> This patch for NROL-49 depicts a phoenix rising from the flames with the flag of the United States in the background. The Latin words “Melior Diabolus Quem Scies” roughly translates to mean “The Devil You Know,” as in the phrase “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know”. Cryptic. According to NASA, this saying refers to the return of the use of an old system after attempting to use a new one, which had resulted in failure.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/11/secret-insignias-fro...
http://vigilantcitizen.com/vigilantreport/top-10-most-sinist...
Patches seem more like a game of one-upmanship.
I do like this patch's story, sounds just like something a bunch of engineers would come up with:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/NROL49_pa...
> This patch for NROL-49 depicts a phoenix rising from the flames with the flag of the United States in the background. The Latin words “Melior Diabolus Quem Scies” roughly translates to mean “The Devil You Know,” as in the phrase “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know”. Cryptic. According to NASA, this saying refers to the return of the use of an old system after attempting to use a new one, which had resulted in failure.