The various observer badges of the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

are a military badges dating from the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The badge was issued to co-pilots, navigators, and flight support personnel (generally acting as air observers) who had received a variation in the training required for the standard

aviator badge An aviator badge is an insignia used in most of the world's militaries to designate those who have received training and qualification in military aviation. Also known as a pilot's badge, or pilot wings, the aviator badge was first conceived to re ...

. The observer badge survived through the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and into the 1950s, at which time the concept of an observer badge was generally phased-out in favor of the modern aircrew badges and/or combined navigator/flight specialist-observer badges (such as the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

"Naval Aviation Observer and Flight Meteorologist Insignia" which is issued to flight-qualified mission specialists in both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps). The U.S. Air Force awards its USAF Observer Badge to Air Force officers who have qualified as

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

mission specialist Mission specialist (MS) is a term for a specific position held by astronauts who are tasked with conducting a range of scientific, medical, or engineering experiments during a spaceflight mission. These specialists were usually assigned to a s ...

s, have flown an actual mission aboard the shuttle and/or the

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and who are otherwise not previously aeronautically "rated." The USAF Observer Badge is technically the only remaining stand-alone observer badge within the U.S. Armed Forces proper, though it shares a design with the USAF Navigator Badge and USAF Combat Systems Officer Badge. In the modern U.S. Armed Forces, the various observer badges are rarely issued, but have seen a resurgence in the Air Forces of other countries, most notably the

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and

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First World War

The original Observer Badge was a half-wing variation of the Aviator Badge worn by military pilots of the

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and later the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

. The badge was mainly awarded to gunners, spotters, and navigators on the first armed military aircraft. With the advent of

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

, the Observer Badge was also initially authorized for aircraft bombardiers. A new badge was soon created for these duties, however: the Bombing Aviator Badge. Those rated as Balloon Observers were also eligible for the badge, and the badge was typically referred to as both the ''Airplane Observer Badge'' and the ''Balloon Observer Badge''. The design of the badge awarded was identical in both cases, and towards the end of the First World War was commonly referred to as the "Airplane and Balloon Observer Badge", although the ratings for which the badge was issued remained distinct.

Second World War

Between 1919 and 1935 the design of the Observer Badge remained unchanged, and was issued to both airplane and lighter-than-air ratings. However, as

military aviation Military aviation is the design, development and use of military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift (air cargo) capacity to provide military logistics, logist ...

developed, changes in the concept of an Airplane Observer necessitated the redesign of the Observer Badge with a corresponding change in the eligibility criteria. On 20 February 1940 the rating was changed to that of ''Combat Observer'', followed by redesignation as ''Aircraft Observer'' on 4 September 1942. Note that bombardiers that used the top secret

SHORAN SHORAN is an acronym for SHOrt RAnge Navigation, a type of electronic navigation and bombing system using a precision radar beacon. It was developed during World War II and the first stations were set up in Europe as the war was ending, and was op ...

also received the Observer Badge. They sat midship, where the radio operator would normally sit, since they used an electronic not optical bombsight. By the time of the United States' entry into the Second World War, three Observer Badges were authorized by the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. The first was the Combat Observer Badge: in appearance an Aviator Badge with a large 'O' in the center. For Balloon Observers, a separate badge was created: the Observer Badge augmented with a balloon insignia. The third and final version of the Observer Badge was the Technical Observer Badge, an Aviator Badge with a T and O motif in the center. The Technical Observer Badge was primarily awarded to flight engineering personnel assigned to assist the

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is a member of an aircraft's flight crew who is responsible for monitoring and operating its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referr ...

United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard

The Naval Aviation Observer Badge was first created in 1922, awarded to navigators and other support personnel on naval aircraft. The original badge was based on the design of the

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

badge, but with a single wing on the left, and with the anchor surmounted by an "O" rather than a shield. In 1927 this insignia was superseded by a new device, identical to the Naval Aviator's wings, but in silver rather than gold. This in turn was replaced by a gold insignia with a center device of a silver anchor within a silver circle, used from 1929 to 1968. Flightmetor

For a brief period starting in 1945, the Secretary of the Navy approved distinct insignia for Naval Aviation Observers with Navigation, Radar, Tactical, and Aerology specializations. These were abolished in favor of the standardized gold insignia/silver anchor/silver circle design. In 1966 a new insignia was instituted, and by 1968 the Naval Aviation Observer Badge was replaced by the Naval Flight Officer Badge. However, in lieu of being totally discontinued, the criteria for the Naval Aviation Observer insignia was modified again and granted to non-pilot/non-NFO aviation mission specialists such as in-flight Meteorologists or for Naval Intelligence or Cryptology officers who regularly fly as crew on selected naval aircraft. In this form the Naval Observer Badge is still in existence, but is alternatingly referred to by both its original name and, in the case of when worn by Meteorology officers, as the Flight Meteorologist Badge. In the Marine Corps the badge is awarded to in-flight aircraft support personnel under its original name as the Naval Aviation Observer Badge for non-aeronautically designated officers flying in observer/spotter roles in Marine Corps aircraft. The Coast Guard authorized the Aviation Mission Specialist designation on August 26, 2003 in COMDTNOTE 1200 (ALCOAST 401/03). Aerial Ice Observers (from the

International Ice Patrol The International Ice Patrol is an organization with the purpose of monitoring the presence of icebergs in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans and reporting their movements for safety purposes. It is operated by Unite ...

) as well as Sensor System Operators, Tactical Systems Operators, Aviation Gunners and Aviation Medical Technicians are eligible for designation. Coast Guard Aviation Mission Specialist personnel also wear the same uniform insignia as Naval Aviation Observers. Permanent designation is attained at 200 hours for rotary wing and 400 hours for fixed wing specialists.

US Air Force Observer rating

With the creation of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in 1947, aviation observers were phased out and replaced by more highly trained specialists known as Aircrew personnel. The

Aircrew Badge The United States aircrew badges, commonly known as aircrew wings or simply as wings, are qualification badges that are awarded by five of the United States Armed Forces to personnel who serve as aircrew, aircrew members onboard military aircra ...

was created prior to the

, but had only been awarded to enlisted personnel. Since the creation of the USAF Officer Aircrew Badge (an unrated award), the Navigator-Observer Badge has been issued to otherwise unrated officers who complete NASA Mission Specialist training with the aeronautical rating of Observer. On completion of an operational mission they may then apply to the

Air Force Chief of Staff The chief of staff of the Air Force (acronym: CSAF, or AF/CC) is the service chief of the United States Air Force. They are the principal military advisor to the secretary of the Air Force on matter pertaining to the Air Force. They are a mem ...

for the

Astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

qualification that permits them to wear the USAF Navigator / Combat Systems Officer version of the

Astronaut Badge United States astronaut badges are the various badges of the United States which are awarded to military and civilian personnel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the various child departments of the Department of Defense, ...

Civil Air Patrol

The title "Observer" is still used regularly in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, better known as the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported Nonprofit corporation, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CA ...

. Civil Air Patrol observers may act as the mission commander for aircrews engaged in search and rescue, homeland defense reconnaissance, or other Air Force-authorized missions, serving as the liaison between the sortie and mission base. Observers are trained in air navigation, radio communications, and other technical subjects such as aerial direction finding. The Civil Air Patrol badge for an observer looks almost identical to the CAP pilot badge, except that the observer device has an additional ''O'' or thin circle atop the central CAP emblem.

References

{{Reflist * Grossnick, Roy A. (1997). ''United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995''
Appendix 20
Washington DC, U.S. Department of the Navy Historical Center. * COMDTNOTE 1200. ''ALCOAST 401/03''

United States military specialty insignia