ISAF Canadian Theatre made

[Bill A]

The following patch was obtained from a Canadian army Afghanistan vet. It was theatre made, and is significantly different than the patches that are on ebay.
It is very difficult to catalogue the insignia being worn by the Canadians in Afghanistan. There are reports of many unofficial patches. Any documented information (or rumours) of patches worn by the Canadian army in the ISAF would be welcome.

Larry Will has sent me several images of ISAF and other patches being worn in Afghanistan. The variety is bewildering. The first is the theatre made example I posted, the remainder are the "desert" coloured patches from Larry.

[Bill A]

In addition to the desert coloured patches issued to deployments in Afghanistan, there are also white on green examples. These were acquired in theatre.

[LLWill]

All of the patches picture'd here either were worn or "aquired" by my son or a personnel friend (Signals) on the last three tours in Afganistan. Patches come in "ready to be sewn on", velcro backing for attachment to the velcro positions on the uniform or on a shoulder brassard.

[John Cameron]

The small green ISAF and the Kabul Multinational Brigade patches are Canadian made for the first roto. The large tan ISAF is US made and the MP patch is theatre acquired.


Souvenier patches made in Kandahar. "Enduring Freedom 2007"???

[Phillip Herring]

This patch is courtesy of Lieutenant Commander Sheyla Dussault who served at ISAF HQ 2007-08.
The patch was manufactured locally in Afghanistan, and sold to raise funds for a local orphanage. The HQ Staff were authorised to wear the patches.
The dragon logo is used with the permission of The Kingston Brewing Company since it is their logo. (Insert plug here) The KBC brews its own beer on the premises and is a favourite watering hole for many of Kingston's military members. It is not unusual to see large groups of Staff College students and/or directing staff in the pub and it is often the site of retirement functions and unit gatherings. There have even been sightings of a now retired CDS from Newfoundland.
Since Kingston is the "military crossroads" of Canada, it is appropriate that the logo of a favourite stop be incorporated into this patch...and if nothing else, it is "fun".

Amendment 16 May 2009
Here is the story of the HQ ISAF "Dragon Patch", courtesy of Lieutenant Commander Sheyla Dussault.
The Dragon patch has in its centre the crest of the Kingston Brewing Company (KBC), and bears red, green and white colours which represent Christmas in Canada, and in order, martyrs, Islam and purity in Afghanistan. Late 2007, a request was sent from the Canadian National Support Element (NSE) to the KBC to use the dragon's head on a patch for a Christmas fundraiser at the Headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force (HQ ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan. The ides was based on the habit of personnel at HQ ISAF to wear unit badges on Velcro on their combat uniform. The Canadian Commanding Officer at ISAF agreed to have Canadians wear the patch during the fund raiser period, which spanned into January. Close to 300 Euros were raised, which helped pay rent for the Kabul Orphanage the Canadian NSE was sponsoring at the time. A rather dynamic picture of a group of Canadian Forces personnel and a US officer, all wearing the patch, was taken and presented to the KBC. It currently hangs on the 'tribute to the military' wall, in the bar area. The picture, with the patch, drew such attention from customers that an additional 50 patches were ordered from Kabul and sold at the KBC in 'phase 2' of the fundraiser operation, providing an additional $250 for the orphanage.

[Bill A]

Great information Phil. Thanks.