Badges of the United States Army
Badges 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.
As described in Army Regulations 670-1 Uniforms and Insignia, badges are categorized into marksmanship, combat and special skill, identification, and foreign.[1] Combat and Special Skill badges are further divided into five groups.[2]
A total of six combat and special skill badges are authorized for wear at one time on service and dress uniforms; this total does not include special skill tabs or special skill tab metal replicas.
Personnel may wear up to three badges above the ribbons or pocket flap, or in a similar location for uniforms without pockets. Personnel may only wear one combat or special skill badges from either group 1 or group 2 above the ribbons. Soldiers may wear up to three badges from groups 3 and 4 above the ribbons. One badge from either group 1 or group 2 may be worn with badges from groups 3 and 4 above the ribbons so long as the total number of badges above the ribbons does not exceed three.
Only three badges (from groups 3, 4, or 5), to include marksmanship badges, can be worn on the pocket flap at one time. This total does not include special skill tab metal replicas. Personnel will wear the driver and mechanic badges only on the wearer’s left pocket flap of service and dress uniforms, or in a similar location on uniforms without pockets. Personnel may not attach more than three clasps to the driver and mechanic badges. The driver and mechanic badges are not authorized for wear on utility uniforms.
The order of precedence for combat and special skill badges are established only by group. There is no precedence for combat or special skill badges within the same group. For example, personnel who are authorized to wear the Parachutist and Air Assault badges may determine the order of wear between those two badges.[3]
The 21st century United States Army issues the following military badges (listed below in order of group precedence) which are worn in conjunction with badges of rank and branch insignia.
Combat and Special Skill Badges and Tabs
Group 1
Group 3
- Army Flight Surgeon Badges
- Army Aviation Badges
- Army Astronaut Badges (Any Army Aviator, Flight Surgeon, or Aviation Badge with Astronaut Device)
Group 4
- Pathfinder Badge
- Ranger Tab
- Sapper Tab
Group 5
- Diver Badges
- Special Operations Diver Badges
Marksmanship Badges
- Distinguished International Shooter Badge
- Distinguished Shooter Badges
- Interservice Competition Badges
- Excellence-In-Competition Badges
- Marksmanship Qualification Badges
Identification Badges
- Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge
Other Accoutrements
- Physical Fitness Badge
National Guard Badges
- Chief's 50 Marksmanship Badge[5]
- National Guard Bureau Organizational Badge
See also
- Combat Service Identification Badge
- Distinctive unit insignia (U.S. Army)
- Military badges of the United States
- Obsolete badges of the United States military
- Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (United States Army)
- Tabs of the United States Army
- Uniforms of the United States Army
- United States military beret flash
References
- "AR670-1, Chapter 29, Section 15" (PDF). United States Army. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
- "AR670-1, Chapter 29, Section 17, Paragraph a" (PDF). United States Army. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
- "DA PAM 670–1 • 1 July 2015" (PDF).
- "Vermont National Guard Permanent Order 121-01". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
- National Guard Regulation 672-3 and Air National Guard Regulation 900-1, National Guard Chief's 50 Marksmanship Badge Archived 2013-05-31 at the Wayback Machine, dated 1 February 1978, last accessed 26 March 2014
- Tabs and Badges a Measure of Missouri Guardmembers' Marksmanship Archived March 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Missouri National Guard Public Affairs, by Ann Keyes, last accessed 1 March 2015
- Tabs and Badges a Measure of Marksmanship Archived 2014-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, Missouri National Guard, dated 14 December 2010, last accessed 18 May 2014
External links
- Army Regulation 670-1: Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia (PDF file)
- Army Regulation 600-8-22: Military Awards (PDF file)
- Army Service Uniform - Ribbons Poster (PDF file)