General What's on your Flight Jacket (or other Service Jacket)?

[Spinward Scout]

You're in the Military, or the Scouts, on a Mercenary Team, part of a Merchant Line, or other organization.

You're given a Jacket as part of being on a crew, a team, or as a reward for something you did very well.

Jon Smithe is going to have these on his Scout Service Jacket:

Left Chest
his last name
a Senior Scout emblem
an IISS Patch
a Detached Duty patch

Left Arm
a patch from Regina - the Subsector Capital
a Spinward Marches patch
a Domain of Deneb patch

Right Arm
the Imperial Starburst

Right Chest
a "First In" Exploration patch
a Courier Service patch (yellow)
an X-Boat patch (white)

Back
an "I'd rather be in Jumpspace" stylized design across the back
a "500 Jumps" patch (around 20 years at one Jump every 2 weeks)
an "I survived a MisJump" pennant

What's on your Jacket?

 

[Diveguy]

A lot would be the same. In addition, there would be liberty cuffs (link for reference) and at least one totally unauthorized but if-you-know-you-know patch/pin from some op somewhere.

IMTU, mirroring various decades of real-life equivalencies, there would be two types of jackets. The clean and pristine, shiny neat patches and the like are clearly either posers or those who are trying to live the life or seem more than they are. The raggedy, different ages on the patches, probably a repair here or there types are those who have seen the elephant and earned a spot at the table.

 

[Spinward Scout]

those who have seen the elephant

Would be a great battle patch.

I had to look up the phrase.

 

[TamsinP]

(M)OS patches - pilot, astrogator, etc
Ship names - different shape/colour/trim for crew vs passengers
and/or ship types - destroyer, dreadnought, tramp trader, liner, etc.
"I survived frozen watch"
Battle Honours patches

 

[kilemall]

Mission/term duty patches. Think military ones particularly unofficial patches or NASA type for scouts. A lot of dark humor and pain/cost. Preferably tells a story.

Maybe the one you might wear on the job to make a particular impression in the line of duty, and the real one when at the bar.

For hard spacers like Belters, it’s probably the vacc suit that gets patches- either sprayed on or sewn onto a sash, either to avoid compromising the suit integrity. A lot of fade with enough space walks.

 

[Diveguy]

Oh 100% to the dark humor and I survived sort of patches. Calling the combat wounded award an "enemy marksmanship badge". "I survived explosive decompression and all I got was this lousy patch". "Hey, Sarge - does Frozen Watch count as a half or a double term?"

A few IRL adjacent bits that may spark ideas:

- In the units I worked with for a period in the 90s one of our BS bar stories was "I play triangle in the Navy Band" rather than saying our actual role.

- Not my unit, and not sure if it was ever "real" or just another great joke, was the series of patches/stickers/lies about "I'm a door gunner on the space shuttle".

- A common excuse for the group of young, fit men traveling together was being part of some amateur sports team - the Brits would use rugby, U.S. I've heard everything from flag football to frisbee golf, and so on.

- One of my own, personal favorites was "We're part of the *unnamed energy drink* exhibition skydiving team, scouting out new locations."

All this to say, the patches could include completely fabricated references that again "If you know, you know" - or that blatantly mislead the observer.

 

[Diveguy]

Would be a great battle patch.

I had to look up the phrase.

Just had another random - for those who play the canon side - perhaps in the IISS it's "Ridden the Poni" - a point of pride to find, and ride, a Poni as so often depicted on the 100 dton ships...

 

[Dragoner]

- Not my unit, and not sure if it was ever "real" or just another great joke, was the series of patches/stickers/lies about "I'm a door gunner on the space shuttle".

This one is a favorite meatball:

 

[mike wightman]

Nothing, because I am not American.

MTU is not yanks in space.

But if I had to it would be this one:

Traveller 5e Project Update: A Patch of Honor

Hello Travellers! 🚀 A little less crunch today, but an update I believe you'll like! Firstly - we're SO grateful to be this close to 600K. We were thinking of a good way to ...

www.backerkit.com

 

[Condottiere]

Comet vomit.

 

[Diveguy]

View attachment 7658

This one is a favorite meatball:

View attachment 7659

Yes, NRO and a couple of other agencies always did drop some interesting ones...

 

[Spinward Scout]

MTU is not yanks in space.

The Brits have Flight Jackets. So did the Soviets.

 

[mike wightman]

The Brits have Flight Jackets. So did the Soviets.

Not decorated with garish patches, until the Americanisation of western society.

 

[aramis]

Nothing, because I am not American.

I am

MTU is not yanks in space.

Nor is mine.

IMTU, the field duty jacket, however, mirrors some americanisms and some NATOisms...
Left breast: Service identity strip (Text, Galanglic), beneath the imperial starburst or the line's heraldry. If flight wings earned, between starburst and nametape.
Right breast: name strip.
Left sleeve shoulder: current assignment patch.
Right sleeve shoulder: First Combat Patch (assignment patch where you first saw combat).
both sleeves: either stripes or dots for enlisted grade
left sleeve 20cm from cuff: qualification patch for Enlisted.
both sleeves 5 cm from cuff: lace rings (1-3 0.5cm silver, 1-3 1cm gold, or 0-5 0.5cm silver on a 10cm gold lace. Replace with black and brown for subdued)
Shoulder straps: officer starbursts. (1-3 small silver (Co/Working), 1-3 large gold (field/command grade) or 1-5 large gold with silver 4 point 1:5 stars (flag)) OC's wear just the flame ring. Subdued wears black or brown.

 

[Dragoner]

Mine is strongly Brazil/China esp the pre-war República da Terra ...
Here is an aux meatball:



Law Enforcement Auxilliary Forces or "LEAF"

 

[DentArthurDent]

The crew has ID tokens for the current ship.

The Vargr navigator who has flown across 5 sectors wears stylized badges, 30mm x 50mm, signifying each sector down the right chest almost to the belt.

 

[yallambie]

The Flying Fish took the place of the Mudshark in the rescue at the start of The Chamax Plague. Having got that close to a star the crew wear a patch of a frying pan with a piscean occupant.

 

[Enoki]

Taking this as I actually have done with such things:

Any patches or badges that are officially required, as required.

One additional patch or badge that displays a qualification I received, possibly many years earlier, that hold as particularly significant to me in some way.

If your jacket looks something like this:

I'm going to assume you're some sort of pretentious prick who thinks you're actually impressing people.

On the other hand, if you have a few like this that are likely unauthorized, I can go with that:

 

[Dragoner]

This is humorous:

 

[TamsinP]

Several decades ago, back when I was a Venture Scout and helper with Cubs and Scouts, campfire blankets (worn like ponchos) or shirts were commonplace. People would sew on various badges:
Scout group and pack/troop/unit, plus district, county and nation - their own and trades with people from other Scouts ( I had some from Belgium and Sweden from overseas camps)
Merit and achievement badges earned in younger sections
Those of the scout campsites they'd stayed at
Camp/event badges
Group scarves

I can easily see drifters/travellers having jackets/coats something like that. Active duty and retired military personnel not so much.