{"id":12463,"date":"2019-10-21T17:27:08","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T17:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/21\/silent-protest-withdrawing-us-soldier-seen-wearing-previously-banned-kurdish-militia-patch\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:26:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:26:17","slug":"silent-protest-withdrawing-us-soldier-seen-wearing-previously-banned-kurdish-militia-patch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/21\/silent-protest-withdrawing-us-soldier-seen-wearing-previously-banned-kurdish-militia-patch\/","title":{"rendered":"Silent protest? Withdrawing US soldier seen wearing previously banned Kurdish militia patch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A picture of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/opinion\/commentary\/2019\/10\/21\/there-was-nothing-fast-or-loose-about-us-support-for-the-kurds\/\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. soldier<\/a> withdrawing from Syria sporting a patch of a controversial Kurdish militia group known as the YPJ has been making the rounds across social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The YPJ is the women\u2019s unit of the YPG, or People\u2019s Protection Units \u2014 the Kurdish group considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, but has been a staunch partner of the U.S.-led effort to defeat ISIS in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s common for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/20\/pentagon-chief-says-american-troops-leaving-syria-for-western-iraq\/\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. special operators<\/a> to don patches of partner forces. But in 2016, American military commanders banned the wear of YPG and YPJ patches after Turkey became outraged following the circulation of photos of American commandos brandishing the patches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWearing those YPG patches was unauthorized, and it was inappropriate and corrective action has been taken,\u201d then-Army Col. Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman, told reporters in May 2016. \u201cAnd we have communicated as much to our military partners and our military allies in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2016\/05\/27\/the-pentagon-has-banned-troops-in-syria-from-wearing-these-kurdish-militia-patches\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635998735175263691-gettyimages-534380550jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The Pentagon has banned troops in Syria from wearing these Kurdish militia patches<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The order comes after photos surfaced showing U.S. commandos&#039; partnership with the Kurdish People\u2019s Protection Forces.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Neither officials with Operation Inherent Resolve \u2014 the U.S.-led mission to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria \u2014 nor officials with the Department of Defense responded to a Military Times\u2019 query regarding whether the YPG\/YPJ patches were still unauthorized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As American convoys began to meander their way through Syria on Sunday, Agence France-Presse photographer <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Delilsouleman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\" target=_blank>Delil Souleiman<\/a> snapped a photograph of a U.S. service member in the turret of an armored vehicle wearing the YPJ patch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Commentators on social media quickly remarked that the U.S. soldier was showing solidarity or camaraderie with the U.S.-backed Kurdish partner force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of roughly 1,000 U.S troops from northern Syria shortly after Turkey launched a military operation to rout America\u2019s Kurdish partner force in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s decision to pull out American forces has left its partner force the Syrian Democratic Forces feeling betrayed. American troops and U.S. veterans who volunteered and fought with the SDF have expressed their dismay over the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters Saturday that the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria could take weeks, not days. Those forces will relocate to western Iraq where they will continue the defeat ISIS mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A small handful of American troops will remain at the Tanf garrison near the Syria-Iraq border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">An <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/american?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#american<\/a> soldier&#39;s wearing a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/YPJ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#YPJ<\/a> patch to show solidarity with <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Rojava?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Rojava<\/a> as they withdraw from <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/northern?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#northern<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Syria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Syria<\/a>. This is a clear indication that American <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/troops?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#troops<\/a> are not happy with the Donald <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Trump?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Trump<\/a>&#39;s decision to leave <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/SDF?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SDF<\/a>.<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Kurds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Kurds<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/TiwtterKurds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TiwtterKurds<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Turkey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Turkey<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/StandWithTheKurds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#StandWithTheKurds<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/J9YFDuxW4f\">pic.twitter.com\/J9YFDuxW4f<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Hawlati News (@HawlatiNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HawlatiNews\/status\/1185886154027089920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 20, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JachecNeale\/status\/1186280093745897472\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/JachecNeale\/status\/1186280093745897472<\/a><\/blockquote><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s common for U.S. special operators to don patches of partner forces. But in 2016, American military commanders banned the wear of YPG and YPJ patches after Turkey became outraged following the circulation of photos of American commandos brandishing the patches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":29589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,92,12,25,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3398],"class_list":["post-12463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"BTC4HHMB6JFMJIXKL55SSZF3PA","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/21\/silent-protest-withdrawing-us-soldier-seen-wearing-previously-banned-kurdish-militia-patch\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Silent protest? Withdrawing US soldier seen wearing previously banned Kurdish militia patch - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s common for U.S. special operators to don patches of partner forces. But in 2016, American military commanders banned the wear of YPG and YPJ patches after Turkey became outraged following the circulation of photos of American commandos brandishing the patches.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/21\/silent-protest-withdrawing-us-soldier-seen-wearing-previously-banned-kurdish-militia-patch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Silent protest? 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But in 2016, American military commanders banned the wear of YPG and YPJ patches after Turkey became outraged following the circulation of photos of American commandos brandishing the patches.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/21\/silent-protest-withdrawing-us-soldier-seen-wearing-previously-banned-kurdish-militia-patch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-21T17:27:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T01:26:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shawn Snow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shawn Snow\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/21\\\/silent-protest-withdrawing-us-soldier-seen-wearing-previously-banned-kurdish-militia-patch\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/21\\\/silent-protest-withdrawing-us-soldier-seen-wearing-previously-banned-kurdish-militia-patch\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Silent protest? 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