USAF / Jolly Green Sprout / 33rd RQS / 56th RQS / 55th HMU / Jolly Green Patch

The History of the Sprout Patch

This is a chronological History of the patches used by crews that were Sprout patches. Three units have use the Sprout on their patches, these are the  33rd ARRS/RQS, the 55th HMU & the 56th RQS. These are the patches & more details about them.

33d Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Squadron 

Detachment 13

These are the first patches that had the design of the sprout instead of the Jolly Green Giant. It was used by Detachment 13 of the 33rd ARRS, the main Squadron based at Kadena AB Japan & the Detachment was based at Osan AB, South Korea. The sprout was used as the Squadron thought it was the baby of the main Squadron, as it had minimal crew & only a few HH-3's, so it seemed logical to use the Sprout design. Made for the unit in 1979 and at the time the Detachment had 9 crewmembers.
The crews on the det also had nametags made like the ones below, the top being a member of the det, and the bottom one being one of their wives, as the wings have a love heart in the middle. So far EVERY patch I've seen is different, so I suspect that each patch was individually hand made, so they'll all be different.

33rd Rescue Squadron

Move on a couple of decades & again the Sprout was used again with the 33rd again.

It does have a story that between 1995-2000 it was intended for the Sprout patch to be worn with anyone coming into the Squadron who was not fully qualified had to wear it until they got checked out. Unfortunately the idea never took on but the patches still exist today. Some thought these were made for the children of the Squadron but now you know the true story of why they were originally made.

56th Rescue Squadron

Roll on yet another couple of decades & moved half way around the world to Europe, & you find the 56th RQS using the design, although its not sure why they used the  Sprout design.

This was the first patch that was made by crews assigned to the 56th HMU at RAF Lakenheath, England. This was made for the crew that worked on HH-60G Pavehawk helicopter #89-26212. The patch was made in January 2018 on the on base Hobby Shop at RAF Lakenheath & was reportedly made in very low numbers, reportedly as low as single figures.

56th Rescue Squadron

HH-60G #89-26205

HH-60G #89-2606

HH-60G #89-26208

HH-60G #89-26212

The second batch that were made all were made in February 2018, again by the 56th HMU, & again on the on base Hobby Shop. These were made for the crews of HH-60G's #89-26205, #89-26206, #89-26208 & #89-26212. The patches were only a month after the first one was made (212), however the design had changed, this time with the numbers of the aircraft being closer together & all of them having JOLLY GREEN embroidered on them. The 56th RQS actually had another HH-60G, this being 91-26353, however I don't think a patch was ever made for this specific Pavehawk. Mentioning 353 it is interesting to note this was the first HH-60G from the Squadron to move to Aviano, this taking place in mid April 2018, with the rest of the helicopters moving in May 2018.

56th Rescue Squadron

HH-60G #89-26212

HH-60G #89-26212

Roll on to the Summer of 2018 & these final two patches were made, & again were made by the 56th HMU, on the on base Hobby Shop, & again the design had been changed. This time the changes incorporated a head on white silhouette of a HH-60G & the removal of JOLLY GREEN from that patch.

If you have a colour one to trade or sell be very interested in hearing from you.

55th Helicopter Maintenance Unit

This really is a superb patch & is the most colourful of the sprout designs, this being the designed by Sgt. Scott Reitz from the 55th HMU. The background is the Arizona state flag as the 55th are based at Davis-Monthan AFB. Its from a unit that provides a key role for the men & women in the Jolly Green Giant role, & history. The sprout was used due to the maintenance guys thinking that they are the stepchildren of aviation industry, however I would say that they play a vitally important role in keeping the Squadron flying. The patch was made in September 2018 & 200 were made in total. The manufacturer was wovenlabelZ of Shanghai, China.

56th Rescue Squadron

HH-60G #89-26205
This is the latest sprout patch to be made, this again from the 56th RQS, for HH-60G #89-26205. It was made by TJ embroidery when the Squadron already left Lakenheath for Aviano. It differs from the first 205 patch in a couple of ways. Firstly & the most obvious indication is that it doesn't have JOLLY GREEN embroidered on the patch. This goes along the design of the first original one made in January 2018 for 212, however there are subtle differences. The first is that it is smaller in size than the original, this version being 9.2cm high. Less obvious are the hook & loop being different from the originals & finally the smile on the giant more U than V. Finally I'm not sure this one was used by anyone on the Squadron, as it came out after the Squadron had left Lakenheath & may have been a copy made of the patch. If you know any differently please let me know & I'll change the blog to reflect this.

And here is a sprout doll that was given to all of the new fathers on the 48th RQS during 1995-1997 by Eric. (See the comments section below)

If you have any additional information about this patch please contact me & I´ll get back to you.

Thanks👣