3521 Automotive Organizational Technician MOS Patch

A Marine with MOS 3521 is the reason the convoy leaves on time: he inspects, tests, adjusts and repairs the Corps' tactical trucks at the organizational level, out where the vehicles actually work. The 35 occupational field is motor transport maintenance. The 21 marks the automotive technician, the mechanic assigned to a unit's own motor pool rather than a depot far to the rear. Every Marine unit that moves on wheels depends on these Marines. When a truck goes down in the field, the 3521 is the one who gets it back up.

The work covers the trucks Marines know by their nicknames. The Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement, the MTVR or 7-ton, and the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, the Humvee, are daily work in most motor pools. At MCAS Cherry Point a 3521 sergeant has kept the P-19R aircraft rescue and firefighting trucks running, with the Logistics Vehicle System Replacement in the mix as well. Entry-level motor transport maintenance training runs at the Motor Transport Maintenance Instruction Company at Camp Johnson, North Carolina, where students learn to inspect, test, service and repair the fleet. Diagnostic gear such as the Vehicle Automated Diagnostic System is part of the job now, alongside the wrenches.

This patch measures 4.5 inches wide by 3.25 inches tall, with a red merrowed edge around a gently arched rectangle. A black band across the top carries MARINE CORPS in white block letters, with a small American flag centered above it. The red center panel holds the eagle, globe and anchor in gold and silver, flanked by a large white 35 and 21. SEMPER FIDELIS runs beneath the emblem in white serif lettering. The bottom band names the job: AUTOMOTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL TECH.

Motor transport Marines take a certain pride in being the ones nobody thinks about until something breaks. Hours under a 7-ton in the heat or the cold, a parts request that has to be right the first time, and a vehicle signed back over to the operators ready to go. Plenty of 3521s carried those skills into civilian shops and fleets after they got out. The MOS number on this patch tells another Marine exactly what you did. Semper Fidelis applies to the motor pool as much as anywhere.

The iron-on backing presses onto a work jacket, a shop apron or a tool bag, and a few stitches make it permanent. It also fits a shadow box with an EGA, a dog tag and a photo from the motor pool. It makes a good gift for a Marine mechanic heading to his first unit or one who turned wrenches years ago. 35 and 21, in scarlet and gold.