Aircrew Badge
The emblem featured the arms of the United States of America, in clear relief generally against a horizontally lined background, on a disk with a raised rim.
and Bombsight Shop personnel and others essential to "keep 'em flying" who flew instructional and maintenance flights but who did not actually take part in combat missions during World War II.
With the creation of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of service in 1947, the Army was left without an Aircrew Badge until the Korean War.
The level of seniority depended on the number of flight hours obtained and years of service in the United States Army.
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.
These badges began to lose a bit of value, as they became easier to obtain for Aircrew members, but was still considered extremely prestigious in regards to the Air Force.
Enlisted RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) Sensor Operators (1U0X1) were previously awarded their own aircrew wings, beginning in 2010.
[citation needed] The single exception to this policy was an Air Force FTE who was subsequently selected as a NASA Mission Specialist Astronaut for the Space Shuttle program.
[4] The rationale of the USAF leadership for doing so at the time was under a little used codicil that the Navigator / CSO insignia could also be awarded as an "Air Force Observer" Badge.
Certain naval officers (most notably selected intelligence and cryptology officers assigned to P-3 Orion, P-8 Poseidon, E-6 Mercury and EP-3E Aries II aircraft missions) can qualify for the Naval Aviation Observer Badge following completion of a structured Personnel Qualification Standard (PQS) syllabus and a check flight qualifying them for observer duties on that aircraft.
During World War II, numerous fleet requests occurred to recognize the work of the enlisted aircrew members flying in combat, the result was the creation of the Air Crew Insignia on 18 May 1943.
While primarily an enlisted insignia, officers were eligible if they met the same criteria of Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) Circular Letter 90-43.
A subsequent BUPERS Circular Letter 395-44 dated 30 Dec 1944, changed the design to the same as today with the modification of the gold center disc.
It is a decoration of the United States Marine Corps which is awarded to those enlisted personnel who have served as aircrew members on board combat flights.
