Aircrew Badge - U.S. Air Force

U.S. Air Force

The Air Force Aircrew Badge is a direct successor to the Army Air Forces version of the decoration. Originally known simply as the Aircrew Badge, the Air Force began issuing the decoration to enlisted Aircrew members in 1947. By the time of the Korean War, regulations had been established for a senior and master version of the badge, indicated by a star and wreath above the decoration. As with the Army Aviator Badge, seniority of the Aircrew Badge was determined by flight hours obtained and years of service in the Air Force.

With the decline of the Observer Badge, a need quickly arose to award an Aircrew Badge to officers who had been trained as in-flight support personnel. By the time of the Vietnam War, the Air Force had created an Officer Aircrew Badge which was issued to non-rated officers trained for in-flight operations. The enlisted version of the Aircrew Badge remained relatively the same and was now referred to as the Enlisted Aircrew Badge.

In the modern United States Air Force, the Enlisted Aircrew Badge is still issued to 1A0X1 (Inflight Refueling), 1A1X1 (Flight Engineer), 1A2X1 (Aircraft Loadmaster), 1A3X1 (Airborne Mission Systems Specialist), 1A4X1 (Airborne Operation Specialist), 1A6X1 (Flight Attendant), 1A7X1 (Aerial Gunner), 1A8X1 (Airborne Cryptologic Linguist), 1A8X2 (Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) Operator), X4N0X1 (Aeromedical Evacuation Specialist). However, the Officer Aircrew Badge is less often awarded (usually to Airborne Surveillance Officers (ASO), Flight test engineers (FTE), and a few communications, weather, and intelligence officers, depending on assignment). Enlisted RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) Sensor Operators (1U0, previously 1N1) were awarded their own aircrew wings in 2010. The number of officers awarded the Aircrew Badge dropped considerably in 1999, when Air Battle Managers became a rated career field, and thus began being issued their own separate aviation badge.