Joint Task Force Empire Shield Patch

Joint Task Force Empire Shield was activated in the days after September 11, 2001, to defend New York City and the surrounding region—and this patch is what those soldiers and airmen wore as they stood guard over a city that had just been attacked. The circular design in black and gold features a central shield split between the Twin Towers under a blue field with three red stars, and the Pentagon with stars on the white half. "JOINT TASK FORCE-EMPIRE SHIELD / NEW YORK" runs around the border. There is no more direct piece of post-9/11 military history than this patch.

Empire Shield was part of the broader Operation Noble Eagle response that put National Guard and active duty forces on patrol across major American cities, airports, and critical infrastructure in the weeks and months after the attacks. In New York, that meant visible military presence in a city that was still recovering from the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. The men and women who activated for that mission did not know how long it would last or what would come next.

If you were mobilized for Empire Shield—whether you deployed from a stateside base, activated with the Guard, or served in any homeland defense capacity in the New York region after 9/11—this patch marks a moment in American military history that every veteran who was there carries differently. It also belongs in any serious collection documenting the military response to September 11.

The Twin Towers and Pentagon on the center shield make this an immediately recognizable piece of post-9/11 history. The black and gold color scheme is clean and the shield embroidery is detailed. The lettering is sharp. This is a patch with weight behind it.

Popular Patch carries patches from homeland defense operations, Noble Eagle, and the full range of post-9/11 military activations. If you're building a collection that covers the homeland defense mission or the early days of the GWOT response, browse the full catalog.