More commonly called a “unit patch” or “shoulder patch,” the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn by Army personnel assigned to United States Special Operation Command, Pacific (SOCPAC) was approved on 13 May 1997.
This shield-shaped device features the silhouette of a Fairbairn-Sykes knife surmounted on a brilliantly shining sun set against a light-blue background. The blue denotes the sky, the area of operations for Airborne units; combined with the sun, it denotes the tropical and sub-tropical areas of the Pacific in which Airborne forces often carry out operations.
The origin of the United States Special Operations Command, Pacific is made up of two distinct periods. On 1 November 1965, Special Operations Center, Pacific Command was established, headquartered in Okinawa and tasked with providing unconventional warfare task force support for operations in Southeast Asia, a region that was decidedly a hotspot during the mid-1960s. After just a few years of existence, however, the Command’s functions were handed over to Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command (CINCPAC) and it was concurrently dissolved on 1 July 1969. In May 1976, a Special Operations staff was created within CINCPAC to handle planning and coordination Special Operations.
Related ItemsArmy Special Operations Command Pacific Unit Crest (DUI)Army Special Operations Command Pacific Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)Army Special Operations Command Pacific Flash and OvalIt was in 1983 that SOCPAC was given the structure that was subsequently molded into today’s organizations, which is a sun-unified command under the United States Indo-Pacific Command. That was the year that Pacific Command established Special Operations Command Pacific at Marine Corps Base Camp H.M. Smith, still home of the Command’s HQ nearly four decades later. The following year, the Army reactivated 1st Special Forces Group (airborne) and organized it with two Battalions, one at Torii Station at the old Command’s HQ on Okinawa and two more at Fort Lewis, Washington.