Thank you for viewing my personal collection of US Army military insignia. Total page loads on this site since January 1st, 2009

Rank Insignia - Enlisted and Officers   www.usarmypatches.com

Enlisted Rank Insignia

Vietnam Era Gold on Green Enlisted 1955 through the end of the Vietnam War

Vietnam Era Subdued Enlisted Ranks 1966
In 1968 subdued collar insignia started to be used due to the soldiers rolling up their sleeves in the hot jungle climate.

The USArmyPatches.com original site first went online April 21st, 2004. This entire site and all related pages are Copyright 2004 - 2013. All Rights Reserved.
All Images are Copyrighted by USArmyPatches.com and permission is required to download any image for commercial purposes.
To satisfy non-commercial use copyright requirements, give credit and a link to "www.usarmypatches.com" below the image for any images downloaded for non-commercial use on the web.

 

1955. Army Regulation 615-15, dated 2 Jul 54, announced a new grade structure effective 1 March  1955. The new titles were: E-7 Master Sergeant (First sergeant was an occupational title) and Master Specialist E-6 Sergeant lst Class; Specialist lst Class E-5 Sergeant; Specialist 2d Class E-4 Corporal; Specialist 3d Class E-3 Private First Class E-2 Private E2 E-1 Private El War Department Circular 670-3, dated 12 October 1955, stated the effective date for the above change was 1 July 1955. New descriptions contained in AR 670-5, dated 20 September 1956, changed the color of the background to Army Green (the color of the new uniform) or Army Blue with the chevron, arc, lozenge and eagle to be gold. There were no changes in the design for NCO and privates; however, the design for specialists was an embroidered eagle device on a two inch wide background arched at the top and shaped like an inverted chevron on the bottom with embroidered arcs as follows: Master Specialist. Three arcs above the eagle device. Specialist First Class. Two arcs above the eagle device. Specialist Second Class. One arc above the eagle device. Specialist Third Class. Eagle device only. 1958. Grades E-8 and E9 were added and restructuring of titles changed and was announced in DA Message 344303, June 1958. The specialist insignia was also enlarged for male personnel. The insignia remained the same size for female personnel. The new regulation, AR 670-1, dated 28 September 1959, described the insignia as follows: Sergeant Major E9. Three chevrons above three arcs with a five pointed star between the chevrons and arcs. Specialist Nine E9. Three arcs above the eagle device and two chevrons below. First Sergeant E8. Three chevrons above three arcs with a lozenge between the chevrons and arcs. Master Sergeant E8. Three chevrons above three arcs. Specialist Eight E8. Three arcs above the eagle device and one chevron below. Platoon Sergeant or Sergeant first class E7. Three chevrons above two arcs. Specialist Seven E7. Three arcs above the eagle device. Staff Sergeant E6. Three chevrons above one arc. Specialist Six E6. Two arcs above the eagle device. Sergeant E5. Three chevrons. Specialist Five E5. One arc above the eagle device. Corporal E4. Two chevrons. Specialist Four E4. Eagle device only. Private First Class. One chevron. Specialists were authorized to continue to wear the smaller insignia. The chevrons formerly authorized for E5, E6 and E7 were authorized for continued wear until the individual was promoted or demoted. They also continued to use the previous title. 1965. The Specialist Eight and Specialist Nine grades were discontinued. 1967. Subdued black metal insignia was authorized for wear on the collar of the work uniforms by DA message 292128Z Dec 67. In Vietnam, uniform shirts were laundered so frequently the patches and chevrons quickly wore out. The need for a more reliable method of wearing enlisted rank created the need for subdued metal insignia. 1968. A new insignia was authorized by DA message 865848, dated 28 May 1968, for sergeants major assigned at the principal NCO of battalion and higher. This insignia was the same as the sergeant major insignia except the star was small and a wreath was placed around the star.

The USArmyPatches.com original site first went online April 21st, 2004. This entire site and all related pages are Copyright protected 2004 - 2013. All Rights Reserved.
All Images are Copyrighted by USArmyPatches.com and permission is required to download any image or text for commercial purposes.

To satisfy non-commercial use copyright requirements, give credit and a link to "www.usarmypatches.com" below the image for any images downloaded for non-commercial use on the web.

This Site last updated on: 12-04-2013

Click on the "What's New" link on the left side menu to see what has been changed or updated.