Headquarters Air Force badge

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Headquarters Air Force badge Headquarters US Air Force Badge.png
Headquarters Air Force badge

The Headquarters Air Force badge was created in 2005 by the United States Air Force. Airmen currently assigned to Headquarters Air Force at the Pentagon or who have been assigned to a qualifying Headquarters Air Force staff or Secretary of the Air Force staff position for at least 365 consecutive days are entitled to wear the badge. Wearing the badge is optional.

United States Air Force Air and space warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

The Pentagon headquarters of the United States Department of Defense

The Pentagon, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase The Pentagon is often used as a metonym for the Department of Defense and its leadership.

Contents

Air Force Chief of Staff General T. Michael Moseley approved the design and development of the badge in September 2005.

T. Michael Moseley US Air Force general

Teed Michael "Buzz" Moseley is a retired United States Air Force general who served as the 18th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He is a fighter pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours in fighters and trainers, most in the F-15 Eagle.

Description

The basis for the Headquarters Air Force badge is Air Force heritage and the design incorporates many elements from the Department of the Air Force Seal.

The predominant colors of the badge are ultramarine blue and gold, the colors of the Air Force through transition from the Army Air Corps. At the center of the badge is a gilt American bald eagle, a symbol of the United States and air power. The eagle is holding an olive branch and a bundle of 13 arrows, denoting the power of peace and war—the heart of the Air Force mission. The Air Force shield is at the core of the eagle. On the background is a blue pentagon, representing The Pentagon.

United States Army Air Corps air warfare branch of the US Army from 1926 to 1941

The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service of the United States of America between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical rift developed between more traditional ground-based army personnel and those who felt that aircraft were being underutilized and that air operations were being stifled for political reasons unrelated to their effectiveness. The USAAC was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926, and was part of the larger United States Army. The Air Corps became the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 20 June 1941, giving it greater autonomy from the Army's middle-level command structure. During World War II, although not an administrative echelon, the Air Corps (AC) remained as one of the combat arms of the Army until 1947, when it was legally abolished by legislation establishing the Department of the Air Force.

Bald eagle A bird of prey from North America

The bald eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

Olive branch symbol of peace or victory

The olive branch is a symbol of peace or victory deriving from the customs of ancient Greece and found in most cultures of the Mediterranean basin. It became associated with peace in modern Europe and is also used in the Arab world.

A silver wreath, an ancient symbol of victory, encircles the badge and meets the old Army Air Corps roundel. The eagle holds a streamer with the Latin motto "E pluribus unum," which means "Out of many, one," and represents the original 13 colonies forming into one nation.

Wreath assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring

A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring.

Roundel Identification symbol, commonly used in aircraft insignia and heraldry, usually of circular design

A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours. Other symbols also often use round shapes.

<i>E pluribus unum</i> Latin phrase, "out of many, one"

E pluribus unum —Latin for "Out of many, one" —is a 13-letter traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782. Never codified by law, E pluribus unum was considered a de facto motto of the United States until 1956 when the United States Congress passed an act, adopting "In God We Trust" as the official motto.

Placement

According to AFI 36-2903 "Center duty or miscellaneous badge 1½ inches below top of welt pocket and centered, and/or on right side centered 1½ inch below the nametag" for men, and "centered on the wearer's right 1/2 inch above the name tag" for women.

Equivalents

The United States Army has an equivalent badge, known as the Army Staff Identification Badge.

Army Staff Identification Badge

The Army Staff Identification Badge is a badge of the United States Army worn by personnel who serve at the Office of the Secretary of the Army and the Army Staff at Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) and its agencies. Neither an award nor a decoration, the badge is a distinguishing emblem of service. Initially issued as a temporary badge, officers and enlisted personnel demonstrating outstanding performance of duty and meeting all eligibility requirements can be processed after one complete year of assignment and receive a certificate authorizing permanent wear of the badge.

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