Collecting insignia from the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 1999.

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The Navajo Hiking Club is a product of a special surveillance operation conducted by the FBI Denver Joint Terrorism Task Force  The Navajo is representative of the type of aircraft that was being used, a Piper PA-31 Navajo.   The camera gear that is seen falling from the plane is representative of an incident that occurred while surveillance was being conducted.  Sudden mountain turbulence caused the plane to bank almost 90 degrees to the port side and drop about 300 ft. causing the door to drop open and be torn off, and a couple of pieces of surveillance equipment and empty cases fell out over a remote area near the east face of the continental divide. 

The agents and other JTTF team members involved thereafter decided to conduct the rest of the surveillance operations by hiking into the mountainous target area.  Hence the "Navajo Hiking Club".  The translation of the latin is "Let them hate, so long as they fear"...referring to the principal suspects of the investigation conducted by Denver FBI JTTF.

There were actually eleven "charter" members of the "club" who were involved in the operation that day.  Others involved and in support of the ongoing investigation who joined later were given patches until they ran out. 

The investigation and "hiking club" existed for about eight years......  about 1986 through 1992.  The "hiking brave" is supposed to be a caricature of the SAC attached to the investigation and the peak in the background is Buffalo Peaks.

Source:  David S. Bowers, Undersherrif (Ret. ) Chaffee County Colorado