{"product_id":"nato-staff-attached-to-rocnorthwest-breast-badge","title":"NATO Staff attached to ROCNORTHWEST breast badge.","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNot found out exactly the history behind this breast badge other than the obvious\u003cspan class=\"Apple-tab-span\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\"NATO\" arched across the top, \"ROCNORTHWEST\" arched across the bottom\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan class=\"Apple-tab-span\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eA compass rose\/NATO-style star, and a map covering the UK and Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLeather breast hanging badge with three metal clutch-pin fittings — this is a hanging fob\/breast badge, of the numerous badges that exist.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMost likely identification\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"ROC\" here almost certainly stands for Regional Operations Centre, and \"NORTHWEST\" points to NATO's Allied Forces North Western Europe (AFNORTHWEST) command.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAFNORTHWEST was a NATO command authority active from 1994 to 2000, headquartered at RAF High Wycombe in the UK. It was created in a 1994 NATO reorganisation and absorbed responsibilities that had previously sat with the older Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) command, which covered the UK, Norway, Denmark and northern Germany. On 3 March 2000, AIRNORTHWEST (High Wycombe, UK) and AIRCENT were amalgamated into a new command called AIRNORTH. \u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat gives your badge a plausible window: circa 1994–2000, worn by staff posted to the AFNORTHWEST regional operations centre at High Wycombe. The map's coverage (UK plus the Scandinavian peninsula) lines up reasonably well with that command's area of interest in the North Sea\/Northern European theatre, even though Sweden and Finland weren't NATO members at the time — maps on unit badges often show a broader \"area of interest\" rather than strict area of responsibility. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gradia Militaria","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54103332847944,"sku":"10194","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0924\/1103\/5976\/files\/IMG-2520.heic?v=1789991066","url":"https:\/\/www.gradiamilitaria.com\/products\/nato-staff-attached-to-rocnorthwest-breast-badge","provider":"Gradia Militaria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}