Morale patches often consist of cool designs and catchy phrases. However, they don’t provide much more beyond the looks. Identification patches have a far more vital role in all airsoft operations. Knowing who is who and what their job is proves to be essential for being an effective team member. These patches include medical, flag, and other ID patches.
In most military simulations, medic patches are required for each squad to easily identify who their medic is. The faster a medic can get to the scene where the player was hit, the more effective the entire squad is. Another reason why knowing who is your medic is to insure he doesn’t get in the line of fire. Making sure your medic is safe at all times is important as he is the only person that can keep your squad going in the midst of an intense fight.
Flag patches can also prove to be helpful in the field as well. For instance, if you are in a simulation setting with one country vs. one country (or team vs. team) and uniform patterns are hard to distinguish between, then flag patches are a quick way to identify team members from enemies. Patterns like Multicam, Kryptek Highlander, Scorpion, SS Autumn, and many other patterns can be hard to identify in a standard green vs. tan setting. However, brightly colored or multicolored flag patches are a quick way to figure out who’s in your vicinity.
There are many different kinds of ID patches. Some are nametapes, some are squad member numbers, and some are even printed graphics of a squad’s/team’s logo. Giving commands is a difficult job in the field, especially when you can’t differentiate squads from one another. This is one of the reasons why such patches can be useful: to quickly give orders and direct players to where they need to be. Another reason why they are incredibly useful is if players ever get lost or go on a recon mission. Getting back with your squad is essential in order for the entire squad to be successful; every player has a job to fulfill, and with players missing, effectiveness is diminished.
