Unknown patch from Iraq

I have no idea as to who this patch was made for.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

Fred

Fred, have you ID'd the patch since this was posted? I picked up a similar one recently, so I'm curious. Although I'm still very new to modern patches, this appears to be Iraqi-made (you said yours was from Iraq, so it makes sense).

U.S. Department of state.

Automatic, your patch solved the mystery. I just googled Diplomatic Security High Threat Protection and found the answer.

http://m.state.gov/md51251.htm

More info about them working in Iraq.

https://www.wired.com/2009/02/state-departmen-2/

Thanks for your help, that was fast! DSS is an interesting outfit. If I find a pic of an agent wearing one of these patches I'll share.

Great patches. Another patch for me to look out for.

No pics yet, but I got in contact with someone who gave me some info. Here is what he emailed me:

"Wow, that's a rare item. Those patches, t-shirts, and hats started popping up in Baghdad in the Dec 2007-Jan 2008 timeframe. The WPPS policy at that time was that guys/gals on the contract were only allowed to wear hats with an American flag or the High Threat hats that the RSO shop was selling. A couple Blackwater guys ventured out on their own and did a run of merch that was close, but not quite the same as the RSO stuff. Their bosses caught on within a day or two and an order came out telling all the BW guys to lose the new hats. So people bought the stuff, but you couldn't wear the gear if you were on the contract. I don't think they made more than a handful of each item, since there was just one production run before they were told to stop...

A couple of acronyms for you. WPPS (pronounced ‘whips’ stands Worldwide Personal Protective Service (WPPS). Sometimes we use Worldwide Protective Service (WPS) instead these days. These are the contractors that we hire to help us overseas because we do not have enough DSS special agents to work in war-zones. There are only about 2,200 DSS special agents in total covering our domestic and overseas missions. RSO is regional security officer. It is a bit of an anachronism. When a DSS special agent is assigned to an embassy or consulate, their job title there is regional security officer. 30 or 40 years ago, one agent would cover multiple countries. These days we have as many as 20 agents assigned to a single country but the title remains the same."

Automatic wrote:No pics yet, but I got in contact with someone who gave me some info. Here is what he emailed me:

"Wow, that's a rare item. Those patches, t-shirts, and hats started popping up in Baghdad in the Dec 2007-Jan 2008 timeframe. The WPPS policy at that time was that guys/gals on the contract were only allowed to wear hats with an American flag or the High Threat hats that the RSO shop was selling. A couple Blackwater guys ventured out on their own and did a run of merch that was close, but not quite the same as the RSO stuff. Their bosses caught on within a day or two and an order came out telling all the BW guys to lose the new hats. So people bought the stuff, but you couldn't wear the gear if you were on the contract. I don't think they made more than a handful of each item, since there was just one production run before they were told to stop...

A couple of acronyms for you. WPPS (pronounced ‘whips’ stands Worldwide Personal Protective Service (WPPS). Sometimes we use Worldwide Protective Service (WPS) instead these days. These are the contractors that we hire to help us overseas because we do not have enough DSS special agents to work in war-zones. There are only about 2,200 DSS special agents in total covering our domestic and overseas missions. RSO is regional security officer. It is a bit of an anachronism. When a DSS special agent is assigned to an embassy or consulate, their job title there is regional security officer. 30 or 40 years ago, one agent would cover multiple countries. These days we have as many as 20 agents assigned to a single country but the title remains the same."

Great update! Explains a lot. Thanks Clete