Air Force Special Operations Patch

Air Force Special Operations Command people still call themselves Air Commandos, after the 1st Air Commando Group that flew Chindit troops into Burma in March 1944 during Operation Thursday. AFSOC itself was designated a major command on 22 May 1990, with its headquarters at Hurlburt Field, Florida. Its direct predecessor was Twenty-Third Air Force, activated on 1 March 1983. The command supplies the specialized airpower that special operations forces ride in, shoot from and call in. Its crews and operators have flown in the major contingency operations of the Global War on Terror.

The flying side includes AC-130J gunships, the MC-130J Commando II, the CV-22B Osprey, the U-28 and the MQ-9 Reaper. On the ground, combat controllers, pararescuemen, tactical air control party members and special reconnaissance airmen work under the 24th Special Operations Wing, the only special tactics wing in the Air Force. The 1st and 24th Special Operations Wings are at Hurlburt Field, the 27th is at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, the 352nd is at RAF Mildenhall in England, and the 353rd Special Operations Wing is at Kadena Air Base, Japan. In Mogadishu in 1993, AFSOC operators earned an Air Force Cross and two Silver Stars. The command flew supply drops for Rwandan refugees in 1994, searched for the T-43 that went down in Bosnia in April 1996 with Commerce Secretary Ron Brown aboard, and flew rescue in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The patch is a 3 by 3 inch shield in black, outlined in gold. Gray wings spread from a straight sword pointing down, with a gold crossguard at the center. Above them sits a round blue disc with a white star and red center. A white scroll edged in gold wraps across the bottom with AIR FORCE SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND in blue. The edge is cut to the shield and scroll, and the back is iron-on, with sewing as an option for a permanent hold.

Air Commando culture runs from the gliders and light planes over Burma through the gunships of Southeast Asia to the Hurlburt flight line today. Crews train for night, low level, bad weather and short dirt strips because that is where the work is. Combat controllers and PJs go in on the ground with Army and Navy special operators and bring the airpower with them. Maintainers, loadmasters, intel and support people keep those aircraft ready to launch on short notice. The patch covers all of them, and Air Commandos recognize it across a room.

It fits a shadow box with a beret flash or a set of jump wings, or the sleeve of a jacket worn to a squadron reunion at Hurlburt. It also makes a good gift for a son or daughter just out of the special tactics pipeline. Press it on with the iron-on backing or sew it down for good. Any time, any place.