c1980s 1st Special Operations Command (1st SOCOM) Airborne Uniform Patch

cOct 1983-Nov1990. 1st SOCOM 2-piece patch (Airborne tab sewn to horses head and thunderbolt shield). Removed from uniform. GC.

The failure of Operation EAGLE CLAW, the mission to rescue U.S. hostages held by Iran, in April 1980 prompted the Department of Defense to begin restructuring and revitalising its special operations forces (SOF). As part of this effort, the U.S. Army identified a void in force capabilities at the pre-crisis and low-intensity conflict levels. Increasing instability in Latin America and the Middle East required an agile, unconventional solution.

Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF), though designed for such missions, was still reeling from post-Vietnam War force reductions. It also lacked a unifying command and control headquarters, prompting the Army to provisionally establish the 1st Special Operations Command (1st SOCOM) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (known as Fort Liberty since 2023), on 1 October 1982. Commanded by Brigadier General (BG) Joseph C. Lutz, its mission was to prepare, provide, and sustain active-duty Army Special Forces, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, and Ranger units.

Formally activated on 1 October 1983, 1st SOCOM was the first headquarters to exercise both administrative and operational control of the full spectrum of ARSOF units. Within weeks of activation, 1st SOCOM was at war in the Caribbean Island of Grenada, supporting Operation URGENT FURY. Its units would later see combat in Panama and the Persian Gulf.

Code: 1052