"Thunderbirds", 1967

The central item of the patch is a fierce representation of a thunderbird on a black bordered triangular field of silver. The triangle sits on a blue, white-bordered, circular field. The thunderbird, bright yellow and outlined in royal blue, has three black concentric triangles superimposed on his chest. The numeral "27" is emblazoned on the bird's tail feathers, directly below the triangles. The thunderbird, a symbol to the early native Americans inhabiting Colorado, ruled the skies. Since it could produce thunder, lightning and rain, the thunderbird represents the Air Force's dominance of the skies. The silver triangle is a stylized aircraft and the three concentric triangles represent three cubed, or twenty-seven. The patch contains the four academy colors to represent the unity of the wing. This original patch of the squadron was designed by Donald S. Bowers, Jr., class of 1970.

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Firstie Year Photo

"Professional competence is more than a display of book knowledge or of the results of military schooling.  It requires the display of qualities of character which reflect inner strength and justified confidence in one's self."
- General Maxwell D. Taylor

Joseph and Lindsey Sands