This patch features the emblem of the Air Force Intelli-gence Command (AFIC), a precursor of today’s Twenty-Fifth Air Force that was active from 1 October 1991 to 1 October 1993. The AFIC was the successor to the Electronic Security Command, and it preceded the Air Intelligence Agency, which itself was redesignated the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (AFISRA) in June 2007. On 1 October 2014, thirteen years after the activation of Air Force Intelligence Command, AFISRA was redesignated the Twenty-Fifth Air Force.
At the heart of the Air Force Intelligence Command insignia’s shield-within-a-shield design is a black chess knight superimposed over the middle of four quadrants, recalling four adjacent squares on a chess board. Carried over from the emblem of the Electronic Security Command, the knight denotes deception (think Trojan horse) as well the ability to strike while its path is obstructed. Four quadrants also stand for the four corners of the globe and the Command’s mandate of worldwide mission support. A double-edge sword, point down, reflects the Command’s responsibility to support both defensive and offensive operations, and also hearkens to the military role of the Air Force.