Posted on Mar 26, 2018
Should an Officer wear a Driver's Badge that was earned while he was Enlisted?
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I've seen the posts about Officers not wearing qualification badges relating specifically to weapons qual, how they should be experts of everything etc. etc., but I've never heard anyone specifically address the driver's badge. It isn't anything spectacular or anything to write home about, but it is a badge nonetheless and represents a specific knowledge and skill. Thoughts?
Driver
Officers
Dress Uniform
DA Pam 670-1
Tradition
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 317
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Well, as an example, Lieutenant Tommy Franks earned the combat aircrewman's wings as an artillery officer and aerial artillery observer in VN. I seem to recall he wore them as 2AD DivArty Commander at Ft. Hood in 1988 and was still wearing them as a general at the start of the War on Terror in 2001. Much of it has to do with the genesis of the award. It has to be service wide I believe and elligibility defined in the "Awards and Decorations" AR 670-1.
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LTC Ronald Stephens
As an enlisted soldier while assigned to an artillery battalion organic to the Second Infantry Division Artillery in Korea in 1967-68 I was TDY to Camp Sitman for Imjin Scout School and was authorized to wear the pocket patch on my fatigues and the pin on my dress greens. When I rotated out of the 2ID that insignia was no longer authorized for wear as it was strictly a 2ID award.
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I wear all the shit I earned while enlisted and while in the USAF. Does make for some funny looks when someone sees my Air Force ribbons.
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I flew as a flight crewmember for over eight years. I earned my Senior Aircrew member wings the hard way. I will wear them until, as the good gentle person said, someone shows me a regulation saying that I cannot.
Frederick W. Holderman,
Captain, USAF(Retired)
Frederick W. Holderman,
Captain, USAF(Retired)
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Non infantry do not get to wear an EIB when they earn it, But infantry cant wear a EMB if they were never a medic. But the divers badge has no rank requirement. But I am pretty sure a BN CDR or higher is not going to allow one of his officers to trot around driving when you have a platoon or higher to run...or an XO. Maybe if you were an OC/T for a couple years but soon as a command or staff position opens up you will be out of there before you even get a chance to earn it. The requirements are all consecutive...cannot do three months here and seven months a couple years later.
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Ribbons yes but badges no.Have Marine shooting badges but can not wearing them on my USAF uniform.Badges should be for that one service only.
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I earned my qualification badges as an officer. The Wheeled Driver badge was awarded after I logged over 10 thousand accident-free miles in a GOV while on recruiting duty. The Expert Marksmanship badge has bars for rifle and pistol qualifications. I was also allowed a tank weapon's bar, but could not find one. Now they are found in mail order shops.
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Nope. There are too many badges and awards and barely earned medals as it is... Why clutter up your rack with things from your time before you became an officer? Kind of silly, unless, perhaps a 2LT is trying to show his soldiers that he, " gets it." But, still, they will figure that out for themselves quickly.
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CPT (Join to see)
Sir, so with that logic then this Soldier shouldn't wear his ARCOMs, Good Conduct Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, NCO Development Ribbon, etc that we're all earned before his time as an Officer. So where does one draw the line as to what is "fitting" to cross over from the time before he was an Officer to after? Wouldn't it be consistent to just wear what has been authorized and not risk the individualism of picking and choosing what is considered worthy or not? Just wondering. Thanks.
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COL Dan Pipes
My opinion is that wearing badges gets silly quickly. Kind of like back when we decided to give everyone a beret. I would rather leave it up to the individual. If it is important to you, wear it. Seems to me like we spend too much time worrying about ribbon racks and not enough time focusing on our mission and taking care of soldiers. At the end of the day if a dress uniform and what is on it is more important than a functional field uniform, the soldier is focused on the wrong things. Some of the best NCOs I served with wore just a name tape, their rank, and U.S. army. They had all the tabs, patches, and badges, but chose to earn it every day. I would look for a few; combat patch, cib, cab, ranger/sapper tab or long tab to assist with an initial asessment. What's important is the soldier, not the badges.
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Having seen many answers so far, I can sum it up for you with this: If you earned it, you can wear it and an enlisted person is expected to wear all such badges. However, I would have to look up the regs to see whether there is a maximum number of badges that can be worn at any one time.
For officers, it is optional in part because of that "expectation of expertise" but I have never heard of an officer being told to not wear them. Also, some officers just don't care about marksmanship because it is not part of their job. Example: Doctor, Dentist, etc. In my case I had the Expert Infantry Badge which includes expert marksmanship so I didn't worry about it, and let's face it, everybody who graduates basic training gets some kind of marksmanship badge, but only those who qualified as expert will actually want to wear it.
Someone mentioned the Drill Sergeant Badge. Of course anyone who ever earned one will wear it! It is not as easy to get as most other badges. No insult intended. That is just the way it is.
For officers, it is optional in part because of that "expectation of expertise" but I have never heard of an officer being told to not wear them. Also, some officers just don't care about marksmanship because it is not part of their job. Example: Doctor, Dentist, etc. In my case I had the Expert Infantry Badge which includes expert marksmanship so I didn't worry about it, and let's face it, everybody who graduates basic training gets some kind of marksmanship badge, but only those who qualified as expert will actually want to wear it.
Someone mentioned the Drill Sergeant Badge. Of course anyone who ever earned one will wear it! It is not as easy to get as most other badges. No insult intended. That is just the way it is.
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