Embroidered Rank Patches on Military Uniforms

Veteran’s Day is coming up (this Monday, the 11th), so to honor all of our military veterans, we thought we’d share with you what the rank embroidered patches mean on military uniforms.

Army

army privatePrivate

 

 

 

army private first classPrivate First Class

 

 

 

army specialistSpecialist

 

 

 

army corporalCorporal

 

 

 

army sergeantSergeant

 

 

 

army staff sergeantStaff Sergeant

 

 

 

army sergeant first classSergeant First Class

 

 

 

army master sergeant

Master Sergeant

 

 

 

 

The rank patches after Master Sergeant use the same patch, but with different symbols in the middle to distinguish rank. A First Sergeant has a diamond, a Sergeant Major has a star, a Command Sergeant Major has a wreath and a star, and a Sergeant Major of the Army has the Army seal.

Army uniforms also include service ribbons or badges that denote which missions the person has been a part of. These are colorful and worn on the chest.

Navy

navy seaman apprenticeSeaman Apprentice

 

 

 

navy seamanSeaman

 

 

 

navy petty officer third classPetty Officer Third Class

 

 

 

navy petty officer second classPetty Officer Second Class

 

 

 

navy petty officer first classPetty Officer First Class

 

 

 

navy chief petty officerChief Petty Officer

 

 

 

The rank patches after Chief Petty Officer use the same patch, but with different symbols to distinguish rank. A Senior Chief Petty Officer has a star above the eagle, a Master Chief Petty Officer has two stars above the eagle, a Command Master Chief Petty Officer has a star in the middle and two stars above the eagle, and a Master Chief Petty Office of the Navy has a star in the middle and three stars above the eagle.

Navy uniforms also include service ribbons or badges that denote which missions the person has been a part of. These are colorful and worn on the chest.

Marine Corps

marine private first classPrivate First Class

 

 

 

marine lance corporalLance Corporal

 

 

 

marine corporalCorporal

 

 

 

marine sergeantSergeant

 

 

 

marine staff sergeantStaff Sergeant

 

 

 

marine gunnery sergeantGunnery Sergeant

 

 

 

marine master sergeantMaster Sergeant

 

 

 

The rank patches after Master Sergeant use the same patch, but with different symbols in the middle to distinguish rank. A First Sergeant has a diamond in the middle, a Master Gunnery Sergeant has a bursting bomb (or a “pineapple”), a Sergeant Major has a star in the middle and two stars above the eagle, and a Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps has the Marine Corps “eagle, globe, and anchor” symbol.

Marine Corps uniforms also include service ribbons or badges that denote which missions the person has been a part of. These are colorful and worn on the chest.

Air Force

air force airmanAirman

 

 

air force airman first classAirman First Class

 

 

air force senior airmanSenior Airman

 

 

air force staff sergeantStaff Sergeant

 

 

air force technical sergeantTechnical Sergeant

 

 

air force master sergeantMaster Sergeant

 

 

 

air force senior master sergeant

Senior Master Sergeant

 

 

 

air force chief master sergeantChief Master Sergeant

 

 

 

The rank patches after Chief Master Sergeant use the same patch, but with different symbols in the middle to distinguish rank. A Command Chief Master Sergeant has a star in the middle, and a Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force has the Great Seal of the United States and a wreath around the bottom star.

Air Force uniforms also include service ribbons or badges that denote which missions the person has been a part of. These are colorful and worn on the chest.

In addition to the patches and ribbons or badges that are found on military uniforms, there can also be name tags and other pins or patches, depending on the uniform and military branch.