177th Fighter Wing Patch

On the morning of 11 September 2001, F-16s from the 177th Fighter Wing at Atlantic City were scrambled as the attacks unfolded, and the wing has flown homeland air defense ever since. That morning is the wing's mission in plain terms: air defense over the most crowded stretch of sky in the country. The 177th belongs to the New Jersey Air National Guard and flies from Atlantic City Air National Guard Base in Egg Harbor Township. Its flying squadron is the 119th Fighter Squadron, and the whole outfit answers to one nickname, the Jersey Devils. Guardsmen from South Jersey have kept fighters on alert from that ramp for decades.

The unit received federal recognition on 15 October 1962 as the 177th Tactical Fighter Group. During the USS Pueblo crisis in 1968 the 119th was called to active duty and assigned to the 113th Tactical Fighter Wing at Myrtle Beach AFB. The squadron moved into the F-105 Thunderchief, the Thud, in 1970, then took the F-106 Delta Dart in 1973 as the 177th Fighter-Interceptor Group, and it was the last Air Force unit to withdraw the Six from operational duty. F-16A/B Fighting Falcons arrived in July 1988, followed by Block 25 and then Block 30 F-16Cs. In 1998 the Jersey Devils deployed to Howard AFB, Panama, for Operation Coronet Nighthawk, and the wing has also flown Southern Watch, Northern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve, and on 12 July 2002 the squadron flew its 1000th Operation Noble Eagle mission.

This is a 3 by 3 inch shield-shaped patch with a white scroll curled across its base. The shield is split down the middle, light blue on one side and dark navy on the other, and three white triangles sit behind a red devil's head with swept horns and narrow white eyes. The face tapers to a point at the bottom of the shield, so the devil fills nearly the whole field. 177TH FIGHTER WING runs across the scroll in navy serif letters, and a thin gold border traces the cut edge all the way around. The back is sew-on, made to be stitched to a flight jacket, a vest or a display board.

The Jersey Devil is South Jersey's own legend, the creature of the Pine Barrens, and the wing carries its name. It fits a unit whose job is to be the thing in the night sky that nobody wants to meet. Guard members here hold civilian jobs across South Jersey and still pull alert, deploy to the Middle East and fly homeland defense sorties. The F-16s wore the AC tail code with a black fin stripe lettered New Jersey.

Mount it in a shadow box beside a photo of an F-106 or a Block 30 Viper on the Atlantic City ramp, or sew it to the jacket you wear to a 177th reunion. It is also a good gift for a son or daughter who grew up with a parent pulling Guard weekends in Egg Harbor Township. Stitch it down once and it stays. The red devil of the New Jersey Air Guard, ready for the sleeve.