According to reference book U.S. Army Patches, Flashes and Ovals by insignia authority Barry Jason Stein, this Officers Candidate School patch is actually the third iteration of the insignia. The original version introduced the design scheme, used for all three editions of the patch, that is based on the initialism “OCS”: the letter “O” is represented by the circle just inside the border of the patch, and the letters “C” and “S” are intertwined inside of it. Worn from 4 July 1941 to 1951—the the letters were rendered in olive drab and the background was solid black.
The first variation, which Stein asserts was still worn when the book was published in 2007, employed dark-blue letters in lieu of olive drab, while the third generation patch changed both the color of the letters (gold) and background (navy blue).
While Stein’s entry for the patch states that it was worn by “female candidates” and “has been used periodically sewn on a white scarf by all candidates to the present day,” the most recent edition of DA PAM 670-1 says nothing about female candidates being singled out to wear the patch. Instead, its guidance on the OCS embroidered path merely says, “Senior candidates may wear the cloth O.C.S. design on the ascot.” And that single stipulation has been rule has been in place for quite some time: The September 1992 edition of AR 670-1 states simply that “The cloth ‘O.C.S.’ design may be worn on the scarf for senior candidates.”
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