Warbird Information Exchange

Do Army officers wear marksmanship badges?

Mudge the pedant

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Land of the free because of the brave

No, that's an enlisted thing only.
Not sure about the Corps, but I think their officers do wear them too.

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"I knew the jig was up when I saw the P-51D-20-NA Mustang blue-nosed bastards from Bodney, and by the way the blue was more of a royal blue than an indigo and the inner landing gear interiors were NOT green, over Berlin."

Actually, it looks like I was wrong. Officers can earn them after all. I guess they don't out of embarassment...It would look silly for an infantry officer to fail to qualify expert with an M16 or sidearm if he was leading troops. And the potential for it is certainly there.

Section IV
Marksmanship Badges and Tabs
8–47. U.S. Army Basic Marksmanship Qualification Badges
a. A basic marksmanship qualification badge is awarded to indicate the degree in which an individual, military or
civilian, has qualified in a prescribed record course and an appropriate bar is furnished to denote each weapon with
which he or she qualified. Each bar will be attached to the basic badge that indicates the qualification last attained with
the respective weapon. Basic qualification badges are of three classes. Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman. The only
weapons for which component bars are authorized are in table 8–2 at the end of this chapter. Basic marksmanship
qualification badges are awarded to U.S. military and civilian personnel, and to foreign military personnel who qualify
as prescribed.
b. See AR 670–1 for instructions concerning the wear of marksmanship badges and component bar tabs.
c. Approval authority is as follows:
(1) Any commander in the rank or position of lieutenant colonel or higher may make awards to members of the
Armed Forces of the United States; Camp/Post Commanders, Professors of Military Science, Directors of Army
Instruction/Senior Army Instructors (DAI/SAI) or ROTC/JROTC units may make awards to members of the ROTC/
JROTC.
(2) Except to uniformed civilian guards (AR 670–10), awards to civilians will be made by the Civilian Marksmanship Program. The CMP is administered by the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety,
Inc. The address for the headquarters is P.O. Box 576, Port Clinton, Ohio, 43452. The authorization for civilian guards
to wear marksmanship badges may be made by installation commanders. Civilian guards will procure badges at their
own expense.

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"I knew the jig was up when I saw the P-51D-20-NA Mustang blue-nosed bastards from Bodney, and by the way the blue was more of a royal blue than an indigo and the inner landing gear interiors were NOT green, over Berlin."

read my post in military matters re: this topic.

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Yeah, the regs currently say officers can wear them. But the only officer I ever saw wear one was a National Guard REMF-type Major...
It irritated me as I always shot expert with my M-16A2 (not all Army officers carried sidearms!) but I never got to wear my award for it. I bought a expert medal with the rifle tab anyway, and have kept it in a box with my awards and challenge coins.
Also, there was some kind of unwritten thing about never wearing foreign jumpwings you're been awarded when you never had the US jump wings. I never could find anyone who could prove it, though... It was also annoying to me as I had two foreign wings and was told emphatically that I was NOT to wear them as I didn't have the US wings as well.

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Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)