History of the Patch

	Aerospace Education Officer Version 1

"Wing AEO's Get New Patch"
by Maj Dan McDowell

As a part of the New Spirit '89-'90 program, all Wing Aerospace Education Officers have a new patch that they may wear which will identify them as one of the few, the proud, the devoted, the Wing Aerospace Education Officer. The patch, shown [at right], is designed with the mission of the Aerospace Education program and the spirit of America in mind.

The colors represent the United States. The red represents the blood shed by the many aerospace pioneers, test pilots and others who believed and fought for the advancement of aerospace. The dark blue represents the ocean of air and space; the realm of flight. The white represents the purity and freedom of this land, which is so freely felt as we dwell in the vastness of the aerospace environs. The gold represents the riches we have in our lives because of what aerospace and its technology have given us as well as the gifts of those who have sacrificed so much in the quest to improve and enrich our lives.

The F-4 aircraft was chosen for the patch because it represents an aerospace past, present and future. A backbone of the Air Force inventory for almost 30 years, it is still in extensive service to America and the world today. It is, also, the aircraft currently in use by the Minnesota Air National Guard in Duluth and is represented at the Air Museum at the Air National Guard Base in Minneapolis.

The map of Minnesota identifies the wearer as a member of the Minnesota AE team. The number "1" at the bottom of the patch shows the AE programs's desire to share in the Wing's effort to be the best in all we do.

The patch is authorized to be worn by Wing Aerospace Education Officers only in the same manner that other emergency service and special qualification patches are worn. For further information, contact the Wing Aerospace Education Officer (Wg/AE) at Wing Headquarters.