With a rip of Velcro and the slap of a familiar patch, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David A. Wolfe announced the return of duty identifier patches in an 11-second Facebook video Jan. 9.
“THEY’RE BACK, BABY!” Wolfe’s post added, a nod to the loud calls to reinstate the simple spice brown and olive drab patches that indicate an Airman’s career field or responsibilities via a few letters or numbers—“SF” for Security Forces, “MUNS” for Munitions, or “PA” for Public Affairs, for example.
Also called Career Field Identifiers, the patches were banned 11 months ago when then-Chief of Staff Gen David W. Allvin declared that the 130 authorized patches encouraged Airmen to prioritize their individual identity over the Air Force team and cancelled their use. The move provoked an angry response from Airmen, and new senior leaders paid heed. Now Wolfe and new CSAF Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach are reversing that and other changes.
In a Jan. 9 memo announcing a updates to appearance standards, Wilsbach reauthorized duty patches, effective immediately.
“I’ve decided to bring duty identifier patches back because the Air Force is made up of many different specialties, each with a unique role in our mission to generate airpower,” Wilsbach said in a statement. “We are a unified force working together to win.”
“Your expertise matters. These patches are a reflection of the skills you earned, and every patch tells a story that ends with AIRPOWER,” Wolfe added. “They connect your role to the larger mission. We trust you to wear them correctly and help your wingmen do the same—we owe each other accountability every day.”
But not every previously authorized patch is coming back. The memo lists 90 approved patches (see below), down from more than 130, with “shred-outs”—specialties carved out from other career fields—eliminated.
In addition to the 90 authorized patches are 12 arch-shaped tabs signifying a special, unique qualification or training, such as “Air Advisor” or “Arctic,” all of which had previously been authorized.
The return of the patches is the latest move by Wilsbach and Wolfe to boost morale. In November, leadership announced it would allow Airmen to wear unit morale T-shirts on Fridays and aircrew to wear nametags with their callsigns daily. New quarterly command-wide inspections ordered by Allvin have been reduced to once per year.
Duty Identifier Patches
| Current Duty | Approved Tab |
|---|---|
| First Sergeant (8F000) | 1SGT |
| Air Battle Manager (13B) | ABM |
| Airmen Dorm Leader (8H000) | ADL |
| Aircrew Flight Equipment (1P0X1) | AFE |
| Airfield Management (1C7X1) | AFLD |
| Aerospace Ground Equipment (2A6X2) | AGE |
| Munitions Systems (2W0X1) | AMMO |
| Tactical Aircraft Maintenance (2A3X3); Airlift/Special Mission Aircraft Maintenance (2A5X1); Refuel/Bomber Aircraft Maintenance (2A5X4) | APG |
| Aircraft Structural Maintenance (2A7X3); Low Observable Aircraft Structural Maintenance (2A7X3) | ASM |
| Air Traffic Control (1C1X1) | ATC |
| Avionics Test Station and Components; Electronic Warfare Systems (2A0X1); MHU-139 Electrical, Environmental and Avionics Technician (2A2X1); Fighter Aircraft Integrated Avionics (2A3X4); Heavy Aircraft Integrated Avionics (2A9X4); Backshop Avionics PODS (2A0X1) | AVI |
| Aviation Resource Management (1C0X2) | AVMGT |
| Battle Management Operations (1C5X1) | C2BMO |
| All-Domain Command & Control Operations (1C3X1) | C2OPS |
| Emergency Management (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) (3E9X1) | CBRN |
| Combat Control (1Z2X1) | CCT |
| Civil Engineer Officer (32EX) | CE |
| Mobility Force Aviator (1A1X2); Special Mission Aviator (1A1X3); Multi-Domain Operations Aviator (1A1X4); Executive Mission Aviator (1A1X8); Airborne Cryptologic Language Analyst (1A8X1); Airborne ISR Operator (1A8X2); Remotely Piloted Aircraft Sensor Operator; Enlisted Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot (1U0X1) | CEA |
| Contracting (6C0X1) | CONS |
| Combat Rescue Officer (19ZXC) | CRO |
| Mobility Combat Systems Officer (12M) | CSO |
| Cyber Warfare Operations (1B4X1); Information Technology (IT) Systems (1D7X1); Radio Frequency Transmissions and Electromagnetic Activities (EMA); Radio Frequency Transmissions and Electromagnetic Activities | CYBER |
| Development Advisor (8T200) | DA |
| Pavements and Construction Equipment (3E2X1) | DIRT |
| Aircraft Electrical and Environmental Systems (2A6X6) | E/E |
| Aircrew Egress Systems (2A6X3) | EJECT |
| Electrical Systems (3E0X1) | ELEC |
| Developmental Engineering Utilization Field (62EX) | EN |
| Engineering (3E5X1) | ENGR |
| Aerospace Propulsion (2A6X1) | ENGS |
| Pest Management (3E4X3) | ENTO |
| Equal Opportunity (3F4X1) | EO |
| Explosive Ordnance Disposal (3E8X1) | EOD |
| Reconnaissance/Surveillance/Electronic Warfare Officer (11R) | EWO |
| Foreign Affairs Officer (16F or 16Z) | FAO |
| Fire Protection (3E7X1) | FIRE (w/Black Border) |
| Financial Management & Comptroller (6F0X1) | FM |
| Aircraft Fuel Systems (2A6X4) | FUELS |
| Ground Transportation (2T1X1) | GT |
| Religious Affairs (5R0X1), Chaplains (52RX) | HC |
| Human Resources and Administration (3F0X1) | HRA |
| Heating, Ventilation, AC, & Refrigeration (3E1X1) | HVACR |
| Aircraft Hydraulic Systems (2A6X5) | HYDRO |
| Independent Duty Medical Technician (4N0X1C) | IDMT (w/Black Border) |
| Information Operations (14F) | IO |
| Intelligence / ISR specialties (multiple AFSCs) | ISR |
| Paralegal (5J0XX), Judge Advocate (51JX) | JA |
| Joint Air Component Coordination Element | JACCE |
| Logistics Readiness Officer (21R) | LRO |
| Missile Alert Facility Manager (8S000) | MAFM |
| Tactical Aircraft Maintenance (5th Gen) (2A3X7); Helicopter/Tiltrotor Aircraft Maintenance (2A5X2) | MECH |
| Medical Providers / TCCC Tier II+ | MED (w/Black Border) |
| Manpower (3F3X1) | MNPWR |
| Aircraft Metals Technology (2A7X1) | MTECH |
| Munitions and Missile Maintenance Officer (21MX); Nuclear Weapons (2W2X1) | MUNS |
| Maintenance Management (2R2X1) | MXMGR |
| Navigator (12X) | NAV |
| Nondestructive Inspection (2A7X2) | NDI |
| Operations Management (3E6X1) | OPSMG |
| Operation Research Analyst (15A) | OR |
| Special Investigations (7S0X1) | OSI |
| Public Affairs (3NXXX) | PA |
| Aerospace Physiology (1H0X1 / 13HX) | PHYS |
| Pararescue (1Z1X1) | PJ |
| Logistics Plans (2G0X1) | PLNR |
| Professional Military Education Instructor (8T000) | PME |
| Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory (2P0X1) | PMEL |
| Fuels (2F0X1) | POL |
| Air Transportation (2T2X1) | PORT |
| Electrical Power Production (3E0X2) | POWER |
| Radar, Airfield & Weather Systems (1C8X3) | RAWS |
| Scientific Utilization Field (9S100) | SCI |
| Security Forces (3P0X1) | SF (w/Black Border) |
| Safety (1S0X1) | SFTY |
| Special Reconnaissance (1Z4X1) | SR |
| Special Tactics Officer (19ZXA) | STO |
| Structural (3E3X1) | STRUC |
| Materiel Management (2S0X1) | SUP |
| Services (3F1X1) | SVS |
| Tactical Air Control Party (1Z3X1) | TACP |
| Advanced Fighter Aircraft Integrated Avionics (2A3X5) | TECH |
| Traffic Management (2T0X1) | TMO |
| Education and Training (3F2X1) | TRNG |
| Unit Deployment Manager (8U000) | UDM |
| Mission Generation Vehicular Equipment Maintenance (2T3X1), Fleet Management and Analysis (2T3X7) | VM |
| Weather and Environmental Sciences Officer (15WX) | WESO |
| Water and Fuel Systems Maintenance (3E4X1) | WFSM |
| Aircraft Armament Systems (2W1X1) | WPNS |
| Weapons System Evaluation Program | WSEP |
| Weather (1W0X1) | WX |
| Air Advisor (Note: With documented classification identifier (SEI/SDI), authorized for permanent wear (POC AF/A3TM)) | Air Advisor or Advanced Air Advisor |
| Special Warfare Tactical Call Sign | Alpha-numeric call sign, e.g., A01 or HR44 |
| Arctic Domain and Security (Note: Completion of Arctic Defense Security Orientation and awarded applicable SEI) | ARCTIC |
| USAF Installation Honor Guard (Base Honor Guard) | BASE HONOR GUARD |
| Courier | COURIER |
| Evaluator | EVALUATOR |
| Instructor | INSTRUCTOR |
| Master Instructor | MASTER INSTRUCTOR |
| Raven | RAVEN |
| Recruiter | RECRUITER |
| Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape | SERE |
| USAF Honor Guard | USAF HONOR GUARD |
