The Pathfinder Badge is a military badge of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

awarded to soldiers who complete the U.S. Army Pathfinder School at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia. To be awarded the Pathfinder Badge, the soldier must complete

Pathfinder Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder ( ...

instruction in advanced land navigation, advanced scouting, tactical

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

in the field, and the control of parachute operations; the badge is awarded on completing several examinations under

field training exercise A field training exercise, generally shortened to the acronym "FTX", is a coordinated training exercise conducted by military units for training purposes. These are often military simulations conducted in open areas instead of training faciliti ...

(FTX) conditions. Examinations include proficiency in sling load rigging and execution, planning and execution of helicopter landing zones (HLZ), air traffic control operations, aerial delivery of troops and supplies, and several others. The first Pathfinder Badge was designed by Lt. Prescott, a navigator in the

9th Troop Carrier Pathfinder Group 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

(Provisional), in May 1944. Besides the

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

s who earned it, the Pathfinder Badge was worn by

IX Troop Carrier Command The IX Troop Carrier Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946. As a component command of the Ninth ...

air crews who guided paratrooper transports and towed gliders. It was worn four inches above the left sleeve cuff on the service coat. The current Pathfinder Badge, originally made of

felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

, was approved on 22 May 1964. The badge began being made of enameled metal on 11 October 1968. The badge's wings symbolize flight and airborne capabilities, while the torch represents leadership and guidance. The torch traces back to the Olympians who carried the torch each year of the event to its location. US Army Pathfinders traditionally were the first to arrive ahead of larger elements to scout and designate areas in which aviation assets could perform their operations during combat.

References

{{US Army badges United States military badges

See also

References