sergeant Major, Jonathan Bentley, “Do we have a unit nickname?” I knew we had a unit motto, “Second to None!” but I was interested to know if we had a greeting of the day that included a unit nickname. Command Sgt. Maj. Bentley did not think so. I confirmed with a couple other members of my staff that we indeed did not have a nickname. Satisfied, I told the team that we would just be, “The” Brigade. In the months that followed, I would refer to our brigade as, “The Brigade.” Our greeting of the day became, “Made in The Brigade,” with the response being, “Second to None!” I had resigned myself to the idea that we would not have a nickname. That is until a fateful day winter day at Fort Jackson.

In February 2021, we had been tasked to plan and host the Division Best Warrior Competition. While conducting a training area reconnaissance with my staff, my Brigade S6, Maj. Nick Charlton asked me a question, “What do

you want your call sign to be?” He was working on the signal annex to the Operation Order and needed to know what to put for all the station call signs. He suggested that since our higher headquarters was the Iroquois Division, perhaps it might be fitting to adopt the name of one of the five nations of the Iroquois Confederation?

We could only reliably pronounce two of the five nations: Seneca and Mohawk. We all agreed that “Mohawk” had some word associations that we wanted to avoid (having recently been removed from AR 670-1), so we settled on, “Seneca.” But the real work of receiving an official unit designation had only just begun.

What followed was an almost year-long process that included 2nd Brigade’s Operations Officer, Lt. Col. Mac Wood reaching out to the U.S. Army Office of Heraldry to inquire about the process of receiving a Special Unit Designation. The office advised Lt. Col. Wood to first receive the permission of the Seneca Nation to use their name. He then composed a letter to the Seneca Nation President, explaining who the 2nd Brigade, 98th Training Division was and that we were seeking his permission to use the Seneca name as our Special Unit Designation. After multiple follow-up e-mails and phone calls to the president’s office, the answer to our question came back by e-mail in a one-word response, “Yes.” Success!

Awarded January 28, 2022, by the U.S. Army Chief of Military History, the official designation of “SENCA” marks an association between 2nd Brigade and the Seneca Nation, adding to the rich history of 2nd Brigade and the 98th Training Division. Years ago, the 98th Division received their Special Unit Designation, “IROQUOIS,” associating the division with the mighty Native American confederation. The 98th Division patch features the head of an Iroquois chief, with five feathers representing the five original Iroquois nations. Just as 2nd Brigade is largest brigade in the 98th Training Division, the Senecas were the largest of the original five Iroquois nations.

At the designation ceremony on April 28, 2022, 2nd Brigade Commander, Col. Theron Spurgeon, read Lt. Col. Wood’s request letter aloud, before unit Historian, Staff Sgt. Alonso Davis read the designation award memo. The commander then encased the framed award certificate in the unit’s display case, before ordering his Assistant Operations Officer, Capt. Gregory Hotaling to post. As the final act of the ceremony, Col. Spurgeon handed Capt. Hotaling the Seneca Brigade’s feather, with special instructions to take the feather to the division headquarters and present to the command, symbolizing 2nd Brigade’s alliance with its higher headquarters.

The 2nd Brigade command team would like to thank President Pagels and the Seneca Nation’s Ms. Leigh Ann Jackson, in the Office of the President, for their support and assistance. Second Brigade hopes to carry on a rich legacy and tradition of excellence, fitting of the designation, “SENECA.” A framed replica of the designation memo will be mailed to the Office of the President, memorializing the eternal relationship between 2nd Brigade and the Seneca Nation.