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What's with this USAF Large and Small ranks?


Robswashashore
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Robswashashore

Air Force stuff confuses me:

 

What is the deal with large and small chevrons in the USAF! I have some obsolete ones when the Airman didn't have the white star in the middle and they are positively tiny! Even the current ones come in "large" and "small." Is it a man/woman thing? Can someone explain this to me?

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DutchInfid3l
Air Force stuff confuses me:

 

What is the deal with large and small chevrons in the USAF! I have some obsolete ones when the Airman didn't have the white star in the middle and they are positively tiny! Even the current ones come in "large" and "small." Is it a man/woman thing? Can someone explain this to me?

 

Male 4 inch and female 3 inch rank though females can wear either one.

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When I was in the AF in the early 1980's, males could also wear the 3 inch blue/white strips on the dress blue shirts, while of course the 4 inch stripes were worn on the dress coat. As I recall, the 3 inch was all I had on my dress blue shirts (sure wish I had kept some of those), and while I was an airman (prior to making sergeant), it was the type worn pre-1991, no star in the middle.

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Originally the 4 inch were for male only and 3 inch female only. With the adoption of the 1505 tan shirt/pants uniform in the mid 60's men were supposed to wear the 3" "WAF" stripes on that shirt as the 4" chevrons were too big for a short sleeve shirt, especially for a small stature man. (I remember seeing a Chief Master Sergeant wearing the older 505 shrit and 4" chevrons and he was so small that his chevrons went from the seam at the shoulder to the very end of the shirt sleeve. Kinda had that "zebra", look.) Men wore the 4" on everything else and females wore the 3" chevrons on all their garmets.

Things have changed according to DutchInfid3I.

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DutchInfid3l

I've looked it up on the AFI. Here's what they've got now. Here's a link to the Air Force Personnel uniform information webpage.

 

Service Coat:

Men's: Center 4 inch sleeve chevron halfway between shoulder seam and elbow bent at 90-degree angle.

Women's:

Center 3 1/2 or 4 inch sleeve chevrons halfway between shoulder seam and elbow bent at 90-degree angle

 

Short Sleeve and Long sleeve:

Enlisted personnel, men and women:

center 3 1/2 inch sleeve chevrons halfway between shoulder seam and bottom edge of sleeve.

 

This must be new, when I was first in, back in 2000. Men wore 4 inch and women had the option between the two. I wore the 4 inch... you were proud of that new rank and wanted to show it!

 

Men's Mess Dress:

4 inch chevrons

 

Women's Mess Dress:

Enlisted personnel center 3 1/2- or

4-inch sleeve chevron halfway between shoulder seam and elbow bent at 90-degree angle.

 

BDUs:

Enlisted personnel: center 3 1/2- or 4-inch

(women) or 4-inch (men) sleeve chevron halfway between shoulder seam and elbow when bent at

90-degree angle (when sleeves are rolled up, chevrons do not need to be fully visible, but must be

distinguishable).

 

ABUs

Enlisted, male: 4-inch sleeve chevron

Female: 3 1/2 or 4 inch sleeve chevrons

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Hello

 

I found a short history of the USAF chevrons at scribd.com:

 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/1423612/US-Air-Force-chevrons

 

Michael

 

That looked like a great document, would love to get a copy, but it crashed my internet explorer three times, couldn't get past the first few pages, and it wouldn't let me download a copy as I don't have (and prefer not to have) a facebook account. Were you, or anybody else, able to view/download the entire document?

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That looked like a great document, would love to get a copy, but it crashed my internet explorer three times, couldn't get past the first few pages, and it wouldn't let me download a copy as I don't have (and prefer not to have) a facebook account. Were you, or anybody else, able to view/download the entire document?

 

This document:

 

http://www.lackland.af.mil/shared/media/do...-070324-001.pdf

 

is probably where they got it from originally, maybe you'll have better luck there.

 

Justin B.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I was at contigney park last weekend and they had an airforce band playing and the males and females wore both sizes I was seeing 3 and 1/2 inchers and 4 inchers on both men and women. Senior Airmen up to Senior Master Sergeants, They were wearing the dress uniform, I am starting to think it must have to either do with arm size, or just personal preference.

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I was at contigney park last weekend and they had an airforce band playing and the males and females wore both sizes I was seeing 3 and 1/2 inchers and 4 inchers on both men and women. Senior Airmen up to Senior Master Sergeants, They were wearing the dress uniform, I am starting to think it must have to either do with arm size, or just personal preference.

... and to do with the USAF changing its uniform codes so often that nobody can keep up with what is regulation and not regulation - including the air police (who, at one time were experts, lemme tell ya!)

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