Air Force Commander's Insignia

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1 Description
2 Wear Guidelines
3 Equivalents
4 External links

[edit] Description

The Air Force Commander's Insignia is a badge of the United States Air Force which has been in existence since 2002. Also known as the USAF Commander’s Badge, the Air Force Commander's Insignia is awarded to any Air Force officer who holds a major command billet within the United States Air Force.

The Air Force Commander's Insignia is worn above the name tag when in command of a squadron, group, wing, numbered air force (NAF), major command (MAJCOM), or Unified Command. The insignia is worn below the nametag upon completion of a similar command.

To be eligible for the Air Force Commander's Insignia, an Air Force officer must hold permanent assignment in a command billet, normally befitting a Major or above. Examples of such billets would include any unit larger than detachment size to include: Squadron, Group, and Wing Commanders as well as the Commanding Officers of major Air Force installations such as Air Force Bases.

[edit] Wear Guidelines

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Below are some general guidelines for being awarded the Air Force Commander's Insignia:

No longer associated with commander's pay.
Additional approval for wear made by Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF).
Only officers holding the rank of Major through Colonel may wear.
Must exercise Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) Authority.
Must be competitively selected by a board (Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC)/MAJCOM/Field Operating Agency (FOA), etc) for their command position.
May be worn in the area of responsibility (AOR) (Per CENTAF, current or prior commanders authorized).
Serving as a "temporary" or "acting" commander does not qualify an officer for this insignia.
Commanders must serve entire tenure (usually two years) for permanent wear.
Vice and Deputy Command positions, as well as Detachment Command positions, do not qualify an officer for this insignia.

[edit] Equivalents

The United States Navy equivalent of the Air Force Commander's Insignia is the Command Ashore Pin, while the United States Coast Guard has two versions of the decoration, referring to the badge as the Command Ashore Pin and the Officer-in-Charge Ashore Pin. The U.S. Army and United States Marines have no equivalent to the Air Force Commander's Insignia.