triplecanopy Posted February 7, 2019 Share #26 Posted February 7, 2019 The 82nd Airborne Division free fall wings are shown here with the 18th Airborne Corps Free Fall wings. Each of these organizations had a Parachute club on base that not only permitted but encouraged parachute jumping. At the time there was also a Green Beret Parachute Club, but for some reason they did not go for these wings. Army Regulation AR-95-19 permitted parachute clubs at the time. I am uncertain if any still exist. This style wing is based on the United States Parachute Association (USPA) parachute badge that I'll post in the next frame. These wings were worn on the Army Class A military uniform for a time in the late 1970's to early 1980's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplecanopy Posted February 7, 2019 Share #27 Posted February 7, 2019 The USPA Free Fall wings are shown here next to another proposed US military free fall badge. That design with the rings was submitted by Jim Phillips has the three rings that are often found on French and some other nations parachute wings to indicate a higher parachute rating. They are marked Phillips Publications on the back. The USPA has since changed their design and eliminated the two rings at the bottom. They were for attaching skill level tags and jump number tags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplecanopy Posted February 7, 2019 Share #28 Posted February 7, 2019 Shown here are the Type II prototype Military Free Fall Parachutist wings. In addition to the basic, senior and master wings there were also two levels of Free Fall Instructor wings proposed. They both incorporated a letter "I" for instructor and the highest Instructor rating badge has a gold colored "I" and the lower Instructor rating as a silver colored "I". Also shown here is a Military Free Fall Committee Instructor coin. In 1987 there was a lot of support for this design to be approved, but it was not. These are all marked 1 SOCOM on the back. I do not know who made these, but they were a stepping stone to get the present Military Free Fall wings finally approved. AIRBORNE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMarineCorps Posted July 10, 2020 Share #29 Posted July 10, 2020 Great, informative threat. These type of insignia are often overlooked in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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