History of the Patch

	MN-104 Red Wing Composite Squadron 40th Anniversary Commemorative, not authorized for wear Version 1

The 40th Anniversary commemorative patch for Red Wing Composite Squadron started off literally as a bar napkin sketch on Friday, September 14, 2007. The squadron was soon going to be celebrating forty years as a chartered Civil Air Patrol unit, starting with a public Open House at their headquarters building on Thursday, September 27. And that would be followed by a Homecoming Party for current and former squadron members on Saturday, October 6. Although unlikely, the goal was to have patches available in time for the Homecoming. Remarkably, the patches were able to start being handed out at the Open House - just 13 days after the rather impulsive project began! The patch was contrived by squadron member, Major Andrew "Ace" Browning.

The "Polecat" has ben a part of Red Wing Squadron culture for over two decades. It originated as an icon of the Black-Cap Emergency Services College, a fun and light-hearted training school developed by the unit to be the "anti-hardcore" contrast to another school who called themselves the "Swamp Rats". A polecat is the swamp rat's natural enemy. Adding "Red Wings" to give the skunk flight seemed like the natural thing to do!

The Roman numeral "XL" translates as "Forty". It can also be read as the word "Excel" which is something that Red Wing Squadron has certainly done over its forty-year existence. The numeral is Ruby Red, which is the precious gemstone that represents a 40th Anniversary.

The green within the disk represents the land and where the squadron has been in the past. The blue within the disk, an Air Force color, represents the sky and where the squadron is going into the future. The red Tri-prop on a white Civil Defense Triangle has been the basic emblem of Civil Air Patrol since its inception. The disk is boardered and segmented in yellow, another Air Force color.

The tabs are comprised of the unit's colors, gold and red. The lower tab contains the Latin words "Semper Bon Tempus", which translates as "Always a Good Time" - the attitude that squadron members carry with them into everything they do.

Information provided by:
Major Ace Browning, CAP