Soldiers taking part in UN/NATO peacekeeping in the Balkans received patches like this. The SFOR (Stabilization Force, 1996-2005) aimed to secure the new states by building capacity for effective governance and economic restructuring.

Stabilization Force (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. SFOR was established in Security Council Resolution 1088 on December 12, 1996. It succeeded the much larger Implementation Force (IFOR) which was deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 20 December 1995 with a one-year mandate. SFOR operated under the code names Operation Joint Guard (December 21, 1996 – June 19, 1998) and Operation Joint Forge (June 20, 1998 – December 2, 2004).