Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Symbol of pride: O'Fallon adopts military tradition with challenge coins

O'FALLON -- The city's police department has adopted an old military tradition designed to increase camaraderie and morale in the ranks.

During the process of re-writing the department's mission statement, Chief John Betten said, it was decided to design a challenge coin for officers and city officials to carry.

"Challenge coins are something of a tradition in the military," Betten said. "They're a symbol of pride."

In the military, soldiers, airmen and sailors often carry coins that represent their branch of the service, unit or a specific job. The coins are to be carried at all times as a symbol of a person's commitment to being part of that group.

According to legend, Betten said, if one member of the group sees another in a bar, he can challenge him to produce the coin by tapping or placing his coin on the bar. If the challenged person can't produce the coin, he is obligated to buy the challenger a drink. If the challenged person can produce the coin, the person who challenged him has to buy him a drink.

"I think it's a great idea," Mayor Gary Graham said of the coins. "I know that I'm going to carry mine."

The coin features the O'Fallon Police Department's wedge-shaped uniform patch, which is blue with an outline of the state of Illinois with a star marking the city's location. In a blue ring around the border, it says O'Fallon Police Department and Illinois in gold.

On the back, it bears the mission statement of the city's police force:

"The O'Fallon Police Department is dedicated to proactively solving problems and protecting life and property through education, prevention and enforcement. In striving to accomplish this mission, service to the community is our commitment; honor and integrity is our mandate."

In addition to giving the coins to members of the city's police department, they were distributed to elected officials and other employees at City Hall.