Air Battle Manager Badge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Air Battle Manager Badge is a military badge of the United States Air Force which is issued to officers who have been trained and qualified for airborne command and control, air surveillance, electronic warfare, and airborne weapons capabilities. The badge was first proposed in 1990 and was first issued to Air Force officers in 1995 after Air Battle Manager became an Air Force aeronautical rating.
The Air Battle Manager Badge is considered a successor decoration to the Officer Aircrew Badge and is awarded to officers who have completed Undergraduate Air Battle Manager Training(UABMT) along with follow-on courses at one of two locations: Tinker AFB, Oklahoma (for those ABMs assigned to the E-3 AWACS) or Robbins AFB, Georgia (for ABMs assigned to the E-8 JSTARS). Graduates of UABMT who are not assigned to flying duties are not awarded ABM wings.
Air Battle Managers' career progression generally follow one of three paths: AWACS, JSTARS, or CRCs (Control and Reporting Centers- often referred to as GTACS Ground Theater Air Control Systems). Air Battle Managers are most often assigned to Air Combat Command, but may be assigned to other MAJCOMS (primarily Air Education and Training Command/AETC) as the needs of the USAF dictate.
The Air Battle Manager Badge is issued in three degrees being that of basic, senior, and master. The level of degree is denoted by a star and wreath above the badge and is determined by the number of flight hours accumulated.
