Insignia (RDM)

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This article covers the various insignia in the Re-imagined Series, from arm patches to emblems.

Patches and arm flashes[edit]

Colonial Fleet patches[edit]

Every crewmember wears a ship patch on the left shoulder of his or her uniform. It is a round patch depicting the Colonial seal in the middle, around which the ship's name together with its battlestar group are written. Galactica's crew patch is colored gold, with "Battlestar Galactica BSG 75" written around the seal in a very dark, almost black, blue. The Pegasus patch is blue with white lettering. Triton's patch is colored the same as Galactica's.

Both the Armistice Officer and Kendra Shaw wear the patch of the Ministry of Defense, which is labeled "Kobol HQ". This is a holdover from the earlier drafts of the Miniseries script, when everyone came from Kobol instead of the Twelve Colonies.

Colonial ship and department patches are also present on duffel bags ("Scar," "Razor"), including another velcro patch with the last name and first initial of the officer to whom the bag belongs.

Flight suits also have a specialty patch on the right shoulder, which is either a Viper or Raptor emblem. Additionally, some flight suits feature a specialty patch over the left breast (such as one for the Vigilantes squadron as worn by Kara Thrace and Lee Adama), although this is typically obscured by the flight suit vest and rarely seen.

Civilian patches[edit]

The first instance of a civilian ship patch is the Eversun patch worn by the ship's crew of Colonial Heavy 798 (TRS: "Miniseries").

Subsequent to this, other ship patches have appeared, including the Prison Transport Services patch on the crew and security officers on Astral Queen (TRS: "Water"), and the arm patch worn by Saul Tigh and William Adama on Sedulana (TRS: "Scattered"). Later, the civilian ship's captains, acting as judges at Gaius Baltar's trial, wear patches on their dress uniforms with their ship name and symbol. The patch on Doyle Franks' uniform identifies her as the captain of Prometheus, and Jules Tarney (to Franks's right) is from Pyxis ("Crossroads, Part I," "He That Believeth in Me"). It is unknown whether the symbols on the patches represent solely the ships or possibly the companies that owned them. Further, the symbol on the Prometheus patch is also present on the uniform buttons.

The only civilian patch ever seen with the Colonial seal is the Caprica City Police (TRS: "Maelstrom").

Rank insignia[edit]

For information on the rank insignia, see Military Ranks (RDM)


Duty uniform devices[edit]

Pilot wings[edit]

Pilot qualification wings

On regular duty blue uniforms and flight suits, pilot qualification wings are normally worn over the left breast; on dress gray formal dress uniforms, these are worn attached to a vertical sash. Two versions exist within the formal Colonial Fleet:

  • Junior Pilot — two chevrons on a golden diamond and small swept-back wings to the sides, and;
  • Senior Pilot — larger outstretched wings and an additional silver border on the upper edges of the diamond.

Senior pilot wings might be awarded for significant flight-hours or senior command qualification (e.g. capital ship).

During a service for the dead, pilot wings are often offered as tokens to fallen pilots, placed on displays with their helmets and atop caskets (TRS: "Miniseries, Night 2", "Act of Contrition").


Dress uniform devices[edit]

Dress uniforms are worn on formal occasions and are thus worn with additional adornments and insignia.

An elaborate ship's insignia is worn on the uniform flap over the right breast. It is a metal version of the shoulder patch. All other insignia are worn on a leather sash that runs diagonally across the uniform.

One pin is a variation of a Galactica insignia from the Original Series, with an additional four-pointed star on top. These come in gold and silver. Like with the other devices, their function is unknown. They are likely medals awarded for distinguished service or valor.

An exception to this are admirals, like Adm. Peter Corman, who can wear uniform devices on their normal blue duty uniforms (TRS: "Hero").

Additional Images[edit]

See Also[edit]

External Links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. The patch reads "BST" instead of "BSG". The costuming department very likely assumed that "BSG" stands for "Battlestar Galactica" and changed the last letter accordingly. However, "Water" and the patches for Pegasus and Valkyrie establish that the acronym stands for battlestar group.
  2. A costuming gaffe with this patch is apparent: it is affixed to Admiral Peter Corman's uniform in "Hero," although no closeups of this can be seen on screen, it is on the physical uniform for the character.