This being the design of one of the first F-14 Tomcat patches that lets the enemy know that the Tomcat is an all-weather, day or night capable fighter.

This being the design of one of the first F-14 Tomcat patches that lets the enemy know that the Tomcat is an all-weather, day or night capable fighter.

This is one of the latest patches the Tomcat community has come out with. With the decommissioning of the Intruder and the F/A-18 already having one, the F-14s were outfitted with the LANTIRN pods in order to form them into the "Bombcats". So far, it has proven quite effective.

This patch was created for wear by any Tomcat pilot or RIO that punched out (ejected). It shows the ejection seat with Felix leaning up against it. Fortunately, this patch can only be worn by a few. One of my best friends, Ron "Rhino" Wise was killed when he punched out of a Tomcat and got a "streamer" (chute didn't open).

This patch is a highly prized attainment. Usually, on your first cruise, you earn approximately 125-150 total traps, so to earn 100 night traps usually takes a couple of cruises.

This patch is a highly prized attainment. Usually, on your first cruise, you earn approximately 125-150 traps.

This patch is a highly prized attainment. Usually, on your first cruise, you earn approximately 125-150 traps. With the addition of workups, you come close to the magical 200 trap mark. This signifies that you are beyond the "New Guy" mentality and have paid your dues on the first deployment. Not an uncommon patch, but not one seen too often.

Even more highly sought after is this number of traps due to the significance of having served for more than one workups and deployment cycle. This patch is still not uncommon, but isn't seen as often.

This patch now starts delineating those who have served for more than one tour of the Tomcat deployment cycle. To have attained 400 traps in the F-14 requires at least 2 sets of workups and cruises, if not more. This patch is not common at all.

This patch is usually only earned by the Skipper, XO, Boss, Mini-Boss, or CAG (ie, someone who has served several deployments in this aircraft).

This patch is usually only earned by the Skipper, XO, Boss, Mini-Boss, or CAG (ie, someone who has served several deployments in this aircraft).

This is the famous Iranian F-14 Tomcat "ALI-CAT" Felix patch worn by the Iranian students and those instructors that taught them how to fly the Tomcat.

This is the famous Iranian F-14 Tomcat "ARABIC" Felix patch worn by the Iranian students and those instructors that taught them how to fly the Tomcat.

This is the famous Iranian F-14 Tomcat "oval" patch worn by the Iranian students and those instructors that taught them how to fly the Tomcat.

For many years, US Naval Aviation was known as the "Grumman Navy" due to the large percentage of aircraft that were produced by the Grumman Ironworks. These aircraft consisted of the A-6E Intruder, EA-6B Prowler, F-14 Tomcat, the E-2C Hawkeye, and the C-2 Greyhound. This is the "Harley Davidson" version of the famous Grumman patch.

For many years, US Naval Aviation was known as the "Grumman Navy" due to the large percentage of aircraft that were produced by the Grumman Ironworks. These aircraft consisted of the A-6E Intruder, EA-6B Prowler, F-14 Tomcat, the E-2C Hawkeye, and the C-2 Greyhound.