Why do I never see army pilots wearing their aviation badge?

One thing you all may want to consider is the flight suit is equipment, like a helmet, gloves, etc. It is not individual clothing. The two piece flight suit looks completely different than a BDU/ASU. You will notice in picture the colonel in the center has his boots bloused. The people wearing the flight suit do not. Normally, you don't sew items on equipment.

I sewed my wings onto my A2CUs. A ton of people I know have done so. It's okay to actually be proud of an accomplishment and take pride in what you do, although many people nowadays would like to suggest otherwise.

I rarely see one without it.

So 20+ years in aviation branch and I can tell you the officers and warrant officers seem to be the cheapest bunch of people. My initial response to your question was, "they don't want to pay to sew it on." It's also the second reason they love flight suits (first being to let everyone know they are in aviation). They don't pay for flight uniforms and exchange them for new ones.

Really? I have some questions regarding the above photo. (1) Why are the types of pins on their Calvary hats in a different order from one person to the next? A couple have their rank on top, one has his cavalry insignia on top and the other has her wings up on top. Isn’t there some regulation regarding the top to bottom order of the pins on the Cavalry hat? (2) Why would some be wearing their medals and the others not be? (plus, first time I ever saw them on BDUs)

I will never for get an encounter I had with a female soldier in the EM club (yes they really existed) back in the 1970's when I first became a crew chief of Huey. I was in my flight suit, after having flown all day, sitting at the bar having a beer, this young lady sat next to me and we started talking. She was asking questions about flying and crewing a helicopter. As we talked she looked at my uniform and noticed I was not wearing Crew Member Wings. I explained to her that I had just started crewing and had not met the required number of Combat hours, Administrative Hours, or Time Served as a Crew Member to be permanently awarded Crew Member Wings and that is why they weren't on my uniform (I was in an aviation unit and believe me the wearing of wings on your uniform was a Big Deal especially if one hadn't earned them and was wearing them). The young lady just couldn't believe I could be a Crew Chief and not have wings. I attempted to move the conversation in another direction but she wouldn't let go. Needless to say after about 15 minutes I ended up sitting by myself and went back to my hooch alone. So whats the point of this story? None really, just thought of that day when I saw the post and decided to share it. Concerning the wearing the wearing of wings. It was an honor for me to be permanently awarded Crew Member Wings and to display them on my uniform. I earned them!! The same applies for my Aviator Wings. But I am from a different Army. The following is a take off from the Smothers Brothers Cowboy song . I see by your WINGS that you are Pilot, you see by WINGS than I'm a Pilot too. We see by WINGS that we are both Pilots and if you Earn your WINGS you can be a Pilot too.

1st off, all those folks are in flight suits. Most crewmembers don't bother to pin anything on them. Just not worth the hassle when you walk up to an aircraft.

I was a Motor Sargent in an aviation Unit 2000- 2003. I loved dealing with the Pilots and I think I have the answer. They don't need no stinkin' badges! ( sorry but I just couldn't resist that one).

Just because you are assigned to a unit should only mean that you wear that units patch.

My Father and his three brothers enlisted and served in WW2 (as did most from their generation). After high school, I enlisted in the mid-'70s when being a soldier wasn't the most popular thing to do. Out of 750 from my high school graduation class, only 4 enlisted in the military (one was my twin brother). I served with men who were drafted and those who volunteered. I've been a retired CW4 aviator since 2008, +30 active and national guard. As a former enlisted soldier and crew chief, I looked up to the CWO's I knew and flew with. Most were Vietnam veterans. They will always be heroes and mentors to me. As I see it, earning and wearing Army Aviator wings, in a small way, included me in this exceptional group of soldiers. This brotherhood I have joined will always be something I feel pride in belonging to. We all know our primary job is to support the 11B's. Most of the combat arms soldiers I flew wore Parachute badges and other forms of awards, it was/is a small way to distinguish yourself from other soldiers. One of my nephews is currently serving as an Army 04 and earned his Jump Master wings. He proudly wears them on his uniforms. To those who say it costs too much to have patches sewn on, I remember you from the O' club...you never bought a round. lol.