Jack Waid, a historian at Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters, explains the significance of heraldic symbols during a Lunch-and-Learn Lecture on Emblems and Patches at AFMC headquarters. Since early recorded history, warring tribes often carried banners or flags marked with emblems to represent factions and motivate their warriors to fight for the cause; it is to this historical tradition that we can trace the evolution of military emblems and patches, said Waid. (Air Force photo by Marisa Alia-Novobilski/released)