{"id":40552,"date":"2019-06-18T19:57:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T19:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/18\/will-your-command-create-a-fab-shoulder-patch\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:58:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:58:07","slug":"will-your-command-create-a-fab-shoulder-patch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/06\/18\/will-your-command-create-a-fab-shoulder-patch\/","title":{"rendered":"Will your command create a fab shoulder patch?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The latest rage in fleet fashion accessories is hitting the fleet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to a March 19 change <\/a>in regulations, commands on opposite sides of the planet have added official left shoulder flair to their working uniforms \u2014 unit patches that can be worn on the NWU Type III as an alternative to the subdued First Navy Jack \u201cDon\u2019t Tread on Me\u201d <\/a>flag insignia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first new patch design seems to have been launched from the aircraft carrier George Washington, a warship undergoing its midlife nuclear refueling and overhaul at Huntington Ingalls<\/a>\u2019 Newport News shipyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the command blog<\/a>, Chief Electronics Technician Joseph Knight urged the carrier\u2019s leadership to consider George Washington\u2019s 13-star Commander-in-Chief <\/a>Standard, which was used during the Revolutionary War to mark his headquarters on the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knight\u2019s brainchild percolated up to the carrier\u2019s executive officer, Capt. Daryle Cardone<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Borrowing from a eulogy for Washington penned by Henry \u201cLight Horse Harry\u201d Lee<\/a>, the command added the \u201cFirst in War, First in Peace\u201d motto to the patch and the fabulous flattop fashion was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ship store has been selling the patches for $5 each since June 1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chief Electronics Technician Joseph Knight from the aircraft carrier George Washington’s combat systems section dreamed up the command’s distinctive shoulder patches. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ten days after George Washington began vending its new patch, U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka\u2019s commanding officer Capt. Jeffrey Kim unveiled his command\u2019s new design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It features an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer sailing in front of Japan\u2019s Mount Fuji and a sky composed of both the U.S. and Japanese flags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a Navy press release<\/a>, Kim asked his base public affairs office to dream up a design and they turned to Garrett Zopfi,<\/a> a civilian public affairs specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zopfi began by drawing the design on paper and then moved his sketch to a computer to create multiple versions for Kim to consider. He was inspired partly by the legacy of Capt. Benton W. \u201cBenny\u201d Decker<\/a>, the postwar base commander from 1946 to 1950<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI endeavored to make the patch look like it always existed in CFAY history but with the benefit of new design and fabrication technology to innovate,” Zopfi said in the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Capt. Jeffrey Kim, the commanding officer of U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, revealed on June 12 an alternative patch for the Navy Working Uniforms III. (Kristina Doss\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As spiffy as the new patches appear, they\u2019re still corralled by Navy uniform regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reverse American flag patch remains the only adornment allowed on a sailor\u2019s right shoulder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And sailors must choose wisely: If they\u2019re already sporting command patches on the right breast pockets of their uniforms they\u2019re barred from simultaneously wearing the same logos on their shoulders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar to the regs addressing command belt buckles, alternative patches also can\u2019t be mandated by unit leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\t