U.S. ARMY PATHFINDER PATCH (SSI)

The Pathfinder patch is the embroidered equivalent of the Pathfinder Badge awarded to Soldiers who complete a Pathfinder Training course. While the vast majority of Pathfinders earn their qualification at the Pathfinder School located at the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Moore, Georgia (previously designated as Fort Benning), the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky offers Pathfinder training at the Sabalauski Air Assault School.

The Pathfinder Badge’s simple design combines the image of a lighted torch, symbolic of leadership and guidance as well as knowledge and enlightenment, with the wings representing the airborne capabilities of the wearer.

During the three-week course, Soldiers are taught how to identify terrain as being appropriate for a parachute drop zone; how to set up, operate, and maintain drop zones; carry out sling-load operations, and provide air-traffic control for both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. This is just a general overview of what they learn during the course, since each area of operations requires multiple skills and specialized instruction.

The School is overseen and operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry Regiment, which is also responsible for the operation to the Army Airborne School and Army Jumpmaster School. But it appears the Battalion’s workload is set to be reduced: in a November 2020 Army Times article, an Army Training and Doctrine Command spokesperson was quoted as saying the Army would be shuttering the Pathfinder School due to growing budgetary constraints combined with a shift toward large-scale combat tactics.

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U.S. Army Pathfinder Badge

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U.S. ARMY PATHFINDER PATCH (SSI)