Special Warfare insignia
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The Special Warfare insignia, also known as the "SEAL Trident" or its popular nickname in the Navy community, "The
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", recognizes those members of the
United States Navy 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 ...
who have completed the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL ( BUD/S) training, completed SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) and have been designated as
U.S. Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...
. It is one of the most recognizable breast insignias of the U.S. Navy.


History

Established on 16 October 1970,Cummings, Dennis J. ''The Men Behind the Trident: SEAL Team One in Vietnam''. Naval Institute Press, 1997, p. 16. the Special Warfare insignia was initially issued in two grades, gold for officers and silver for enlisted. In 1978 the Silver SEAL insignia was abolished after which the Special Warfare insignia was issued thereafter. The SEAL insignia is therefore unusual in the Navy being as it is one of the very few breast insignia issued identically for both officers and enlisted personnel. This is partly due to the combined training both officers and enlisted receive, side by side, when involved in BUD/S training. The Special Warfare insignia consists of an eagle clutching a U.S. Navy anchor, trident, and flintlock-style pistol. This gold badge is considered a successor to the obsolete Underwater Demolition Insignia. The general design was likely derived from the British Combined Operations badge.


Designator and title

Sailors who complete BUD/S training at Coronado California are reclassified to the Special Warfare Operator (SO) rating. Sailors must complete SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) before receiving Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 5326 Combatant Swimmer (SEAL) or, in the case of commissioned naval officers, the designation 1130 Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) Officer. Prior to the establishment of the SO rating in 2006, SEAL operators were sourced from regular Naval ratings, with the title of SEAL treated like a warfare qualification, attaching (SEAL) after the rating.


See also

* Special warfare combatant-craft crewmen * List of United States Navy enlisted warfare designations *
Badges of the United States Navy Insignias and badges of the United States Navy are military badges issued by the United States Department of the Navy to naval service members who achieve certain qualifications and accomplishments while serving on both active and reserve duty ...
*
Military badges of the United States Military badges of the United States are awards authorized by the United States Armed Forces that signify rating, qualification, or accomplishment in several career fields, and also serve as identification devices for personnel occupying certain a ...
*
Obsolete badges of the United States military Obsolete badges of the United States military are a number of U.S. military insignia which were issued in the 20th and 21st centuries. After World War II many badges were phased out of the United States Armed Forces in favor of more modern milit ...
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Uniforms of the United States Navy The uniforms of the United States Navy include dress uniforms, daily service uniforms, working uniforms, and uniforms for special situations, which have varied throughout the history of the navy. For simplicity in this article, ''officers'' refe ...
* List of United States Navy SEALs *


Notes


References

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Military Personnel Records Center The Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC-MPR) is a branch of the National Personnel Records Center and is the repository of over 56 million military personnel records and medical records pertaining to retired, discharged, and deceased veterans ...
(U.S. Navy Breast Insignia Descriptions) {{DEFAULTSORT:Special Warfare Insignia United States military badges United States Navy SEALs