Space and Missile Badge
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The Space and Missile Badge was a military badge of the United States Air Force which was awarded to those personnel who completed training in space warning, satellite command and control, missile operations, space surveillance, or space lift. It was typically issued as a companion decoration to the Missile Badge.
The Space and Missile Badge was presented in three grades being that of basic, senior, and master. The basic badge was awarded for completion of standard space and air defense training while the senior and master badges were awarded based on years of service in Air Force Space assignments; for officer the steps occur at seven and fifteen years respectively. For enlisted personnel the senior badge was awarded upon attaining a "7 skill level" and the master badge as a Master Sergeant or above with five years in the specialty from award of the senior badge.
The grades of the Space and Missile badge were denoted by a star (senior) and wreath (master) centered above the decoration.
In 2004, the Air Force Force Space Command Commander, General Lord, announced the introduction of a new space badge. The new combined Space and Missile Operations Badge, informally known as "spings" (SPace wINGS), "Space Boomerang", or "Space Blade" replaced the Missile Badge for operators. This new badge is rumored to have infuriated the vast majority of current and former space and missile operators by eliminating a historically significant badge of honor. In addition, the new badge is no longer limited to pure space and missile operators/maintainers, but is also awarded to 61XX, 62XX and 63XX (officer) AFSCs who have performed space/ICBM acquisition duties, even if they were non-operational in nature.
