Military badges of the United States
Encyclopedia
Military badges of the United States are awards authorized by the United States armed forces
that signify rating, qualification, or accomplishment in several career fields, and also serve as identification devices for personnel occupying certain assignments. Personal recognition is granted to service members by a number of awards and decorations. Together with military decorations
, such badges are authorized for wear on military uniforms.
Each of the five military services maintains a separate series of badges that may be awarded to service members. Various regulations exist on how badges are displayed, how many may be worn at one time, and whether or not such badges may be worn on the uniform of more than one branch of service.
There are six general categories of United States military badges:
In addition to those badges currently authorized, there are a number of obsolete badges
that have been phased out of the U.S. armed forces and no longer appear on U.S. award precedence charts.
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
that signify rating, qualification, or accomplishment in several career fields, and also serve as identification devices for personnel occupying certain assignments. Personal recognition is granted to service members by a number of awards and decorations. Together with military decorations
Awards and decorations of the United States military
Awards and decorations of the United States Military are military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces...
, such badges are authorized for wear on military uniforms.
Each of the five military services maintains a separate series of badges that may be awarded to service members. Various regulations exist on how badges are displayed, how many may be worn at one time, and whether or not such badges may be worn on the uniform of more than one branch of service.
There are six general categories of United States military badges:
- Identification badges of the United States military
- Badges of the United States ArmyBadges of the United States ArmyBadges of the United States Army are military decorations issued by the United States Department of the Army to soldiers who achieve a variety of qualifications and accomplishments while serving on active and reserve duty in the United States Army....
- Badges of the United States NavyBadges of the United States NavyInsignia and badges of the United States Navy are military "badges" issued by the United States Department of the Navy to naval service members who achieve certain qualifications and accomplishments while serving on both active and reserve duty in the United States Navy...
- Badges of the United States Air ForceBadges of the United States Air ForceBadges of the United States Air Force are military awards authorized by the United States Air Force that signify aeronautical ratings, special skills, career field qualifications, and serve as identification devices for personnel occupying certain assignments...
- Badges of the United States Marine CorpsBadges of the United States Marine CorpsInsignia and badges of the United States Marine Corps are military "badges" issued by the United States Department of the Navy to Marines who achieve certain qualifications and accomplishments while serving on both active and reserve duty in the United States Marine Corps.As described in Chapters 4...
- Badges of the United States Coast GuardBadges of the United States Coast GuardBadges of the United States Coast Guard are issued by the Department of Homeland Security to members of the United States Coast Guard to denote certain qualifications, achievements, and postings to certain assignments...
In addition to those badges currently authorized, there are a number of obsolete badges
Obsolete badges of the United States military
Obsolete badges of the United States military are a number of U.S. military insignia which were issued in the early 20th century leading up to and including badges issued during the Second World War. Such badges were eventually phased out of the United States armed forces in favor of the modern...
that have been phased out of the U.S. armed forces and no longer appear on U.S. award precedence charts.