U.S. Navy
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Naval Aviation News, December 1952 |
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Chief of Naval Operations: OPNAV INSTRUCTION 5030.4G (11 April 2012) |
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CNO guidance on insignia in particular enclosures 3 and 4.
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Comments |
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The Navy and Marine Corps strive for a clear and clean heraldry espousing the
unit's honor and tradition. However, unofficial patches appear to out number the
CNO approved patches by a clear margin as evidenced by the Bluejacket.com
insignia pages. Naval units generate patches for deployments, events and in protest. The mushroom theme of "kept in the dark and fed sliders" or the "BENO" cruises with "be no liberty, be no ___" remind us of the grind of deployment and port hole liberty. Political correctness cuts away on patch designs. VAH-5 Savage Sons patch evolved from a cannibal to an native American as a result of a pending cruise to Africa. And by course, patches depicting females have died as the opposite sex is in the chow line in front of you instead of behind you on the beach. The down side of the Navy heraldry program is the cookie cutter design. Witness the modern guided missile cruiser assembly line patches. Variation other than the ship's name is stifled. One anticipates that enterprising Sailors and Marines will continue to record memories and perpetuate tradition with clever creations of unit life on patches. |