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Uncut roll of USAF chevrons


DutchInfid3l
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wow.

 

I guess there are a couple hundred chevrons then?

About 500-600 or so? Might cut a slough and frame... As for the rest :/

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Those "hidden star" chevrons had to be the absolute worst idea for rank insignia anyone ever dreamed up at the pentagon. They were horrible and I'm sure glad I never had to wear the things.

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Those "hidden star" chevrons had to be the absolute worst idea for rank insignia anyone ever dreamed up at the pentagon. They were horrible and I'm sure glad I never had to wear the things.

they are pretty weird, most people dont even realize that these two uniforms of my dad's are different ranks...

 

post-125364-0-77788300-1416254536.jpg

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Those "hidden star" chevrons had to be the absolute worst idea for rank insignia anyone ever dreamed up at the pentagon. They were horrible and I'm sure glad I never had to wear the things.

 

I kinda liked the no-star airman ranks. Wore those in the early 1980's, including this version of A1C. Liked it when I got a "promotion" from SrA to Sgt and got to add the star!

 

Thanks to DutchInfid3l for sharing this. As a side note, I too would be interested if you want to chop off and sell a few rows.

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they are pretty weird, most people dont even realize that these two uniforms of my dad's are different ranks...

 

attachicon.gifChev.jpg

What's the difference? I'm an army guy, know next to nothing on AF, so would like to learn a little!

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What's the difference? I'm an army guy, know next to nothing on AF, so would like to learn a little!

well lets see if my memory is working today, the 3 "wings" and hidden star is senior Airman (blue uniform) while the green uniform 3 chevron with a star is the Sargent rank, this is the old rank system the new system is different...

 

but just remember air force chevrons are wings and army and marine chevrons are tents lol

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Thanks! Confusing still but I will get it eventually!

yeah just pay attention to the new rank system vs the old because while that was the sergeant rank, there is no longer a sergeant rank i believe... if i remember correctly it goes from senior airman to staff sergeant and i believe they all have stars... so now 3 chevrons with a star is senior airman then it goes to 4 and that is staff sergeant...

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That roll is so interesting, thanks for posting. I assume they are cut out with dies? Any ideas on what the little embroidered squares are for? Alignment in a machine, maybe?

 

Thanks! Confusing still but I will get it eventually!

 

The Air Force basically kept the same sergeant ranks as in WW2, with buck sergeant at E-4, while the Army and Marines had bumped it up to E-5. There was some back-and-forth in the USAF over what to do with buck sergeant, since sergeant grades were traditionally supervisory NCOs, but E-4's didn't have much chance to supervise. In 1976 a system came out where E-4 would be Senior Airman, not an NCO, and then after some time in grade and qualifying, the airman would become a sergeant, still E-4 but considered an NCO. The difference was shown by the star: For E-2, E-3 and E-4 Senior Airman, the star would be embroidered the same color as the background (that is, low-visibility), while for NCOs (E-4 Sergeant and up) the star would be the same color as the stripes. Buck sergeant was eliminated in 1991 and the stars went back to being the same for all grades.

 

Justin B.

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The Air Force basically kept the same sergeant ranks as in WW2, with buck sergeant at E-4, while the Army and Marines had bumped it up to E-5. There was some back-and-forth in the USAF over what to do with buck sergeant, since sergeant grades were traditionally supervisory NCOs, but E-4's didn't have much chance to supervise. In 1976 a system came out where E-4 would be Senior Airman, not an NCO, and then after some time in grade and qualifying, the airman would become a sergeant, still E-4 but considered an NCO. The difference was shown by the star: For E-2, E-3 and E-4 Senior Airman, the star would be embroidered the same color as the background (that is, low-visibility), while for NCOs (E-4 Sergeant and up) the star would be the same color as the stripes. Buck sergeant was eliminated in 1991 and the stars went back to being the same for all grades.

 

Justin B.

thanks!

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  • 2 months later...

What's the difference? I'm an army guy, know next to nothing on AF, so would like to learn a little!

The "no star" enlisted stripes went away on June 1, 1991, along with the dual E-4 status, going instead to SrA only. I missed making Sgt by 1 month (I would've switched on July 1), which is how I remember the date.

 

Before this point, the USAF pay grade of E-4 had 2 ranks: Senior Airman (no star - junior enlisted) and Sergeant (star - NCO status). Similar to the Army Specialist and Corporal both being E-4.

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The no star ranks were a product of a process of professional military education (PME) where airmen were gradually introduced to NCO responsibilities.

 

I liked the era. I went into the Air Force as a slick sleeve and made E-4 senior airman below the zone with only 23 months in service. You were required to attend various types of PME and I'm pretty sure that what was required varied by command. In the Alaskan Air Command, I remember attending what was then called PME "Zero," a NCO Orientation Course at the AAC Command NCO Academy. When I PCS'd to the Tactical Air Command, I had to take the NCO Supervisor's Course and an Effective Writing Course. But the appointment ceremony to Sergeant was pretty impressive. I still have the certificate and a wallet card signed by the wing commander signifying the appointment and listing what my responsibilities were.

 

The dual E-4 rank went away during the same General McPeak era when the uniform was radically re-designed. With E-4 Sergeants, it was statistically determined that there were more NCOs than airmen and most of the E-4 Sergeants were not in positions of responsibilities. The final justification came during Defense Budget negotiations when it was determined that the Air Force would save lots of money doing away with the program.

 

With the close, the Air Force fell in line with the Army and the Marine Corps where NCOs were E-5s.

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E-4 became an NCO and re-titled Sergeant in October 1967. In the 70's, it reverted back to Airman status and S/Sgt (E-5) became the lowest NCO rank in the USAF.

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