104th Expeditionary Flight Sqadron A-10C Operation Iraqi Freedom Patch

The 104th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron put the A-10C Thunderbolt II into combat for the first time during Operation Iraqi Freedom — and this patch is the record of that deployment.

The A-10C was the upgraded Warthog: new digital glass cockpit, full precision-guided munitions integration, Litening targeting pod, and Link 16 datalink. The 104th EFS deployed to Southwest Asia and flew the A-10C's first combat sorties in OIF. Flying CAS over Iraq in the upgraded aircraft meant tighter coordination with ground forces, more precise weapons employment, and the same low-altitude aggression that defined every A-10 mission. The "FIRST IN COMBAT" inscription on this patch isn't marketing — it marks the specific moment when the A-10C went from test program to wartime asset.

If you flew A-10Cs, maintained them on an expeditionary flight line, or supported the 104th EFS during OIF, this patch is the marker for that deployment. The A-10C era started here, and the crews who flew it first wore this patch.

The 104th EFS OIF patch is the kind of deployment-specific piece that serious A-10 collectors track down. There's no substitute for the unit that drew first blood with the upgraded aircraft.

This embroidered patch measures 3.5 inches wide by 4 inches tall in a desert-subdued shield shape. The dark brown top band carries "A-10C" in bold yellow and "FIRST IN COMBAT" below in yellow. "104TH" and "EFS" flank the center section in tan thread. A gray A-10C Warthog banks across a darker diamond field in the center, with the unit's cartoon boar mascot at the bottom flanked by yellow lightning bolts. "OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM" arcs along the bottom border — the whole design done in desert tan and brown with no bright colors, built for a combat patch.