The Navigator Badge is a
military qualification badge of the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
which was first created during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The current USAF badge is designated by
Air Force Instructions as the Navigator/Observer Badge and is issued to rated officers in both rating categories. In 2009, it was renamed as the
Combat Systems Officer badge.
The badge recognizes the Aeronautical Rating of Navigator, now Combat Systems Officer. The original Navigator badge was a successor to the
Observer Badge, which was issued to
military aviation
Military aviation comprises military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift ( air cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a war the ...
navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
s in the 1920s and 1930s. With an increase in
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
, however, the Navigator,
Bombardier, Engineer, and Gunner badges were created to recognize the advanced training and qualifications required of various aircrew members.
The original Navigator badge was issued by the
U.S. 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 ...
and consisted of an
armillary sphere
An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...
centered between two wings. The badge was similar to the
Aviator Badge and the
Aircrew Badge
The Aircrew Badge, commonly known as Wings, is a qualification badge of the United States military that is awarded by all five branches of armed services to personnel who serve as aircrew, aircrew members on board military aircraft. The badge ...
. On July 26, 1947, the
U.S. Air Force became a separate Branch of Service in the U.S. armed forces. and in late 1951 the Aircraft Observer, Navigator, and Bombardier badges were replaced with a single design, with the Air Force shield centered between two wings. At the same time, the
aeronautical ratings of Navigator and Bombardier were merged into a single rating. The Aircraft Observer rating continued for
Electronic Warfare Officer
In the U.S. Air Force, an electronic warfare officer (EWO) is a trained aerial navigator who has received training in enemy threat systems, electronic warfare principles and overcoming enemy air defense systems. These officers are specialists in f ...
s (EWOs), but eventually EWOs were awarded the Navigator-Bombardier aeronautical rating.
The current USAF Navigator/Combat Systems Officer/Observer Badge is issued in three degrees: Basic, Senior, and Master. The degree of the Navigator/Combat Systems Officer/Observer Badge is determined by years of flying service in the Air Force and by logged hours of flight time or flying duty assignment time. The degrees are annotated by a star alone (senior) and a star and wreath (master) centered above the badge.
There is also an astronaut version of the badge for those who have flown the NASA
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially 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. Its official program na ...
and/or served on the International Space Station. Like its pilot astronaut counterpart, the Navigator/Observer Astronaut Badge is modified by the addition of the astronaut "shooting star" logo over the USAF shield on the wings. Navigator Astronauts or Combat Systems Officer Astronauts are those officers who have previously flown USAF aircraft as aeronautically rated Navigators / Combat Systems Officers and subsequently qualify as astronauts. A third variant of this same insignia is the Observer Astronaut. Today, the only personnel awarded the
Observer rating are otherwise unrated U.S. Air Force officers who complete
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
Mission Specialist (
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
) training and subsequently fly in space.
For
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
and
Marine Corps officers, the equivalent of the Navigator Badge /
Combat Systems Officer badge is known as the
Naval Flight Officer insignia
The Naval Flight Officer insignia is a breast insignia of the United States military which is awarded to those aviators of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard who have qualified as Naval Flight Officers (NFO) based on successful completion of ...
and is similar to the
Naval Aviator
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
insignia for pilots, being differentiated by two crossed fouled anchors behind the insignia's United States shield, versus the single upright fouled anchor of their
USN
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
,
USMC and
USCG pilot counterparts. The
Coast Guard briefly had Naval Flight Officers when they operated
E-2 Hawkeye
The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable tactical Airborne early warning and control, airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed duri ...
aircraft bailed from the Navy. There is also an astronaut version of the badge for those who have flown the NASA Space Shuttle and/or served on the International Space Station. Like its Naval Aviator Astronaut counterpart, the Naval Flight Officer Astronaut Badge is modified by the addition of the astronaut "shooting star" logo over the US shield on the wings.
The Marine Corps also issues the
Marine Aerial Navigator insignia to enlisted personnel trained as navigators for the KC-130. Unlike their USAF counterpart, the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviation insignia have no basic, senior or master/command degrees. The
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
has no equivalent to the Navigator Badge.
Air Force Navigator Badge
Combat System Officer ratings
The Combat System Officer (CSO)
[AFI11-402 ''Aviation and Parachutist Service, Aeronautical Ratings and Aviation Badges''](_blank)
, p.2 Summary of Changes (2 February 2013). Retrieved 31 August 2015 awarded by the Commander or delegated wing commanders. Under a program that began in the fall of 2004 to replace the "Joint Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training" course, portions of the previous navigator and electronic warfare officer training courses were combined into a curriculum with the objective of developing an aviator with cross-flow capability between the two positions on combat aircraft. The curriculum includes a wider range of topics, with an increased emphasis on warfighting, to develop leadership, decision-making and mission management skills. Navigators and CSOs wear identical badges. rating is awarded to individuals who entered the CSO Undergraduate Flying Training after 1 October 2004. The USAF awards combat system officer ratings at three levels: ''Combat System Officer'', ''Senior Combat System Officer'', and ''Master Combat System Officer'', for active duty officers and officers considered rated assets in the Air Reserve Components. The insignia is identical to USAF Navigator, but rated navigators who are not CSO rated are not eligible for award of advanced CSO ratings. The following additional criteria are required for rating as a USAF Combat System Officer:
Navigator ratings
The USAF awards navigator ratings at three levels: ''Navigator'', ''Senior Navigator'', and ''Master Navigator'', for active duty officers and officers considered "rated assets" in the Air Reserve Components. After 2009 only Combat System Operators receive ratings formerly awarded to navigators, as the occupational field is being phased out. The following additional criteria are required for rating as a USAF Navigator:
Observer ratings
The USAF awards observer ratings at three levels: ''Observer'', ''Senior Observer'', and ''Master Observer'', for active duty officers and officers considered "rated assets" in the Air Reserve Components. The insignia is identical to USAF Navigator/CSO and is typically only awarded as an "observer" insignia with the Astronaut emblem to USAF officers who have completed training as NASA Mission Specialist Astronauts, have flown at least once in space in the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially 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. Its official program na ...
and/or served at the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
, and are not otherwise rated as USAF Pilots or USAF Navigators/CSOs. The following additional criteria are required to be rated as a USAF Observer:
References
{{reflist
See also
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Badges of the United States Air Force
Badges of the United States Air Force are specific uniform insignia authorized by the United States Air Force that signify aeronautical ratings, special skills, career field qualifications, and serve as identification devices for personnel occu ...
*
Obsolete badges of the United States military
United States military badges