History of the Patch

	FL-337 Fort Lauderdale Composite Squadron Version 3, 2008

Mascot: The Florida Panther. The Florida panther was chosen as he represents the apex predator of Everglades, our "operational home". He is known for his cunning, swiftness, and ability to adapt. He never fails in finding his quarry. All traits we try to exemplify in our Emergency Services / SAR missions. He is intelligent and knows his home like none other, intelligence we want to portray in our Aerospace Education. The panther is also a doting and committed parent, raising and teaching their young to great lengths the skills needed later in life, this is the goal of our Cadet Programs.

Emblem: The base of the emblem is that of the darkest blue of night sky, the same sky where we fly, and under which we perform our missions. Strewn across the sky, is a field of stars, 16 of them. There are 11 small stars representing the number of cadet achievements and 5 large ones representing the major cadet milestones. Situated large and in the center of the emblem is our mascot, the Florida panther, he is seen scanning the environment searching for his quarry. The panther is stalking through a sea of sawgrass, the dominant environment of the Everglades which makes up the majority of our territory. In the top rocker is written "SWIFT, SILENT, AND VIGILANT", our motto (explained below). The bottom rocker contains our name, "Fort Lauderdale Composite Squadron".

Motto: "SWIFT, SILENT, AND VIGILANT". This is expanded in meaning in so much as we aim to be swift in our duties, silent, always aware of our surroundings-listening, never complaining, and vigilant to our environment and our missions.

Colors: Colors are two tones of Khaki, representing the colors of the "sea of grass", and the color of earth. Khakis represent honesty, steadfastness, and strength. It is also a salute to our history and uniforms of the early Civil Air Patrol. Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, and freshness. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Blue the color of the sky, representing where we complete our missions, It is often associated with depth and stability. Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness. White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, and purity. It is considered to be the color of perfection, our goal overall.

Information provided by:
Ben Dickmann, 2d Lt, CAP
Deputy Commander, Ft Lauderdale Composite Squadron