Special Forces Tab

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Special Forces Tab

Awarded by United States Army
Type	Tab
Awarded for
Status	Currently awarded
Statistics
Established	1983
Last awarded	On going
Related	President's Hundred Tab, Ranger Tab, Sapper Tab

The Special Forces Tab is a service school qualification tab of the United States Army, awarded to any soldier completing either the Special Forces Qualification Course, or the Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course (formerly known as the Special Forces Officer Course), at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (previously known as the U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance). Soldiers who are awarded the Special Forces Tab are authorized to wear it for the remainder of their military careers, even when not serving in a Special Forces command.

1 Description and history
2 Other tabs
3 External links
4 See also
5 Notes

[edit] Description and history

The Special Forces Tab was created in 1983 and is an embroidered quadrant patch worn on the upper left sleeve of a military uniform. The cloth tab is 3 1/4 inches wide and is teal blue with yellow embroidered letters. A metal Special Forces Badge is authorized for wear on the mess/dress uniforms and green shirt. The metal badge is teal blue with a gold edge and gold letters.^[1]

At the time of its creation, the Special Forces Tab was retroactively awarded to any Army soldiers previously Special Forces-qualified. In addition, as set forth in Army regulations, veterans of certain categories of former wartime service are also eligible for retroactive awards of the tab. Among these are:^[2]

personnel who served with a Special Forces unit during wartime between 1942 and 1973 and were either unable to or not required to attend a formal program of instruction but were awarded the proper Special Qualification Identifier by a competent authority,
personnel with at least 120 days' wartime service prior to 1955 in certain units, including the 1st Special Service Force, OSS Detachment 101, OSS Jedburgh teams, OSS Operational Groups, and the Alamo Scouts, and
personnel captain and below awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge while serving at least 120 days wartime service between 1955 and 1975 in a Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha or certain other units.

Before creation of the Special Forces Tab, Special Forces status was indicated by wearing a full-size unit flash on the green beret. A support soldier (signals personnel, parachute riggers, clerical and administrative personnel, etc.) assigned to a Special Forces unit wore a 1/4" high bar below the Special Forces Crest on his green beret. The bar matched the colors of the unit's flash. After the creation of the tab and until January 1993, all personnel in a Special Forces unit wore the same beret and flash. Today, only Special Forces-qualified soldiers may wear the green beret, making obsolete the unit flash and bar.

[edit] Other tabs

The Ranger Tab is a similar qualification tab authorized upon completion of the U.S. Army’s Ranger School.
The Sapper Tab is a similar qualification tab which is authorized for completion of the U.S. Army’s Sapper School.
The President's Hundred Tab is a similar qualification tab which is authorized for soldiers who qualify among the top 100 scoring competitors in the President’s Match held annually at the National Rifle Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio.

The order of precedence for the four permanent tabs is: President's Hundred Tab, Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Sapper Tab. Only three may be worn at one time.