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The Parachutist Badge is a decoration of the United States military which is awarded to members of the United States Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. The U.S. Coast Guard is the only service which does not issue a Parachutist Badge, however Coast Guard members are entitled to recieve the Parachutist Badge of another service, if the proper training was recieved.
The Army Parachutist Badge is awarded to all soldiers in any service who complete US Army Airborne School, 3 weeks of training at Fort Benning, Georgia. It signifies that the soldier is a trained Army Parachutist, and is qualified to conduct airborne operations.
The original Army Parachutist Badge was designed in 1941 by Lieutenant General (then Major) William P. Yarborough and approved by the Department of the Army in March of that year. The Parachustist Badge replaced the Parachutist Patch which had previously worn as a large patch on the right side of a Paratrooper's garrison cap.
The Army Parachutist Badge is issued in three degrees, being that of Basic, Senior, and Master. The various degrees are signified by a star and wreath above the decoration.
The Basic Parachutist Badge is awarded to any individual who has satisfactorily completed the prescribed proficiency tests to obtain the decoration or has participated in at least one combat parachute jump. The Senior Badge is issued for those who have participated in 30 jumps and the Master Badge is issued for 65 jumps.
Any soldier who completes an airborne jump into a combat zone can wear the Combat Parachutist Badge which is the standard Parachustist Badge upgraded to include service stars pinned on the decoration.
The maximum combat awards that may be shown on the Army Parachutist Badge is five.
The Naval Parachutist Badge is issued in two degrees to members of both the United States Navy and Marine Corps who complete the standard Naval Parachutist training course. The Basic Parachutist Badge is similar in design to the Army Parachutsit Badge and is issued for completion of basic parachutist training.
The Naval Parachutist Badge is equivalent to the Army's Senior and Master Parachutist Badges.
The Naval Parachutist Badge is a prerequisite for the Special Warfare Badge since parachutist training is an integral part of the Navy?s BUDs program.
The Air Force Parachutist Pin is similar in design to the Army Parachutist Badge. Air Force personnel may be awarded the decoration following completion of basic parachute training through a designated Air Force Air-Ground Training Program.
Like the Army Parachutist Badge, the Air Force Parachutist Pin is issued in three degrees being that of Basic, Senior and Master. The level of degree is determined by the number of jumps the wearer has successfully completed as well as total years in service to the Air Force.
The degrees of the Air Force Parachutist Pin are denoted by a wreath and star centered above the decoration.
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