Eye Am That Eye Am: Civil D-Eye-fense Badges

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

Civil D-Eye-fense Badges

Standard Civil Defence - Logo Triangle in Circle. An up right triangle represents the male aspect, Phalus.
The International distinctive sign of civil defence according to the first Additional Protocol of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949
According to the protocol, the sign is defined as "an equilateral blue triangle on an orange ground". This means that the depiction shown here is only an example. For example, it is not required to use a round sign. Similarily, it is only recommended but not required that one of the angles of the triangle be pointed vertically upwards.**

New Zealand Civil Defense Badge

"Civil defense, or civil protection is an effort to prepare non combatant's for military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation, and recovery. Programmes of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s but only became widespread after the threat of nuclear weapons was realized.
Since the end of the Cold War, the focus of civil defense has largely shifted from military attack to emergencies and disasters in general. The new concept is described by a number of terms, each of which has its own specific shade of meaning, such as crisis management, emergency management, emergency preparedness, contingency planning, emergency services, and civil protection. In some countries, the all-encompassing nature of civil defense is denoted by the term "total defense" such as the Swedish word totalförsvar. The name suggests committing all resources, hence the term total, of the nation to the defense."*

South African Scouts Civil Defence Badge

Federal Civil Defence Administration Public Service Film

Detail from a Federal Civil Defence Administration Public Service Film

The former United States Civil Defense logo, last used on the FEMA seal before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The triangle emphasized the 3-step Civil Defense philosophy used before the foundation of FEMA and Comprehensive Emergency Management.