IED Hunters: Route Clearance and Mine Field Clearance patches from OEF

Here is a selection of Counter IED and mine clearance patches made at Bagram Airfield Afghanistan and worn by US Army Engineers.  The rectangle shape is designed to be worn on the top frap of the sleeve pocket on the Army Combat Uniform (ACU).   A few have misspellings, a common mistake since the people who made them don't speak english.

B Co 2/238th AVN OEF 2009

Here's an interesting Army aviation patch, designed and worn by B Company, 2nd BN 238th Aviation in Afghanistan during 2009.   This was a National Guard CH-47 unit, but the operated as part of a Aviation Battalion Task Force from the 101st Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. They were based at FOB Salerno in Eastern Afghanistan and in direct support of 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.

The photo below shows a CH-47 from this unit sling loading a howitzer from FOB Salerno in April 2009.

Multi-National Corps Iraq "JOC Rats"

This Iraq theater made patch is a perfect example of soldiers with a sense of humor and too much time on their hands.   Its been said that if you have to explain a joke then it's no longer funny, but here it goes anyway.

Multi-National Corps Iraq (MNCI, as seen on the left of this patch)  was the intermediate level command, stuck between the Division commands (two star generals) and the Multi-National Forces Iraq command (the 4-star general in charge of all Iraq, once GEN Petraeus).  In reality, they often acted as a go-between for the higher and lower HQs.  So you can image there was some animosity between MNCI and MNFI, especially since their offices were literally next door to each other.

The "OIF Infinity" on the right of the patch referencing the military's system of numbering OIF rotations.  It started with OIF I in 2003, but within a few years the system of sequential numbers became too confusing, so they went with simply using the years which the rotation spanned (i.e. OIF 06-07).   Infinity is a clear reference to our seemingly open ended commitment.

"JOC" stands for Joint Operations Center, same as a Tactical Operations Center but in a joint environment. So a "JOC Rat" would would be the same as a "TOC Rat", which is a slang term for someone who works in a TOC all day and rarely sees the light of day.  Similar species to a TOCroach.  Yes, this patch says Rates instead of rats, but misspellings such as this are common and most likely why the patch was being sold to just anyone and not the person who ordered it.

The "spear" the rat is holding is taken strait from the middle of the MNCI shoulder patch (shown left), and the reference to "here kitty kitty" is about the "lion of babylon" that is the major item on the MNFI shoulder patch (shown right).

Bullion Engineer Special Brigades patch

Here's a photo of a very nice and unusual bullion Engineer Special Brigades patches I picked up on an Ike jacket recently.  This design was worn as a pocket patch by Soldiers who completed Amphibious Engineer training from mid-1942 until mid-1946.  At that time it became a unit shoulder patch, worn by Engineer Special Brigades.  These special units had a focus on amphibious engineer duties.

The example shown here is worn on the shoulder, so it dates from after June 1946.

19th Infantry ENTAC Anti-Tank Missile Patch

Here's another patch representing a weapon system that is now in the bust bin of history.   It's from an "ENTAC" Anti-tank section (or platoon/company?) in the 19th Infantry Regiment.  The ENTAC (ENgin Teleguide Anti-Char) was a french wire guided anti-tank missile adopted by the US Army in 1963 and discontinued by 1969 when they adopted the more advanced TOW missile system.  The system was mounted on the back of M151 jeeps and acted as the primary anti-armor weapon for infantry units in Germany during the mid-1960's.

Here is a cut-away of an ENTAC missile, note the shape that is clearly depicted on the patch.

Atomic Bazooka: The "Davy Crockett"

Tactical Nuclear Weapons: It sounds like something from the movie "Starship Troopers", but these things actually existed.  During the late 1950's the US Army developed a small tactical nuclear warhead that could be fired from a specially designed recoilless rifle.  They  named it the "Davy Crockett" after the famous pioneer.  The theory went that when the red hoards came streaming across the boarder (either into West Germany or into South Korea), these small infantry teams armed with Davy Crockett weapon systems could "nuke" the first wave of the invasion, slowing the enemy's advance and creating a radioactive "no-mans land" along the boarder.  This would have provided the US and NATO (in the case of West Germany) with at least 48 hours to mobilize forces and evacuate families.  Not a bad theory, but I'm glad no one ever had to test it out.

The two patches shown here are from the Davy Crockett Company assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, part of the 24th Infantry Division in West Germany during the 1960's.

(above photo found here)

79th Division Doughboy, World War One

Picked up this neat portrait at an antique show over the weekend.  Certainly an above average photo when it comes to insignia!  On his "overseas" cap he wears the "T" insignia of Supply Train units, meaning that he would have worked at a forward supply distribution point for an Infantry Regiment, probably close to the trenches.  On his left shoulder he sports a 79th Infantry Division patch, probably an early french made version.  This was a "National Army" (what is now known as Army Reserve) unit formed of men from Pennsylvania.   In the middle of his left sleeve is a red "discharge chevron", showing that he has been mustered out of the service but still allowed to wear his uniform in a veteran status.  His rank patch, if any would be on the opposite sleeve.  On his left cuff are two overseas service chevrons, each representing 6 months of service overseas.  And to make it even more interesting, he is wearing a rare 1918 pattern jacket with internal pockets.  This was designed for two reasons, first was to save wool (since the internal pockets would be made of cotton, as opposed to external patch pockets made from the same wool as the coat) and it also presented a cleaner, more european experience.

Bikini Beach: 170th Assault Helicopter Company, Vietnam

I don't normally go after insignia from the Vietnam war, but I stumbled across a small lot of patches and insignia from a guy who was a pilot with the 170th Assault Helicopter Company that included this wonderful Vietnamese made patch.  After reading up about this unit I can really see why Vietnam era aviation is a popular area to collect.  These guys flew UH-1 helicopters in both the gunship and troop transport ("slicks") configurations.  During their time in Vietnam they performed a wide variety of missions, including much time spent in support of Special Forces, LRRP, and SOG missions.  They operated in the Pleiku Province, located in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam and adjacent to the Cambodian border.   Due to their close proximity to the border, they flew many "over the fence" missions into Laos and Cambodia in support of Special Forces teams.   The company was in the thick of it for a little over five years (1965 to 1971), winning numerous awards and commendations and participating in some pretty "high-speed" operations.  And if you watch the original "A-Team" TV series, stock footage of a UH-60 belonging to these guys was used for the intro (seen here)

Here his a flight crewman wearing the "bakinis" patch on his flight jacket, Vietnam 1969 (found at the 170th AHC website here)

African American Quartermaster, WWII

Since February is Black History Month, I figured I would share this picture I found at an antique store this weekend.   This guy doesn't have much insignia to speak of, really just a Quartermaster collar disk.  But, I thought the picture had a lot of character.  Probably dates from 1942 or 1943 since he has a khaki tie but still wears a brown leather belt.

United Nations Command, South Korea patches

While this organization technically came into being in 1950, it seems like this insignia didn't come about until a bit later (August of 1957 according to Chris Aleck's "Authorized Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the US Army").   Shown here are three different variations, probably all from the late 1950's or 1960's.   The left two are both Korean made, while the one on the right is an American made example.

AAF Flexible Gunnery School, Fort Myers Florida

I've been after one of these for a while now and was finally lucky enough to get one.   Embarrassingly, I didn't know exactly what the "F.G.S" stood for.  Fighter Gunnery School, perhaps?  That wouldn't make sense, only fighter pilots would need that and this clearly has an enlisted air gunners wing on it (very different from a pilot).  After some snooping around I found it.  Flexible.  Of course.  Basically meaning that the gunner can move the gun around himself, as opposed to a gun that is mounted to the aircraft in a fixed direction (like on a fighter plane).

The Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery School at Fort Myers Florida was started in 1942 and closed down at the end of the war.   All I need to find now is a photograph showing this patch actually being worn.  I think it was most likely a cuff patch, since that was the standard location for flight instructor patches at that time.  Anyone out there know?

ODA 3113: Afghanistan

A friend of mine picked this patch up for me at FOB Salerno, Afghanistan in February of 2010.  It is from Special Forces ODA 3113.  In normal people words that means Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (i.e. "A-Team") #3,  A Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group.

A quick look through ebay shows that modern SF ODA patches are already becoming the minefield of fakes and knock-offs that Vietnam era SF insignia have been for decades.  But this one is real and I even know the exact shop it was made in.  By the way, I have no clue what the "VBD" means.

While the exact missions of ODAs are not overtly publicized, it is most likely that these guys were partnered with (i.e. working with and training) Afghan Army Commando's operating in Khowst province near the Pakistani border.  Below is a photograph found at militaryphotos.net showing part of an ODA from 3rd Group at FOB Salerno in April 2010.  Are they ODA 3113?  Who knows.

Note the modified BDU's worn with Afghan Army insignia, including the Afghan National flag and the Afghan Commando patch.  An example (which my wife begged off of a Special Operations medic for me while we were deployed to Afghanistan in 2009) is shown below.

Task Force 201: Beirut 1958

In the long history of US military foreign interventions, especially in the middle east, the story of "Operation Blue Bat" and the US Army Task Force 201 has pretty much been forgotten.  

In July 1958 it looked like Lebanon (a US ally at the time) would descend into a civil war, caused by increased tension between moderate christians and muslims.   Lebanon had a moderate, pro-western government at the time.  Fearing that his government would topple to a muslim rebellion, the Lebanese President called on the US for help.  

Enter "Operation Blue Bat".  US Army Europe already had a contingency plan for rapidly deploying forces to respond to a crisis in the mid-east.   The plan called for nearly 14,000 Soldiers and Marines, with most of the Army personnel coming from the 24th Airborne Brigade of the 24th Division.   The Army element was known as "Task Force 201".  The US Soldiers and Marines arrived in Lebanon in late July of 1958 and were there until October of that year. 

The patch shown here was made as a souvenir of the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment's (aka the "Rakkasans") participation in Task Force 201.  The 187th was part of the 24th Division's Airborne Brigade at that time.  

Second Service Command

The Second Service Command was established in the summer of 1941 in order to manage the administrative, logistical, and support activities in the area formally controlled by the II Corps (New York and New Jersey), while II Corps mobilized and trained to go overseas.  The WACs shown here are wearing the Second Service Command patch first authorized on 14 October 1941.  Note the WAC on the right has her patch sewn on backwards!   Also shown here is an earlier version of this patch made with an olive drab border.

  

(National Park Service Photo)

56th Company, Coast Artillery Corps 1912

I found these two 1912 dated real picture post cards (RPPC) at a flea market this past weekend.   The portrait is identified to "Frank Yost, Co 56, Fort Hancock, NJ".   I figured this must be some sort of Militia designation, since this guy was clearly an artilleryman of some sort and I had never known combat arms branches to use numbered companies (let alone Artillery, which is know for using the term "battery" in place of "company").  So this was a mystery that I felt I needed to get to the bottom of.

So here's the story:

In 1901 the Coast Artillery (as in sea coast) was organized into a series of 126 consecutively numbered companies.  Batteries were fixed positions of guns, companies were organizations of soldiers.  Each Company could have up to 109 men and NCOs, and could operate more than one battery.

So Artilleryman Yost shown here was in fact a member of the 56th Company, Coast Artillery Corps.   In 1912 he and his Company were stationed at Fort Hancock New Jersey, part of the harbor defenses for New York Harbor.  This Fort had the first battery of so-called "disappearing guns" in the USA.   The Fort is now part of the Sandy Hook Unit, Gateway National Recreation Area, and many of the coastal defense works can still be seen today.  For more info click here.

The inscription on the bottom of this photo reads" " -In Camp- Cooks and K.P.s of 56th Co, C. ARTY Fort Hancock NJ AUG 1912"

Battery Potter, Fort Hancock as seen today (NPS Photo)

Ike's SHAEF- Strategic Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces

It's not often that history passes down to us a close up image of the insignia worn by powerful generals and world leaders.  Somehow LIFE photographer David Scherman had the foresight to take a close up of Dwight D. Eisenhower's shoulder patch during a photo session that created the April 16, 1945 cover of LIFE Magazine.  Ike clearly has a very nice english made version, hand sewn to his custom made "Ike" jacket.  I assume it was hand sewn by his tailor, as hand stitching of patches was a common practice for fine english tailors of that time.

Shown below is a somewhat similar english made SHAEF patch (from my personal collection).  The detail in Ike's looks to have been rendered more finely.

(Pictures used solely for educational purposes)