The Best of Squadron Patches

Started by Pylon, January 09, 2006, 08:41:09 PM

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BuckeyeDEJ

Quote from: Major Carrales on July 06, 2008, 09:18:46 PM
While you have a point, I think that might have best been handled in PM.
I admitted what I said was brutal, but when you put something out there for public criticism, you should expect the good and the bad. Maybe I should have been a little more sensitive. My work faces public scrutiny every day, so maybe my skin's thicker.

Quote from: Talon One Six on July 06, 2008, 09:44:09 PM
i used te school offical mascot for the cardinals logo, the 1st FW because several of out members are formerly apart of the wing, including my father, the Falcon was choosen as  we wanted an animal with keen eyesight as  in SAR, a bird since we are a big AE squadron, and also becuase the vast majority of our sqaudron want to fly vipers with the air force,  a lesser point is the NJ Air Guard uses F-16's and used to use F-4's at Mcguire, which is also tied to us via my father

as for thr 517th, the only thing i used from their patch was the bird, each rocker and the circle are from three differnt patches

While I admire your desire to identify your unit's heraldry with some of your members, identifying those members through a previous unit assignment is dicey. You need to look at the here and now, and be mindful that your unit has a tenuous tie to Air Force units and missions.

Your squadron doesn't fly fighters, but since SAR is a big part of our emergency services mission, playing up SAR isn't a bad idea. It's easy to fall back on birds, since the A in CAP represents "Air." Maybe an original drawing of a bird of prey flying while holding binoculars?

Do some thinking, do some drawing, and remember -- keep it simple.
The more you throw at an emblem, the harder it is to pick up easily, and the more likely you'd have been better off just putting a picture of an Excedrin bottle in the middle. The best emblems and corporate logos are the simplest and cleanest.


CAP since 1984: Lt Col; former C/Lt Col; MO, MRO, MS, IO; former sq CC/CD/PA; group, wing, region PA, natl cmte mbr, nat'l staff member.
REAL LIFE: Working journalist in SPG, DTW (News), SRQ, PIT (Trib), 2D1, WVI, W22; editor, desk chief, designer, photog, columnist, reporter, graphics guy, visual editor, but not all at once. Now a communications manager for an international multisport venue.

Pumbaa

Just approved by Wing and in production.  We are a new Squadron and  have our Standing up Ceremony on the 25th and we will give one to each of the current cadets and officers.  We have 23 thus far, 3 applications in, and 2 more interested!!!!



Symbols
Wings - CAP Air operational Mission/ also represents swiftness
Sword -Valor, Leadership. Followership
Shield - Aerospace Education Mission
Earth - CAP Ground Missions

Colors
Silver - Wisdom
Green - Represents the land/earth
Blue - Represents the sky and where the squadron is going into the future
Gold/ yellow - Bravery
Red - Purity, Faithfulness

Note: Colored blue (ultra-marine), representative of the sky and the United States Air Force.

The outer disc, of Yellow, represents the highest values such as excellence, honor and loyalty with which we perform our duties and the wisdom that our members provide to all the facets of the Civil Air Patrol.

The second disc, of Air Force Blue, represents the constancy and devotion that our members have for both the Air Force and Civil Air Patrol.

The Lower tab contains the squadron's name "414 Composite Squadron" for which we serve and care the most.

RiverAux

The thing that looks like a Federation badge is a shield? 

Overall, looks nice. 

Pumbaa

I did not know what to call it.  My heraldry research showed that shape is used for aerospace. 

Any suggestions for a better term would be appreciated.  And yeah it does look like the federation badge I guess...

PHall

Your squadron's name is NY414 Composite Squadon? ???

Pumbaa

We are the Owego Squadron, Our Charter is NY 414.  We elected to use 414 as there is a possibility that we could move to another town.

A.Member

#426
Stumbled across this thread and thought I'd open myself up to some criticism.  ;)

This is our current patch:


Clearly, the current patch wouldn't meet USAF heraldry guidelines.  We haven't discussed changing the patch but I just downloaded Inkscape and all this talk about heraldry gave me something to practice on (I'm an absolute novice when it comes to vector graphics).  Anyway, here are a couple draft ideas I came up with:

 

I've got a couple other ideas but unfortunately, my talents are better with pencil and paper.  ;)

My thoughts on heraldry would be something like this:

  • The idea is that it's a Viking ship coming towards you.  It's also an "airplane" (or if maybe even a balloon) to symbolize our mission, particularly as it relates to AE.

  • The sail is segregated into 3 sections, also indicating our 3 core missions

  • There are 12 "billets" in the "shield" which correspond to positions on a clock indicating that we are always available and reminding us that timeliness is important in our missions

  • Red of the sail indicates courage, patriotism, passion

  • Yellow (required) used in the shield, which circles/encompasses everything, indicates excellence (in all we do), sun, honor, loyalty

  • The dark blue (could also be changed to ultramarine) of the sky background and scrolls indicates night (when we are most often called out)

  • The ultramarine blue (required - could go to lighter blue if darker blue changes) used in the sea (could also be exhaust from the airplane) also indicates the sky

  • White border and letters symbolize daylight, purity (our cadets), truth, and wisdom (our senior members)

  • Gray/silver ship hull/airplane symbolizes discretion, humility, and retrospection

The top scroll is obviously empty.  It's supposed to contain a motto.  If we don't have one or can't think of one, then the scroll can be removed and we'd just have the bottom scroll with the squadron name.  Aside from that, I think both new designs would be compliant with all current USAF Heraldry guidelines (even if they don't necessarily apply to us).

Let me know what you think.  I'll try not to cry.  :)
"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Eclipse


"That Others May Zoom"

BuckeyeDEJ

Quote from: A.Member on December 05, 2008, 05:42:52 AM


This is going to sound bad, but when I first fixated on the emblem, it looked like an airplane flying up into a parachute. Maybe filling in the hull of the ship will fix that.

If you need some help with it, shoot me a PDF or a vector EPS of the file that I can open in Illustrator 10 and I could tweak it and fire it back at you.


CAP since 1984: Lt Col; former C/Lt Col; MO, MRO, MS, IO; former sq CC/CD/PA; group, wing, region PA, natl cmte mbr, nat'l staff member.
REAL LIFE: Working journalist in SPG, DTW (News), SRQ, PIT (Trib), 2D1, WVI, W22; editor, desk chief, designer, photog, columnist, reporter, graphics guy, visual editor, but not all at once. Now a communications manager for an international multisport venue.

JAFO78

Very, very nice. I just may shed a tear, for my old squadron.   :clap: :clap:

JAFO

alamrcn

Viking Squadron's patch is the oldest in-use patch in Minnesota Wing. It even pre-date's St Paul and Anoka Squadrons' emblems from the late 80s.

It also pre-dates current Air Force heraldry guidelines.



"Viking" is more than just the squadron name, but a tie to the 934th Airlift Wing - the head being from their emblem. An honor to carry, and it would be a shame to loose that history.

Just wanted to point that out, because I'm sure it wasn't considered in the design process.



Ace Browning, Maj, CAP
History Hoarder
71st Wing, Minnesota

BuckeyeDEJ

Quote from: alamrcn on December 07, 2008, 08:15:31 PM
Viking Squadron's patch is the oldest in-use patch in Minnesota Wing. It even pre-date's St Paul and Anoka Squadrons' emblems from the late 80s.

It also pre-dates current Air Force heraldry guidelines.

It's also the same shape as Colorado's new wing emblem, which doesn't predate Air Force heraldry directives....


CAP since 1984: Lt Col; former C/Lt Col; MO, MRO, MS, IO; former sq CC/CD/PA; group, wing, region PA, natl cmte mbr, nat'l staff member.
REAL LIFE: Working journalist in SPG, DTW (News), SRQ, PIT (Trib), 2D1, WVI, W22; editor, desk chief, designer, photog, columnist, reporter, graphics guy, visual editor, but not all at once. Now a communications manager for an international multisport venue.

JAFO78

Come on now guys you are making me home sick. Oh wait its snowing there, but not here in FL. Oh just the same I miss MN. :(


8)
JAFO

Eclipse

Quote from: BuckeyeDEJ on December 07, 2008, 10:37:47 PM
Quote from: alamrcn on December 07, 2008, 08:15:31 PM
Viking Squadron's patch is the oldest in-use patch in Minnesota Wing. It even pre-date's St Paul and Anoka Squadrons' emblems from the late 80s.

It also pre-dates current Air Force heraldry guidelines.

It's also the same shape as Colorado's new wing emblem, which doesn't predate Air Force heraldry directives....

I think the argument could be made that the Wing patches are not really a unit insignia but more a coat-of-arms.  They apply to an entire wing, which has subset units and groups, but do not apply specifically to wing staff, and on the only uniform with a specific placement for unit insignia (BDU/BBDU) they are not worn there, but have their own specific locations.

Also, many wings now have specific, seperate, "unit insignia" for those assigned to XX-001.

"That Others May Zoom"

BuckeyeDEJ

Quote from: Eclipse on December 09, 2008, 03:27:37 AM
I think the argument could be made that the Wing patches are not really a unit insignia but more a coat-of-arms.  They apply to an entire wing, which has subset units and groups, but do not apply specifically to wing staff, and on the only uniform with a specific placement for unit insignia (BDU/BBDU) they are not worn there, but have their own specific locations.

Also, many wings now have specific, seperate, "unit insignia" for those assigned to XX-001.

Only in CAP does a wing headquarters element get its own insignia. Talk about bling creep -- and everyone criticizes the Hawk Mountain people!

Wing emblems are organizational emblems for the entire wing, including the headquarters element. Tabs for "wing staff" or separate wing staff emblems are unnecessary and an ego boost. Emblems should identify a unit, not be augmented as though being on wing staff makes someone more special.


CAP since 1984: Lt Col; former C/Lt Col; MO, MRO, MS, IO; former sq CC/CD/PA; group, wing, region PA, natl cmte mbr, nat'l staff member.
REAL LIFE: Working journalist in SPG, DTW (News), SRQ, PIT (Trib), 2D1, WVI, W22; editor, desk chief, designer, photog, columnist, reporter, graphics guy, visual editor, but not all at once. Now a communications manager for an international multisport venue.

Eclipse

Quote from: BuckeyeDEJ on December 09, 2008, 04:26:02 AM
Wing emblems are organizational emblems for the entire wing, including the headquarters element. Tabs for "wing staff" or separate wing staff emblems are unnecessary and an ego boost. Emblems should identify a unit, not be augmented as though being on wing staff makes someone more special.

So then we should get rid of all unit insignia, since that's the same argument.

Being on Wing staff isn't any more special, but its not any less special, either.  Why should they be denied the esprit-de-corps that comes with all the extra responsibility?

The Wing King gets a pin on his service dress uniforms, but beyond that, there's no identifier that a member is part of xx-001.

"That Others May Zoom"

PHall

In the AF, depending on your MAJCOM, you may or may not wear your squadron patch on your BDU's.

The rule in AMC is that you can wear either the Wing Patch or your Squadron Patch on your left pocket, it's the Wing Commander's call.

In ACC, you wear the Wing Patch on your left pocket and your squadron patch above your nametape on the right side.

The MAJCOM patch is always worn on the right pocket.

So, as far as I can see, CAP isn't any more messed up then the AF is on this.

Of course the transition to the ABU is fixing the Air Force's problem with this, they just won't wear the patches!

A.Member

#437
Quote from: alamrcn on December 07, 2008, 08:15:31 PM
Viking Squadron's patch is the oldest in-use patch in Minnesota Wing. It even pre-date's St Paul and Anoka Squadrons' emblems from the late 80s.

It also pre-dates current Air Force heraldry guidelines.



"Viking" is more than just the squadron name, but a tie to the 934th Airlift Wing - the head being from their emblem. An honor to carry, and it would be a shame to loose that history.

Just wanted to point that out, because I'm sure it wasn't considered in the design process.
You're absolutely correct that Viking is much more than a squadron name.   Because of this much consideration actually was given to the history of the current design.  As a matter of fact, I created an alternate design that includes an updated image of the Viking head, however, it's not in electronic form.  I created an electronic version of the design you saw because the symbolism in its representation seems to have great appeal with those that have seen it.  Nonetheless, it's a concept and it remains to be seen if we take any action towards change.   

It's interesting to read your statements on the history of the Viking patch.  As you know, the Viking logo is used by many organizations/businesses in the state, including that of our NFL football team, which to my knowledge developed the original version of the Viking logo (slight modifications are always made in an attempt to avoid copyright issues).  Perhaps part of the appeal with the new design is provides a bit of our own unique identity from that perspective.  In theory, were any historical tie to exist with 934th it would be with their 96th Airlift Squadron - "The Flying Vikings"; although no one I've spoken with has suggested/confirmed that.  What's more is that the Ft. Snelling Squadron actually meets on the base (Viking has never met there to my knowledge).   As a matter of fact, it seems very little of the heraldry in reference to this patch is known.  No one I've spoken with, including the longest standing members I know, had any real info about it.  Most is speculative at best.  If you have any documented info, I'd love to see it. 

Anyway, for comparison sake here is the 96th's patch:


The 934th AW's patch is this:
"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

CAPLAW

That NY 414 patch looks goofy, I hope you did not get it produced for uniform wear.  Try something more creative.

jb512

Quote from: CAPLAW on December 09, 2008, 08:02:53 PM
That NY 414 patch looks goofy, I hope you did not get it produced for uniform wear.  Try something more creative.

Are you the new resident troll now?