My Little Pony Has Invaded The US Military

By Nathan Young on August 3, 2013

Life in the US Military is very strict! You wake up early, exercise or PT, train, learn, fight, and do it all over again the next day. When new recruits arrive into the military, they go through boot camp, which means men gets their heads shaved, military clothes and boots are issued, you get lots of shots, and you get used to the military life.

Now, a group of student pilots from Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma have taken a popular show on TV to a whole new level. Take a look at this patch below!

Yep, the patch called My Little Pilot: Flying Is Magic is a play of the popular TV show My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The show has grown to include many adult fans sitting down to watch a show about friendship. By the way, the show is not popular because of the ponies or friendship. It’s popular because of the writing and the geek/nerd topics and guests! For a while, some people knew about this group of pilots in training wearing this special patch, then the US Air Force confirmed it! Yep, the Brony culture has invaded the US Military!

The Escapist reports that the patches were adopted by pilots in training at the Oklahoma Air Force base as a means of boosting morale. First Lieutenant Tom Barger told the The Escapist that the pilots weren’t actually fans of the show prior to adopting the patch–the “My Little Pilot” design was one of several options available when the incoming class was allowed to select the one that they would wear during their training. For whatever reason, they chose the pink and purple design, ultimately becoming the Brony Squadron. Awesome!

Each class of students designs their class patch to be worn during training, and pop culture references are naturally common. And yes, Hasbro approved of this special patch for the pilot students! Tom Barger explains that the students “thought it was so off the wall that it was hilarious … They have embraced the irony and humor of the patch and in so doing have fostered closer ties with each other.” See, the friendship lessons in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic does work! When you have a group of guys adopting a girls cartoon logo as their patch, and this is the US Military by the way, you have to admire these young men! Good luck in your careers!

And by the way, the TV show does have its own version of military protection in Equestria called the Wonderbolts. I wonder if that is where the inspiration came from! Read the article from The Escapist at: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126459-US-Air-Force-Confirms-Existence-of-Brony-Squadron