What are some "unauthorized" badges that you have earned or heard of?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 21:32:31 -0400

So I was talking with a few associates the other day and we were talking about the diffrent unauthorized badges,tabs ect that we've seen or heard of.

Myself personally I have earned one that is authorized, but not authorized by active duty Army. When I graduated Mountain Warfare School I earned the "Rams Head" badge. Mostly New England Army National Guard approves of the badge currently.

If possible add a picture of what you've got personally.

Response by SFC Scott O. made Jun 10 at 2014 9:37 PM

SFC Scott O. — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 21:37:06 -0400

What in the world is up with the Ram Heads

Response by SSG Chris Cherry made Jun 11 at 2014 7:54 AM

SSG Chris Cherry — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 07:54:22 -0400

My team was awarded the Philippine Civic Action Medal a few years ago for assisting with a CMO in the Southern Philippines. Goes on the ERB but apparently I can't wear it.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 11 at 2014 8:30 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 08:30:12 -0400

I will have to find it and photograph it, but I have the Danish Combat Swimmers Badge. Was a good course. It was more like a drownproofing on steroids but still was a good course.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2014 11:01 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 23:01:31 -0400

I am also proud owner of the goat's head. It is a National Guard award and as such it is not worn while on active duty. That said, it is a great course and I can't say enough about the instructors. I typically wear other badges as 5 is the max, but I was honored to have been in the 86th Brigade and to earn the Princess Leah.

Response by SSG(P) Auston Terry made Sep 2 at 2014 12:38 PM

SSG(P) Auston Terry — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 12:38:11 -0400

Jungle Expert is back at 25th,
I had a brief excusion there this spring and already saw someone wearing it.

Response by SP5 Joel O'Brien made Nov 1 at 2014 9:52 AM

SP5 Joel O'Brien — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 09:52:57 -0400

Not sure if this is what the poster was asking about. We who were assigned to AFN Europe wore these badges over the right pocket of the class A uniforms suspended from a short leather strap or by pinbacks.

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Nov 3 at 2014 3:30 PM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 15:30:17 -0500

When I was a 2LT/1LT assigned to C Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry in Germany, we were assigned to provide security for Pershing sites and field locations of the 56th Field Artillery Brigade (Pershing).

Members of that unit (including the Infantrymen) could be awarded "Pershing Professional Badges", which could be worn only while actually assigned to the unit. They came in different levels, Copper, Silver, Bronze and Gold, and they also had a cloth subdued version for combat uniforms. I was awarded the Bronze, Copper and Silver awards. As I recall, to get the Gold, you had to be a member of a firing crews that actually launched a missile during testing/qualification tests.

We called them the "Pocket Rocket", as they were worn on the pocket of the uniform blouse/jacket.

Response by SSG(P) Matthew Bisbee made Nov 23 at 2014 2:11 AM

SSG(P) Matthew Bisbee — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 02:11:12 -0500

I was given an Australian Combat Badge, but no orders. It's not an authorized badge for wear on the ASUs. I keep it as a memento of my brotherhood with the diggers at Tarin Kowt.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 15 at 2015 8:07 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 08:07:56 -0400

I have been through both phases of this school. It was a blast both times. I would recommend going if you get the chance.
In 2009 ATRRS took over the school. At that time the badge should have been authorized army wide, not sure why it wasn't. The school has been around since 1983 owned by the VTARNG. It turned into the "Armys Mountain Warfare School" in 2003 I believe.
Here is a link to there new (since 2009) Fort Benning page. http://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/amws/

Response by John H Green Jr made Feb 6 at 2020 7:23 PM

John H Green Jr — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 19:23:43 -0500

My Military Emergency Management Specialist Badge. Awarded by the State Guard Association of the US.

Response by John H Green Jr made Feb 6 at 2020 7:27 PM

John H Green Jr — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 19:27:52 -0500

Newly approved by SGAUS is the "Medical badge".

Response by John H Green Jr made Feb 6 at 2020 7:29 PM

John H Green Jr — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 19:29:08 -0500

State Defense Force Training Institute Airborne wings.

Response by John H Green Jr made Feb 7 at 2020 2:47 PM

John H Green Jr — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 14:47:10 -0500

Engineer Specialty Qualification Badge - ESQiD of the State Guard Association of the United States. Worn by state defense forces ( state sponsored organized militias).

Response by CPT John Green made Aug 25 at 2023 7:06 PM

CPT John Green — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 19:06:36 -0400

I have recently seen two guys in MDNG with it.

Response by MSG Thomas Currie made Aug 26 at 2023 10:25 AM

MSG Thomas Currie — Sat, 26 Aug 2023 10:25:35 -0400

Years ago it was common for units to have cloth badges for various crew or squad level proficiency qualifications, such as Tank Crew Qualification Course or Mechanized Infantry Squad Proficiency Qualification Test.

With each Bde or Div level change of command these patches would suddenly become either banned or encouraged depending on the new boss. Many units and individuals attempted to get the Army to authorize some sort of badge for excellence in small unit training but none of those efforts were ever successful.

Of course, Armor invented the Master Gunner program which gradually spread to other branches. The original Tank Master Gunner program had its own badge that was officially unauthorized but generally accepted across nearly all armor units. Once Infantry had their own "Master Gunners" suddenly there was support to authorize a generic Master Gunner Badge (a really ugly design to try to be generic enough). Although the entire Master Gunner program had been invented by Armor, the regulation for the new generic Master Gunner Badge was written by Infantry Branch so that it allowed retroactive award of the badge but specifically excluded the early Tank Master Gunners.