Military badges of the United States

Example of U.S. Army badges on the Operational Camouflage Pattern uniform

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 such badges may be worn on the uniform of more than one branch of service.

General categories

There are six general categories of United States military badges:

• Identification badges of the Uniform Services of the United States
• Badges of the United States Army
• Badges of the United States Navy
• Badges of the United States Air Force
• Badges of the United States Marine Corps
• Badges of the United States Coast Guard

There are also United States auxiliary military badges:

• Badges of the Civil Air Patrol

• Badges of the Coast Guard Auxiliary

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.

See also

• Badges of the United States Coast Guard