There is some confusion regarding the name and classification of this patch, with most vendors and other sources understandably referring to it as the “Jungle Expert” patch. But the purpose of Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patches, is to identify a unit or organization the wearer is (or was) associated with and thus are typically named after that organization, while tabs are usually named after the skill or qualification, i.e., "Jungle Expert."
Making things more confusing is the fact that the Army recently (February 2020) authorized “Jungle” and “Arctic” tabs, without the "Expert" designation as seen on this patch, to be worn by Soldiers who complete the respective courses at Schofield Barracks and the Northern Warfare Training Center.
That’s why this insignia is more accurately called the U.S. Army Jungle Operations Training Center (or Jungle Warfare Training Center) patch: it was worn by Soldiers who completed training held at the Jungle Operations Training Center that was formally established at Fort Sherman in Panama in 1953 (jungle training had been carried out in that country since 1916, however). Originally offered to individual Soldiers, the Center expanded its operations in 1976 to make the jungle-warfare training regimen available for entire units rather that just individual Soldiers.
As is sometimes the case with certain types of insignias, Soldiers who completed the rigorous training began to wear unauthorized tabs or patches or patches with the “Jungle Expert” designation, with this one becoming the most commonly seen. According to the book U.S. Army Patches, Flashes, and Ovals: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cloth Unit Insignia by Barry Jason Stein, this patch-and-tab combination was worn from 5 July 1968 to 4 December 1982, but was never officially approved.
The design of the non-tab portion—a Spanish Galleon with the insignia of Christopher Columbus on its mainsail—is the same as the United States Army Forces Southern Command Shoulder Sleeve Insignia that was approved in July 1963 and which has been designated for United States Army South since 1987.
Fort Sherman and the Jungle Operations Training Center were shuttered in 1999. In 2014, a new Jungle Warfare School was opened at Schofield Barracks, with a “Jungle” tab (not “Jungle Expert”) tab officially authorized for graduates in 2020.