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Cut Edge Desert Patches


AndrewA74
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Hello,

I just recieved this patch in the mail and it's a cut edge desert. How can this be? The US Army got rid of cut edge in 1963....long before deserts....HELP!

AndrewA74

 

PS: Very soft patch.

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BOB K. RKSS

The ARMY was still making Cut-Edge patches in 1968, & the first camo patches (Vietnam 1968) were Cut-Edge. Merrowed edge were available in 1969.

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The ARMY was still making Cut-Edge patches in 1968, & the first camo patches (Vietnam 1968) were Cut-Edge. Merrowed edge were available in 1969.

So you think this patch is pre-1969?

AndrewA74

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So you think this patch is pre-1969?

AndrewA74

it is newly made current made from an local manufacturer in iraqi

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CNY Militaria

I agree, I haven't been there but have heard that the locals make a lot of unit patches for the soldiers.

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Desert subdued patches were not authorized until the 1990s. Yes, there are tons of patches being made by locals.

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Your patch was most likely made in Iraq in the last year or two. Here are three 1st ID patches, fresh from Baghdad, Iraq this year. All three, including the desert camo are cut edge. The full color version has velcro backing applied.

 

Gary

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Another Iraqi made oversized and cut edge 1st ID SSI from the same local vendor in Baghdad, untrimmed at my request.

 

Gary

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Wow, Gary, those are some nice patches ;-)

 

Just to chime in, YES, the first patch is in fact a "theater made" patch from Iraq. The style looks like one that my have actually been made in-country, rather than imported. Many of the unit patches sold here are not actually made in Iraq but made in bulk either in one of the Gulf States or Pakistan.

 

Hope this helps,

Vance

 

Another Iraqi made oversized and cut edge 1st ID SSI from the same local vendor in Baghdad, untrimmed at my request.

 

Gary

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I went to the desert the first time with the 800th (340th MP Co.) and we had these same patches on our brassards, as the brassards themselves were local national made. They had the patches in the little Hajji tailor shops in boxes. A few individuals had the patch embroidered into their cloth brassards and the results were not as good as the patch you have which would lead me to agree with vzemke as to the fact they were produced elsewhere and shipped in. The tailor shops still offer these patches as well as the ACU patches complete with velcro on them.

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Wow, Gary, those are some nice patches ;-)

 

Just to chime in, YES, the first patch is in fact a "theater made" patch from Iraq. The style looks like one that my have actually been made in-country, rather than imported. Many of the unit patches sold here are not actually made in Iraq but made in bulk either in one of the Gulf States or Pakistan.

 

Hope this helps,

Vance

 

Hi Vance! You being a patch collector, I was sure you would like them! :)thumbsup.gif

 

Thanks!

 

Gary

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Many of the unit patches sold here are not actually made in Iraq but made in bulk either in one of the Gulf States or Pakistan.

 

I ran into the same thing in Afghanistan. The people in the tailor shop probably thought I was crazy after questioning them about what they made versus what they imported in bulk!

 

Unfortunately most of the patches now seem to be made by a computer-controlled embroidery machine, so you don't get the handmade patches like you see from the Vietnam era.

 

Bill

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A couple of examples of Afghan made patches (330th Med Bde & 10th Mtn Div)and a Qatari made one for the troops in Afghanistan (2nd Inf Div), all cut edge:

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A couple of examples of Afghan made patches (330th Med Bde & 10th Mtn Div)and a Qatari made one for the troops in Afghanistan (2nd Inf Div), all cut edge:

 

NorBn,

 

Those are some excellent examples of locally made patches! I'd love to find one of those variations of the 10th Mountain patch for my collection.

 

While this isn't a unit patch, it shows more of the talent from local sewing machine makers in Afghanistan. This large 7" souvenir jacket patch was sent to me by my nephew during his 1st deployment 4 years ago and is machine embroidered on a golden velveteen material.

 

Gary

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Gary

 

Thank's a lot, your theater made patches are great as well. A friend of mine picked them up in Afghanistan and other countires he wisited while on R&R. He's about to deploy to Iraq in a short while and promised me to keep his eyes open for more patches like these. As for the 10th Mtn Div patch I have a couple of Aghan made versions; one with the tab attached and one with a seperate tab.

 

Erik

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lebelmilitaria

Hi, your patch is a Kuwaiti mfg machine emb. one from the OIF I rotation of the 800th MP Brigade. I say this as it is identical in every aspect to one I purchased at the Camp Doha alterations shop in Feb 2004. I also saw the same patches for sale at Camp Afrijan, Kuwait. The filipinos working in the alteration stores in kuwait had these patches made up off post there. I know this as I asked them about their supplier of these style of patches, which are extrememly high quality compared to what was available in the camps in Kuwait during the OIF I buildup and what was available in Iraq till AAFES brought in their Fillipinos to run the alterations. Thanks

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Hi, your patch is a Kuwaiti mfg machine emb. one from the OIF I rotation of the 800th MP Brigade. I say this as it is identical in every aspect to one I purchased at the Camp Doha alterations shop in Feb 2004. I also saw the same patches for sale at Camp Afrijan, Kuwait. The filipinos working in the alteration stores in kuwait had these patches made up off post there. I know this as I asked them about their supplier of these style of patches, which are extrememly high quality compared to what was available in the camps in Kuwait during the OIF I buildup and what was available in Iraq till AAFES brought in their Fillipinos to run the alterations. Thanks

 

Hi lebelmilitaria,

 

First, let me welcome you to the Forum. Hope to hear allot more from you and other veterans returning from "the Desert" on many of the different makers and locations from which these SSI's originated. There seems to be much confusion with some of us on exactly where some were made. Can you elaborate on which patch you are referring? If you have photo capabilities, can you show some images of your patch? Thanks!

 

Gary

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Gary

 

Thank's a lot, your theater made patches are great as well. A friend of mine picked them up in Afghanistan and other countires he wisited while on R&R. He's about to deploy to Iraq in a short while and promised me to keep his eyes open for more patches like these. As for the 10th Mtn Div patch I have a couple of Aghan made versions; one with the tab attached and one with a seperate tab.

 

Erik

 

Erik,

 

Is it possible to see some of the other 10th MTN patches your friend picked up for you?

 

Gary

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Gary

 

Off course, here is the other variation I have of the 10th Mtn Div (with seperate tab) and also a few other Afghan made patches.

 

Erik

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Erik,

 

Some great patches you have there! The 11th ACR's look more like Great Dane dogs than rearing stallions. That SF is a killer also! Super! Some real keepers!I'm really glad Andrew started this thread on Desert Camo patches, so we can all see some different maker's variations. Is it possible to get reverse images?

 

If Andrew's 800th MP Bde patch that started this thread is the one lebelmilitaria is referring to as Kuwaiti made instead of Iraqi, I'm becoming somewhat confused. Here are three locally made 1st ID that appear to be identical in make to the 800th MP Bde patch. They're the same as Andrew describes his, very light weight and flimsy and also appear to have the same embroidery. When I acquired these last year, I was told they were straight up Iraqi, made in 2003 or 2004. Anyone care to venture a guess? Iraqi or Kuwaiti on these?

 

Gary

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lebelmilitaria

hi, i was referring originally to the 800th Mp brigade patch, I have a identical one. ill dig it out and post pics. Theres no way your 1st ID patches are from 2003 and made in Iraq, maybe 2004 when the 1st ID came to Iraq in OIF II. By that time I had left Iraq and I have no clue after Feb 2004 when I left iraq what they were making after that point in Iraq. I say there is no way your patches were made in Iraq in 2003 in Iraq unless they were mfg as combat patches somewhere in CENTCOM, which could be Kuwait or Quatar, or maybe even somewhere in Iraq if they had gotten high quality machines. The only 1st Infantry Division unit in Iraq in OIF I in 2003 was TF 1/63 which was in the Kirkuk area their entire time in Iraq. I went to the Kirkuk area several times, of the dozens of soldiers and officers I came across from TF 1/63 while in Iraq all I saw wore only standard issue 1st Division US issue green w/ red numeral one merrowed edge SSI. This includes both current unit and their combat patches. I dont know what the rest of the division wore in OIF II in their 2004-2005 rotation as I was not there and happily out of the Army. One has to remember, before the ACUs came out, their was a huge mixture of insignia being worn on DCUs, desert insignia, along w/ OD green, and all different kinds of combinations of the two colors. One could have insignia on his uniform made in the USA, Kuwait, Iraq or made on R&R in Quatar, and possibley

have insignia from all those places on his uniform especially if promoted, awarded CIB etc. Plus you even had guys coming into Iraq in 2003 who had been in OEF I and II in Afghanistan, often times wearing the same uniforms or removing the desert insignia that was either US made or Afghanistan made (tapes, rank, etc) and sewing it onto their new issue DCUs. Finally, everyone has to remember that every camp in Iraq by the end of 2003 had a alterations, these were either staffed by Iraqis, Kurds, or AAFES fillipinos. All of these different alterations had different personnel, machines, etc. making different quality and styles of insignia, plus rank, tapes, badges etc. So there is a huge amount of variants of pre-ACU insignia out there. And, you also had alterations in Kuwait and Quatar making their own stuff as well, normally much higher quality then anything I saw in Iraq, all of these were machine embrod. on very high quality machines. So, there is a huge amounts of variants of insignia out there from OIF I and II, plus all the central asian stuff for OEF, all of it different. The 800th MP brigade patch is Kuwaiti made if I had to stake my life on it, as its identical to a 800th MP Brigade patch I puchased in Kuwait at the Camp Doha alterations trailer in front of main PX there in Feb 2004. Hope this helps, Will

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