Should an Officer wear a Driver's Badge that was earned while he was Enlisted?

My thoughts on this subject are this. You were enlisted when you qualified for any badge you wear. You became and officer, you wear whatever you qualified for to show other officers you aren't some pansy assed newbie. Even though your career field/MOS has changed, you are qualified from another. I knew two former CCT enlisted men who went Boot Strap officers. They directed aircraft into landings, take offs and air strikes. They became radar intercept officers. Doing wht they did as enlisted men only as officers. They started as fully qualified officers in radar interception, not new from school wannabies. It shocked the hell outta me, seeing them as officers, when I knew them as enlisted CCT members.

First off, my time of service was with the Marine Corps and Air Force. That being said, I worked with several officers who were prior service enlisted. Every one of them wore some type of badge based on their AFSC (MOS) and awarded at specific points in their career. The AFI’s (Regs) specifically discuss the wear of badges. I wear my Marine Corps Aircrew Wings from my time in the Corps and a Air Force Master Maintenance & Munition badge for my service in the Air Force. You’d be hard pressed if anyone wanted to take them away. AFI 36-2903 is the reg that covers the subject. Bottom line: you earn it, you keep wearing it.

In the Navy you can and should as it is authorized.

If my memory hasn’t failed me I saw something similar happen in the Navy all the time with the Esws (Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) and the Officer variant. Often times you would see them wear both versions as an acknowledgement of them being former enlisted. In the Navy we also had people wear an Aviation variant in conjunction with the ESWS pin that could only be earned on a flight capable ship such as an Aircraft carrier even though they were on a destroyer. However with the ESWS pin there was a reaffirmation/Requalification process from ship to ship but also for ship specific requirements. i.e. Destroyer vs Aircraft Carrier vs Frigate vs Cruiser all requiring their own specific knowledge.

In closing if you earned it and maintain the requirements to wear it. Who can really stop you from wearing it?

You should wear any ribbon/medal or insignia earned as a member of the US Armed Forces. That does not include unit patches or slap on badges etc etc. But anything that is considered an awarded ribbon or medal, regardless of rank, should be on the uniform.

If that drivers badge is not a ribbon, medal or specific insignia like pilots wings, SEAL insignia etc, then no it is not supposed to be worn unless relevant to the current command and duty.. It would be like those of us who worked for a while as a military police officer, continuing to wear a military police badge even after TDY or regular duty resumed later on.. Which I had happen.. I spent a year on special duty as a Military Police officer, academy trained etc.. But when that finished and I went back to my rating duties, that badge was not something I could keep wearing even though I earned it and was issued it.

Anything earned while enlisted can be worn when mustang to officer status. Officers are supposed to be experts in rifle and pistol and don't wear the badges but if you mustang its perfectly legal to wear them.

I was enlisted for three years. I earned expert rifle, grenade and aircrew wings, plus overseas service, good conduct, and Army achievement. Under this logic, I would not wear any of them when I was commissioned. Didn’t happen. I wore them all. Later, I stopped wearing expert rifle and grenade as I only qualified with a pistol. And I stopped wearing aircrew wings when I got my aviator wings. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you this, it’s BS.

Greetings to all in this thread.

Rather than depending, for whatever expected benefit or reason, on wear and display on a uniform of a Driver's Badge earned when in prior enlisted status, may I posit that it is noticeably more-effective and more-credible that a prior-enlisted-service (aka "mustang" in 'Old Army-speak") "newbie" officer just wear the service ribbon for award of the Good Conduct Medal (GCM), which award -- along with other and more-widely-recognized qual badges, i.e. CIB, EIB. CMB, Parachutist Badge, etc. -- which most all enlisted Soldiers and particularly battle-experienced NCOs, recognize and appreciate (been there, done that as a newbie 2LT).

** Today is Sunday, 4 August 2019.

Regards to all.

Sincerely,

Stephen H. Franke
LTC, US Army Retired
San Pedro (Los Angeles Waterfront Area), California

that opinion is shared with 99% for senior enlisted I would guess.

The comments about Army tradition being that Officers do not wear awards from Enlisted service is a historical relic from the days when Officers effectively bought (yes, paid for) their Commissions in the state militias, which made up the predominant fighting force of the Nation prior to WWI. Many units during the Civil War were effectively raised, paid for, armed and commanded by wealthy private individuals. During the Spanish American War, recall Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, which were a NY Militia, not regular Army. Not until 1916 did Federal law provide for state militias to be involuntarily called into active Federal service. Only then were Officers and Enlisted state militia personnel required to swear allegiance to both the state and U.S. That is also when the Army created slots for the Militia Bureau (what we now call the National Guard) and started picking up the tab for the cost of the organized state militias (now renamed the National Guard). A large number of National Guard troops were employed in WWI (the first major combat deployment of National Guard outside the US). After WWI, the idea of an Enlisted person becoming an Officer continued to be an anomaly. Until WWII, the Army (and other branches) remained highly class-stratified. OCS didn't even exist until just prior to WWII. Only due to the GI Bill and the large number of WWII veterans availing themselves of the opportunity to attend college (and promote to Officers through OCS) has there been any change in the class stratification of the military. Even now, discrimination exists in favor of Service Academy graduates - another historical artifact from the days when Officers in the regular (Volunteer) Army (almost entirely comprised of Service Academy graduates) viewed Officers from the state militias with suspicion as to their competence. Personally and professionally, what matters is the knowledge, experience, intelligence, creativity, and attitude of Officers. The more they bring to the table, the better Officers they will be. If that includes understanding what their Enlisted personnel do, then more power to them. They won't ask for their Soldiers to do what they know cannot be done - and won't put up with excuses for why something isn't being done that can be done.