A Selection of Shoulder Patches from Afghanistan

As discussed in a few previous posts, the topic of shoulder patches worn in Afghanistan has become a very slippery slope. The majority of patches are locally produced and are not official issue, therefore verification in the future will be next to impossible.

I have acquired a few such patches and recently considered this issue, so where possible, I have taken photos of the troops wearing the patches. Although this is something I plan to continue, I have only 1 such photo to date.

Here is an unofficial patch for Maintenance Company Roto 8. In the second photo, a MCpl who I worked very closely with displays the patch on his right sleeve. He was unable to wear it very long while Roto 8 command was still in KAF as they frowned upon this act. MCpl Grossinger was one of the last from Roto 8 therefore he sported it the last month of his tour without issue.

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Next up is another unofficial patch for the EME troops. Unfortunately, I got this prior to my decision to photograph them in wear.
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Here is a patch from Roto 8 Movements. To date, I have not seen the Roto 9 troops wear anything other than the usual Wagoneers patch. MAMS stands for Mobile Air Movements Section
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Next up is patch the National Support Element Troops were wearing from Roto 8. This is an official patch as best as I can tell. Again these were held a unit level. Took me 3 weeks for my request to be granted as numbers were very limited. In the end, I was very happy with the result.
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This final patch was worn by the members of the OMLT.Operational Mentor and Liason Team.
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Cliff,

Great patches! Destined to be highly sought after in the future. And, like I said before, I'd love to have your job!

BTW...What do you think of this one for sale on ebay?



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Hi Dale, thanks for the kind words. In regards to the patch you show, it's not like any of the "Official" PRT patches I have seen, usually these are small square ones. Having said this, I think this patch is a locally produced one, possibly for a unit rotation at some point. I have not seen this patch in wear here however, I certainly have not seen it all here. LMAO

I will dig up what I can on this patch but not sure how long it will take for KPRT is Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, in case there was any doubt.

Well I took the plunge and bought one of those OMLT patches this weekend...fairly pricey but worth it too me.

Dale, without casting aspersions on the ebay auction, one must be very careful with these Afgan patches. There is absolutely no guarantee that locally made is Af. It could be anywhere. And, this will be a big problem. Who or what can guarantee that the patches are theatre made?

I just noticed the seller was Ed Storey so it will be easy to call him out on it...if it is fake.

The patch I just bought from Ed...in slightly used condition. Just noticed half the middle border is missing...lol.

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Dale, I am not sure if there is any yardstick to use on these. What is made where is totally unverifiable. This patch does not measure up to some of the "official" patches, but that is no guarantee of authenticity either.

here is the OMLT patch being worn, here by my cousin....
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Great photo Michael. Nice to see some random every day sort of shots here.

I just got two more patches, both are theater made and both currently in use. My quest for Canadian patches lately has been curtailed as I am working at getting the necessary US patches for a US tunic I just acquired, plus a few other pieces.

The first patch is for Roto 9 (NSE) National Support Element.

The second patch is for the TLAV TAV team I am currently working with. They are truly a great bunch of people.
I also included a quick shot I had of the TLAV patch on one of the Cpl's shirts.

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OK an update to this post. I finally found the photo of the Roto 9 NSE patch in wear.

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seems to me the photo of the TLAV TAV team patch in wear has gone missing, therefore here is another.

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Just picked up another one from Ed Storey.

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Also got two Calgary Helairdet Op Apollo patches from a friend...one will be up for grabs soon.

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Hey Cliff! What kind of US patches are you looking for? I have a lot of misc. US stuff laying around.

Hey Dale, the only US patch I am currently hunting is the IR reverse flag worn on the shoulder. These things are tough to get here. The patches are total junk and fall aprt within a couple of months in use.

There is a thread here regarding the stitching on the Canadian IR Flag patch. A comment was made that the stitching looks terrible. Well as noted the stitching is there to keep the patch together. Unlike the US our Nationality patches hold up pretty well.

I have come into contact with a US Army Col through my position. I hope in a couple weeks to approach him on getting an IR US Flag patch. I know a couple of Sgts and lower ranks who are having some degree of difficulty in replacing their own patches.

I was just given this patch yesterday, another unofficial patch from Roto 9 Maintenance Company. I do hope to actually see this patch is wear, however, I am not holding out much hope.

Here is the newest addition to my small collection of patches here in KAF. I do hope the members do not find this one too offensive.

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Sweet! Looks like this one takes its cues from the RCEME. Looks awesome!

pylon1357 wrote:Hey Dale, the only US patch I am currently hunting is the IR reverse flag worn on the shoulder. These things are tough to get here. The patches are total junk and fall aprt within a couple of months in use.

There is a thread here regarding the stitching on the Canadian IR Flag patch. A comment was made that the stitching looks terrible. Well as noted the stitching is there to keep the patch together. Unlike the US our Nationality patches hold up pretty well.

I have come into contact with a US Army Col through my position. I hope in a couple weeks to approach him on getting an IR US Flag patch. I know a couple of Sgts and lower ranks who are having some degree of difficulty in replacing their own patches.

I do have one...only one. If you don't succeed in finding one for yourself just let me know. If you can use it, it is better than it sitting in my patch drawer here.

Hi Cliff, Another neat unofficial patch. Keep up the good work documenting the patching. That may be the only information that will be available for the historic record.
I did a bit of digging, and virtually all of the patching in the "sandbox" is unofficial, or to put it this way, not approved by NDHQ.

Cliff! Update on the US reversed flag patch...A friend in Great Falls Montana is sending me three more. Two new and a used one. Your welcome to one if you want.

They will be the same as this one...
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mk1rceme wrote:Sweet! Looks like this one takes its cues from the RCEME. Looks awesome!

Hey Dale, Maintenance Company is part of EME as you well know RCEME is now simply EME. When the Sgt gave me this patch I burst out laughing as it was the first time I had seen it.

Thanks Bill. I am finding it more difficult to keep up with the newer patches coming out. There is one I am exploring for the ESU. I hope to get one soon if the Sgt can work it out.

Long story short on how I acquired this patch....I entered the 5km Army Run on Sunday the 19th. Got to go Role 1 where I saw this patch being worn...I ask how I could obtain one. The Medic brought one for me along with some pills that made me very happy.

Very soon to follow...a photo of this patch as worn in KAF by our Canadian Medical staff at Role 1 and Role 3.

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mk1rceme wrote:Cliff! Update on the US reversed flag patch...A friend in Great Falls Montana is sending me three more. Two new and a used one. Your welcome to one if you want.

They will be the same as this one...
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This photograph shows the US reversed flag being worn:

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Cliff:

Taking a historical look at insignia collecting, many times it harder to find photographs showing the patches being worn, then it is the actual patches. Soldiers never think about what might be important to collectors in the future. It's important for you take as many photographs as possible showing theatre made Canadian unit patches being worn, noting where and when the photographs taken, and the names of whoever might be in the photos. - - - - - This is just my opinion.

Adam, excellent advice. One more bit of information to be included if possible, the details of construction. (Type of material, backing, etc.) This may not be possible, but the details are important if you can record them.