Maintainers unveil new squadron patch

  • Published
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Oklahoma --  The 507th Air Refueling Wing added another page to its historical heraldry April 7th as the 507th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron received official approval for a new squadron patch. 

The new patch is the result of several years of research and design refinement. 

On October 20, 2008, Major Eric Eggers, 507th AMXS commander, sent a letter to the Air Force Reserve Command Historian's Office requesting approval of the patch. "The 507th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron was established on October 1, 2002. We did not have an approved emblem. I felt this was important to the squadron's morale and its identity as a vital part of the Wing.  This effort took a lot of research and time." 

That letter was forwarded from AFRC to the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB, Ala. The response letter received from the AFHRA's Daniel L. Haulman, Chief of the Organizational History Branch, confirmed Air Force consent for the patch design. In his letter Mr. Haulman identified guidance to follow to obtain decals, uniform patches and use as signage or reproduction.  

The new patch also brings its own unique heraldry. That heraldry reads: 

BLAZON 

On a disc per fess Azure and Celeste, between in chief seven mullets as the Big Dipper Argent and in base a demi-sun rising Or, a Bald Eagle Proper, grasping in dexter claw a wrench and in sinister claw a screwdriver all of the third; all within a narrow border Black. 

Attached above the disc, a Yellow scroll edged with a narrow Black border and inscribed "FOREVER READY ALWAYS THERE" in Black letters. 

Attached below the disc, a Yellow scroll edged with a narrow Black border and inscribed "507TH AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE SQ" in Black letters. 

SIGNIFICANCE 

Ultramarine blue and Air Force yellow are the Air Force colors. Blue alludes to the sky, the primary theater of Air Force operations. Yellow refers to the sun and the excellence required of Air Force personnel. 

The divided background is significant of the day and night, twenty four hour, coverage provided by the 507th AMXS. 

The Big Dipper portrays space and the efforts of the unit to be prepared for future arenas. The sun indicates the excellence required of Air Force maintainers. The Bald Eagle is the symbol of America's strength and represents the continual fight for freedom. The wrench and screwdriver symbolize the forever readiness of the maintainer.