I have been picking up in-country made and/or worn insignia from our troops in Iraqi Freedom.  Not pieces I'm buying at shows but insignia from men and women who are 'over there'.  Each insignia is accompanied by a letter from the vet and means alot when I talk with school groups about our soldiers.  Here are a few pieces.  I have left the men's names off as it might not always be appropriate to tell-tale.  I would love to add to this collection if you're in or were in Afghanistan or Iraq!  I'm especially keen on getting some insignia attributed to a woman who has served in Iraqi Freedom and something from a Marine as I have neither.

Here is a Saudi made desert camo Special Forces patch given to me by an SF Captain (now a Major on his second combat tour).

This great patch is a locally made Mobile Reaction Force SF insignia from a Captain in a 100 man SF detachment of the 20th SF that operated out of Nangarhar and Laghman Provinces in Afghanistan.  The shield is the colors of Afghanistan and the 54 on the skull stands for ODA 2054.  The photo in the background shows the team in the field.  This one came to me via a forum member and I was very pleased to add it to my collection!

This patch, from another member of the MRF team is made without the teams ODA number and is shown in wear by local Afghan troops.




This 1st Cav. patch is in-country made.  Note that it is sand camo and that it is reversed for wear as a forward facing right shoulder combat unit insignia.  The patch came from a civilian employee stationed at Camp Falcon.

One of the great things about the soldiers in today's army is that many of them are well aware of their unit's individual history.  This was displayed in Iraq when the Airborne troops began wearing unit designations on the sides of their kevlar helmets just as the paratroopers of WWII and Korea had done.  This pair of Tori Gate insignia is accompanied by a letter direct from a friend who was a Battalion XO with the Rakkasans... the 187th Airborne... in Iraqi Freedom.

I love this one!  USAF CENTAF 9th Air Force.  This is a RARE patch worn by an ELITE joint nation unit of British, US, and Saudi JAG fella's whose job was to figure out the legal ramifications of bombings.

This great patch comes from a veteran of the unit from his service in Afghanistan.

Thanks for letting me share these!  The "Greatest Generation" is alive and well and serving our nation today!