SFODA Delta Team Patch

The gold triangle on this patch is the Greek letter delta, and one side of it snaps into a lightning bolt before the shape closes. Run a white dagger straight through it, set the whole thing on Special Forces green, and soldiers from that world will read it at a glance. In Army Special Forces the name Delta belongs to the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, stood up on 19 November 1977 by Colonel Charles Beckwith and Colonel Thomas Henry. Everything in Special Forces is built on the detachment rather than the individual. This patch is for the men who lived that way.

Special Forces is organized around the Operational Detachment Alpha, the 12-man A-team where every soldier holds a specific job, from the detachment commander and warrant officer to the weapons, engineer, medical and communications sergeants, and every man cross-trains in the others' work. Beckwith had served with the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment as an exchange officer, and Delta's structure follows the SAS model. The unit is headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and works under the Joint Special Operations Command. Its record includes Operation Eagle Claw in Iran in 1980, Urgent Fury in Grenada in 1983 and Just Cause in Panama in 1989. In Mogadishu in 1993, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart were awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.

This is a 4 by 3.75 inch triangular patch with a cut edge and a stitched green border. The field is a deep Special Forces green with a heavy embroidered texture. A white double-edged dagger runs point up from the base nearly to the apex, with a small curved crossguard. Over the blade sits the gold delta, an open triangle whose upper left side turns into a jagged lightning bolt striking down into it. There is no lettering, which suits a community that never needed to spell out who it was, and the back is iron-on and can also be sewn on.

Special Forces soldiers are measured by the team. A detachment that can train a partner force, treat its own wounded, take down a bridge and call in fire without outside help is the whole idea, and A-team cross-training is what makes it work. Delta took that standard further for missions most Americans only read about years later, if at all. The two Medals of Honor from Mogadishu are the part the public knows. The rest stays with the men who were there.

Put it in a shadow box with a Special Forces tab and a team photo, or sew it to the inside flap of a range bag. It is also a good gift for a son or grandson who grew up knowing his father served on a team and not much more than that. Some patches say the most by saying nothing at all.