Anybody know the background / origin / history of this patch? Any help would be appreciated ~ thanks! Dave

I suspect it has links with Eglin AFB.

 

"The forests and shores of Eglin Air Force Base are at the center of one of the most biodiverse locations in North America. Over 50 species threatened in Florida are found on the base, including sea turtles that nest on its white-sand beaches and red-cockaded woodpeckers that thrive in its longleaf pine forests. The base has a natural resources management team that constantly monitors important species within the base with the goal of balancing their national defense mission with environmental stewardship.[29] Longleaf pine forest, a forest type reduced to 5% of its former range in the last few centuries, covers 200,000 acres (810 km2) of the base. Part of this forest, 6,795 acres (27.50 km2), is old growth, making the base home to one of the most extensive old-growth longleaf pine forests in the world."

I think Stewe Irwin did a show from this base and that means it has a lot of wildlife.

I suspect it has links with Eglin AFB.

 

"The forests and shores of Eglin Air Force Base are at the center of one of the most biodiverse locations in North America. Over 50 species threatened in Florida are found on the base, including sea turtles that nest on its white-sand beaches and red-cockaded woodpeckers that thrive in its longleaf pine forests. The base has a natural resources management team that constantly monitors important species within the base with the goal of balancing their national defense mission with environmental stewardship.[29] Longleaf pine forest, a forest type reduced to 5% of its former range in the last few centuries, covers 200,000 acres (810 km2) of the base. Part of this forest, 6,795 acres (27.50 km2), is old growth, making the base home to one of the most extensive old-growth longleaf pine forests in the world."

Ah, C~61 Alpha, the dredged shell mounds, how well I remember my time at Eglin. The variety of testing they did there to "see" the tunnels in Vietnam, the third phase of Ranger school, the mock up of the Son tay POW camp and so many other things that could only be done on that massive base.

Yes, we had to keep an eye out for those red~cockaded woodpeckers though I don't remember ever seeing any and I spent a good amount of time among those pines, including hanging from a few of them.

They might have wanted us to be wary of the nesting sea turtles on the beaches but being a youthful admirer of beach bunnies I don't remember the turtles either.

Sorry to steer this wrong but Eglin was, over forty years ago, a great introduction to the military for this then young troop.

But I can't tell you about the patch.

Oh, a little bit of "stump the smartest" going on here?

It's blue so it must be Navy!

 

(sorry I don't know....but it's been a LONG week!)

 

Leonardo

Well guys.......

Ian gave you a good start, hasn't anyone something to add?

Thanks JS....allow me, etc!

 

Eglin Air Force Base

 

The Eglin Natural Resources Branch is commonly known as Jackson Guard. The name comes from the days before Eglin when this area was the Choctawhatchee National Forest. Ranger stations were known as "guards."

 

http://myfwc.com/viewing/recreation/wmas/c...-air-force-base

Couple more links with information on the Air Proving Ground Command. I think this is a quite scarce patch.

 

http://www.eglin.af.mil/library/factsheets...eet.asp?id=6061

 

http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=10957

When I read through the links, it looks like they completely took "Proving Ground" out of their nomenclature in 1968. This appears to be a merrowed edge patch though? Or is it just the way I'm looking at it?

When I read through the links, it looks like they completely took "Proving Ground" out of their nomenclature in 1968. This appears to be a merrowed edge patch though? Or is it just the way I'm looking at it?

Just a portion of this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_Ope...aluation_Center

 

HistoryAir Force Operational Test and Evaluation, 1941-1973

 

In 1941, the Air Corps Proving Ground activated at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, when General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold ordered the creation of an aircraft and armament proving ground. The next year, the Air Corps Proving Ground became the Proving Ground Command, responsible for testing new aircraft in their operational roles as they came off the assembly lines. In 1948, the PGC became the Air Proving Ground Command (APGC), one of the major commands of the fledgling United States Air Force.

 

APGC conducted realistic testing of new weapons as an independent organization, reporting directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and advocating a "fly-before-buy" approach to acquiring new systems. Such a shift, however, remained a challenge, for the Air Force continued the "buyfly- fix" process that had grown from the demands of World War II and undervalued the importance of timely independent operational test and evaluation.

 

APGC attempted to simulate combat conditions during its tests. It also grew in size as it acquired the systems it tested. By 1956, Air Force regulations outlined an eight-phase test and evaluation process that did not include the APGC until phase seven. By that point in the acquisition cycle, the Air Force had often already fielded units with new systems that APGC had not yet tested. Not surprisingly, operators often experienced serious problems with these new, untested systems. This led to a misperception about the value of operational test and evaluation (OT&E) and APGC. Had OT&E taken place before production decisions and fielding new systems, there likely would not have been any question about the added value of independent OT&E.

 

As a result of the doubts about the value of APGC and cuts to the defense budget, in 1957 the Air Force stripped APGC of its major command status, reduced its budget and authorized personnel, and redesignated the Command the Air Proving Ground Center, and assigned it to the Air Research and Development Command. This action meant the Air Force no longer had an independent organization that specialized in impartial operational test and evaluation.

 

Decentralized operational testing at the major commands occurred from 1958 to 1973. Major command emphasis was often on quick deployment rather than thorough testing and impartial evaluations. Although the Air Force streamlined OT&E from eight to three phases during this period, OT&E still came at the end of the acquisition process. In addition, as systems became more complex, and the Air Force moved to acquire systems quickly, the "fly-before-buy" approach fell by the wayside. The consequences became clear when a Department of Defense study found that 21 of 22 major weapons systems used in the Vietnam War from 1965-1970 suffered severe operational deficiencies. These results strongly stated the case for independent OT&E in the Air Force.

 

The patch also looks like a standardized variation of many other AAF patches of the period all having the same round shape, star & wing and what the command is such as Air Material or Air University.

Nice find, nice addition.

When I read through the links, it looks like they completely took "Proving Ground" out of their nomenclature in 1968. This appears to be a merrowed edge patch though? Or is it just the way I'm looking at it?

 

Remember merrowed edges have been around for a long time. The USPS Cadet Nurse patches of WW2 have a merrowed or overlock stich edge.