The design of the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn by personnel in the U.S. Army Element, Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (SOJTF-OIR)—known as SOJTF-Levant since 1 July 1921—borrows heavily from the patch approved for the Army Element of the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan. It is also inspired by the design of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Seal.
Both patches use the oval shape that alludes to Seal of United States Special Operations Command and the colors black and gold that are used for Special Operations organizations: Black is for covert operations, gold is for excellence.
On the SOJTF-OIR patch are two pairs of stars, one on the left and one on the right, that mimic the number and placement of stars on the USSOCOM Seal. On the Seal they denote the four points of the compass; it is unclear precisely what they symbolize on the SOJTF-OIR patch since neither the Army nor The Institute of Heraldry has published a description of the insignia since its introduction in 2017.
All three devices contain the famed “tip of the spear” that symbolizes the role that Special Operations units play as the initial attacking force, though often small in numbers, that lead the way in penetrating and reducing enemy defenses.
The three rings on the shaft of the spear of USSOCOM Seal stand for the Special Operations forces assigned to the joint command from the Army, Air Force, and Navy—the Marine Special Operation Command, or MARSOC, was not yet established when the Seal’s design was approved in 1987. Today, a better interpretation would be Land, Sea, and Air, the three methods of entry into the combat space employed by all Special Forces and Special Operations units.
According to the
Military Times of 1 November 2021, “Special Operations Joint Task Force– Levant was stood up quietly on July 1 and replaces Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, which had been overseeing special operations activities in Syria and Iraq…While the overall mission remains supporting the Operation Inherent Resolve coalition to ‘ensure the enduring defeat of the ISIS caliphate,’ the restructured task force ‘allows for a broad, regional approach to that fight,’ according to Special Operations Command Central.
The article goes on to note that SOJTF-Levant, which also oversees Joint Special Operations in the nearby nations of Lebanon, Jordan, an Egypt, is commanded by U.S. Army Brigadier Isaac J. Peltier.
Related Items