Blackwater Patch

The name Blackwater came from the peat-stained water of the Great Dismal Swamp, where the company bought the land for its first training center. That land sat in northeastern North Carolina, and the bear paw in a crosshair on this patch is the mark the company carried in its early years. Blackwater USA was founded in late 1996 by Erik Prince and Al Clark. It started as a training facility for military and law enforcement shooters and grew into one of the best known private security contractors of its time. For a lot of people who spent time at the range in Moyock or downrange on a contract, this paw is a piece of their own history.

The Blackwater Lodge and Training Center opened in 1998 on roughly 6,000 acres near Moyock, North Carolina, with ranges and facilities for military, law enforcement and government students. After 2001 the company took on security contracts for the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan, and many of its people were veterans of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and special operations units. The company renamed itself Blackwater Worldwide in 2007, and a logo redesign that year played down the crosshair. In February 2009 it became Xe Services, and in December 2011 it took the name Academi. The bear paw in the reticle belongs to the first decade.

The patch is an oval, 3.5 inches wide and 2 inches tall, on black twill with a cut edge and a black stitched border. BLACKWATER arches across the top in white slab serif letters with dark outlines. Below the name a red reticle circle with four tick marks frames a white bear paw, five claws reaching up and a gray stitched pad. The palette is black, white, gray and red, nothing more. It is a small, clean piece that reads from across a room.

Contracting in that era meant long rotations, hard places and work that rarely made the news unless something went wrong. Many of the men who did it had already served full careers in uniform and went back overseas in a different role. The training center in Moyock also put a great many police officers and soldiers through firearms and tactics courses over the years. Whatever brought someone into contact with the company, the paw in the crosshairs is how most of them remember it.

Put it on a range bag, a plate carrier or the jacket you wear to the range, or in a shadow box with your contract badges and a photo from the team. It also makes a good gift for a friend who trained in Moyock or worked a contract overseas. This is a commemorative patch and is not made by or affiliated with the company. The backing is iron-on, and it can be sewn on for a permanent hold.