A brassard or armlet is an

armband An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or conditi ...

or piece of cloth or other material worn around the upper arm; the term typically refers to an item of uniform worn as part of

military uniform A military uniform is a standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful and elaborate, ornamented c ...

or by

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

or other uniformed persons. Unit, role, rank badges or other

insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. On its own, an insignia is a sign of a specific or general authority and is ...

are carried on it instead of being stitched into the actual clothing. The brassard, when spread out, may be roughly rectangular in shape, where it is worn merely around the arm; it may also be a roughly triangular shape, in which case the brassard is also attached to a

shoulder strap A shoulder strap is a strap over a shoulder. They are often affixed to women's dresses to support its weight or as part of its style. The term is also applied to carrying bags. Dress shoulder strap Image:Camisole.png, Camisole Image:Preprom.jpg, ...

. The term is originally French, deriving from ''bras'' meaning "arm". Brassards are also used with the uniforms of organizations which are not military but which are influenced by and styled upon the military, such as police, emergency services, volunteer services, or militaristic societies and political parties. A brassard is often used: * to temporarily attach insignia, such as rank, to clothing not normally bearing insignia (such as civilian clothing or a military mechanic's coveralls); For example, when French police officers work in plainclothes or are off-duty and carrying a firearm, they must wear a red ‘Police’ brassard. * to temporarily attach insignia to a uniform for a limited time, such as the insignia for an "

officer of the day A duty officer or officer of the day is a position that is assigned to a worker on a regularly rotational basis. While on duty, duty officers attend to administrative tasks and incidents that require attention regardless of the time of day, in add ...

" or "duty officer"; or for uniforms expected to have a high turnover of either wearer or insignia borne, such as those of

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

s or other youth organizations. Brassards worn by

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...

personnel fall under this category. Brassards are often used in this manner by

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear re ...

, the brassard being both a badge of authority and identification. Brassard (also "brassart" or "brasset") is also used to refer to pieces of

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

worn to cover the entire arm (encompassing

vambrace Vambraces ( French: ''avant-bras'', sometimes known as ''lower cannons'' in the Middle Ages) or forearm guards are ''tubular'' or ''gutter'' defences for the forearm worn as part of a suit of plate armour that were often connected to gauntlets. ...

rerebrace A rerebrace (sometimes known as an upper cannon) is a piece of armour designed to protect the upper arms (above the elbow). Splint rerebraces were a feature of Byzantine armour in the Early Medieval period. The rerebrace seems to have re-emerged i ...

, and possibly a

couter The couter (also spelled "cowter") is the defense for the elbow in a piece of plate armour. Initially just a curved piece of metal, as plate armor progressed the couter became an articulated joint. Couters were popular by the 1320s. In fighting ...

References

* {{cite book, last=Rosignoli, first=Guido, title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Military Insignia of the 20th Century, url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc00rosi, url-access=limited, publisher=Chartwell Books Inc, location=New Jersey, year=1986, pag
69
isbn=1-55521-085-6 Military insignia Military uniforms Western plate armour Armbands

See also

References