usn – Ian Watts

December 6, 2009December 14, 2022

U.S. Navy Technician

USN Technician hat badge & miniature device.
Cast brass; motto: U.S. TECHNICIAN.
1 screw, 1 non-rotating point.
37mm x 48mm (LxH).
manu: Officer’s Equipment Co. Madison, NJ.
mini device: 15mm x 19mm.
Circa 1950.

Joseph Tonelli’s book, Visor hats of the United States Armed Forces: 1930-1950 illustrates one of the most exquisite pieces of headgear worn by U.S. forces in the Second World War – that of the U.S. Technician attached to the U.S. Navy. A passing glance could mistake it for something out of Fascist Italy: these hats have elaborate devices composed of a silver embroidered spread eagle. It faces dexter with a stylized wrench clutched in the left claw and an olive branch in the right. The lettering “U.S. TECHNICIAN” is centered on a brass or gold-plate device on the eagle’s chest. The hat’s chin-strap changed from gilt to black-braid by end of the war, and finally black leather. The last U.S. Technician hat Tonelli details on page 198 is from 1950 and presumably one in contemporary use.

With the onset of the Second World War, the technologies involved in weapon creation oftentimes surpassed the basic training of sailors, soldiers and their commanding officers. The technical advancements in aviation, computers, and RADAR required technical personnel of defense industry companies that created these new weapons of war to advise and train their military customers. The Navy, keen on maintaining hierarchical relationships and following Geneva Convention rules, and to insure the clear identification of non-combatants in its midst, drew up regulations for U.S. Navy Technician uniforms and devices. These regulations, for the most part, remain on the books and can be found buried in U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines uniform regulations. A survery of these regulations are as follows:

First public mention of the uniform was published by All Hands in October 1943:

New Insignia For Civilian Technicians

Civilian technicians, who may serve with the Navy, were authorized last month to wear a uniform similar to that worn by Naval officers, minus any insignia of rank or corps, or shoulder or sleeve marks. Caps with black chin strap and without cap device will be worn. Instead of Naval insignia, technicians will wear the insignia pictured herewith, on the left breast pocket of coat and shirt. (Details in N. D. Bul. [semimonthly], of 1 September 1943, R-1368.)

The insignia above was reproduced on uniform visor cap with a small gilt placard bearing the words “U.S. Technician” on the eagle’s chest (detail toward the end of the post). By 1950, the elaborate device was no longer and was replaced with a gilt placard. All Hands also relates the same:

Navy Civilian Technicians Will Wear Uniforms With Emblem on Left Breast

A new directive authorizes civilian technicians serving with the Navy to wear uniforms that, except for insignia, are the same as an officer’s outfit.

For the most part, the uniforms will be worn by expert field engineers and scientists sent to Navy ships and shore bases by commercial companies to iron out difficulties the Navy is having with their equipment, Their most noticeable insignia, an embroidered badge about three inches square which shows an eagle and the words “U. S. Technician,” will be worn on the left breast pocket of coats and khaki shirts. The uniform will be the same as a commissioned naval officer’s with the exception that no distinctive rank, corps device or other naval insignia will be worn. Plain buttons of the same size and color of naval officers’ uniforms will be worn on the coats. Here are the various insignia to watch for:

Cap insignia – Gilt badge one-and-a-half inches wide and one-and-seven-eighths inches high bearing the words “U.S. Technician,” worn on the band of the combination cap with a plain black strap and plain gilt buttons.

Breast insignia – An embroidered badge three-and-a-quarter inches square. An eagle is shown clutching a group of tools in one claw and an olive branch in the other. The design and the words “U.S. Technician” are white on blue coats and blue on other coats and khaki shirts, on a background the same color as the coat or shirt.

Collar insignia – Gilt pin five-eighths of an inch wide and threequarters of an inch high bearing the inscription “U.S. Technician,” for wear on both sides of the khaki shirt collar.

Garrison cap insignia – Same gilt pin as that worn on the collar. On the garrison cap it is worn on the left side only.

As announced in BuPers Circ. Ltr. 142-50 (NDR, 31 Aug 1950), the uniform will be of benefit in establishing the technician’s status in event of capture by an enemy, will provide ready identification as contractors’ representative at naval activities, and will assist area commanders and commanding officers in their control over them.

The wearing of this uniform is limited to individuals authorized and designated by the Chief of Naval Operations.

By the 1990s, the uniform regulation for U.S. Navy Technicians became quite specific, and they were mandated to only wear uniforms in forward combat areas and during travel to and from such areas outside of the continental United States (or, on any other occasion as deemed fit by the Chief of Naval Operations). This is to establish their official status as a non-combatant.

U.S. Navy OPNAV INSTRUCTION 5720.3D § 9 states thus:

Articles of Uniform. The articles of uniform shall be the same as those prescribed for a commissioned naval officer except that no distinctive rank, corps device, or other naval insignia shall be worn. Plain buttons of the same size and color prescribed for naval officer’s uniforms shall be worn on coats. Female technicians shall wear either the garrison cap or beret; combination hat is not authorized.

Breast Insignia. An embroidered badge 3¼ inches square, consisting of a spread eagle, facing dexter; the left claw of the eagle shall be shown clutching a group of tools and the right claw an olive branch; immediately underneath the eagle shall be the letters: U.S. TECHNICIAN. The background of the badge shall be the same color as the coat/jacket or shirt, with the design and lettering white on blue coats and blue on other coats/jackets and khaki shirts. The breast insignia shall be worn on the left breast pocket of coats and khaki shirts for male technicians. The breast insignia shall be worn above the left breast pocket flap of the jacket (Service Dress Blue), for female technicians.

Cap insignia for male technicians. A gilt badge 1¼ inches wide by 1-7/8 inches high bearing the inscription U.S. TECHNICIAN. Worn on the band of the combination cap with plain black chin strap and plain gilt buttons. Cap insignia for garrison cap (male and female technicians) and beret (female technicians). A gilt pin 5/8-inch wide by ¾-inch high bearing the inscription U.S. TECHNICIAN. Worn on the left side of the garrison cap 2 inches from the front edge and 1½ inches from the bottom edge of the cap when the garrison cap is prescribed for wear by naval officers. For female technicians, worn on the beret, aligned approximately above the left eye.

Collar insignia. A gilt pin 5/8-inch wide by ¾-inch high bearing the inscription U.S. TECHNICIAN. Worn on both sides of the collar of the khaki shirt with the center of the insignia 1 inch from the front edge and 1 inch below the upper edge of the collar for male technicians. Worn on the white shirt collar with the center of the insignia 2 inches from the fold line at top of collar and ¾-inch from the forward edge of collar, for female technicians.

The U.S. Marine Corps has similar directives, however without the “combination hat” and the stipulation that anyone wearing a Marine Corps uniform must abide by USMC grooming standards.

These directives are still in effect. In terms of the insignia that accompany this entry, they were manufactured prior to the Korean War – as evident by the lack of Institute of Heraldry (IOH) numbers and the wartime keeper screw bolt. In the past, GEMSCO and Officer’s Equipment Co. manufactured U.S. Technician insignia; Dondero is presently the only supplier of the collar insignia to the USMC – I am unsure about the hat badge and if it is even produced. I have yet to see these plain buttons.

References:
Marine Corps Order P12304.1, 25 October, 1993
Contractor Engineering and Technical Services Personnel Manual.

Marine Corps Order P1020.34G MCUB, 31 March 2003.
Paragraph 8005, Civilians Serving With Marine Corps Units.

Office of The Chief of Naval Operations OP-09B23T, 1 June, 1994
U.S. Department of Defense Form DOD-OPNAVINST-5720-3D, § 9.

Nicole A. Lavine. “Tactical Safety Specialist diffuse potential hazards” in Observation Post. Twentynine Palms, California: 26 January 2007, p. A5.

Joseph J. Tonelli. Visor hats of the United States Armed Forces: 1930-1950. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publicartions, 2003.

U.S. Navy. All Hands October 1943, p. 69.

U.S. Navy. All Hands November 1950, p. 51.

USN Technician
Hat badge & miniature device; reverse, hallmark and screw post detail. 1950s.

USN Technician.
U.S. Navy officers’ hat with U.S. Technician insignia
manu: Berkshire, New York, NY.
Circa Early Second World War

This khaki covered hat would have been worn with the jacket as detailed below. The hat itself has an early wartime Berkshire logo, and is the standard U.S. Navy officer model; the owner would have had to privately purchase the embroidered insignia. The rich embroidery is worth mentioning; it is speculated that the work was done in Great Britain – however, these findings are inconclusive.

Do note the U.S. Navy side buttons holding the chin strap – which is of the same width as those found on standard U.S. Navy officer hat.

USN Technician.
Breast cloth badge; obverse & reverse.
Circa 1950.

As previously mentioned, a great majority of U.S. Navy Technicians worked in the field of RADAR & ASDIC (SONAR), computational devices and propulsion systems newly adopted by the U.S. Navy over the course of the Second World War and continued to do so after the close of hostilities.

However, researchers and collectors oftentimes come across “emergency rates” or other insignia worn by sailors during this period who worked with the same technologies. The lower rates were hand-picked as evidenced by special aptitude during seamen training. The others were directly recruited by the U.S. Navy based upon prior civilian experience or training – they often became Petty Officer First Class or Chief Petty Officer after having completed boot camp; at the time, these CPOs were derisively called “Slick Sleeve Chiefs” due to the lack of service hash-marks. Directly-inducted Warrant Officers and newly-minted junior officers out of V-7 training with specialized knowledge were placed into special trade and officer corps groups (former and later). However, U.S. Technicians were another class entirely, they “belonged” to their corporations, had no military training and were “lent” for the duration to train or advise the later, repair or install their equipment or simply to operate it.

A means to determine a wartime and post-war U.S. Technician patch is the lack of a border on the former.

USN Technician.
Breast cloth badge; obverse.
From the collection of David Collar.

Note: The eagle is clutching arrows as opposed to a wrench.

USN Technician.
Khaki Coat
circa Second World War

Despite regulations stating otherwise, this belted khaki coat has U.S. Navy officer gold buttons. The main difference between this jacket and its naval and maritime counterparts is the fact that it lacks loops for shoulder boards. It was also an expediently tailored piece as it not only lacks an interior liner, but also interior pockets – this common to other period pieces. The buttons are removable for coat cleaning in ship’s laundry.

Note: The eagle is clutching a wrench (of sorts) and a hammer.

USAAF Technician.
Silver plate; motto: U.S. TECHNICIAN.
Silver plate; lettering: A.S.C..
device: 15mm x 19mm.
Reverse: non-rotating points.
manu: no hallmarks or silver content noted.
Circa Second World War through 1947 (n.b. ASC became AMC in Dec. 1947).
from the collection of Joe Weingarten.

Rarely seen, these silver collar devices were worn by civilian technicians attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces Air Service Command at installations such as Wright Field – from 1948, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. These technicians began working at Wright-Patterson from the Second World War through the Vietnam war when they were replaced by civilian civil service employees of the U.S. Air Force Material Command. They performed tasks much like their U.S. Navy counterparts; if such insignia is still worn or used, I am unaware.

Korean War Period, U.S.A.F. Technician shirt patch.

More on the USAAFASC activities at Wright-Patterson, may be found here.

January 17, 2018October 6, 2019

U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia reprise

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Midshipman Identification badge.

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY.
Circa 2017.
The Eagle Pin.

Midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point met the proscription of the U.S. Naval Reserve badge from their uniforms of by the Chief of Naval Operations in June 2011 with mild derision. The Academy administration did not, and quietly resurrected the pin for local use in 2013. For the almost seventy-five year existence of the Regiment of Midshipmen, Kings Pointers pinned the insignia on their uniforms with pride. If no other piece of insignia or decoration adorned midshipmen coats or shirts, the Sea Chicken was present. Its removal echoed a larger narrative of the changing rôle of merchant seamen within the U.S. military establishment and the struggle of the Merchant Marine to remain relevant in an age where Federal maritime policy has been one of neglect. Its reappearance emphasizes its symbolic status and importance within the midshipmen community.

Often a means for military and paramilitary organizations to cultivate group cohesion is through the selective disbursement of insignia among its members. Insignia falls into three broad classes: rank designator, personal award, and unit identifier. Rank insignia indicates seniority and managerial responsibility within an organization. As one achieves seniority, the uniform is updated with a progression of rank pins; with another stripe or another star comes additional opportunities for command. Badges are awarded for knowledge area expertise; this recognition enables the wearer to feel invested in their rôle. By comparison, unit identifiers embody continuity with the past and promote a mythos of belonging. Thus, a uniform’s accouterments operate as potent coded visual markers and their configuration signal mimetically shared traditions. Through deciphering insignia at salute distance, by those within or trained in the organization’s symbolic language, can one divine a member’s seniority, skill area, and place in the organization’s hierarchy. Among insignia, badges are often more coveted than rank insignia. Badges are objects of prestige for what they represent: a skill, a position of trust, or an achievement. In this light, wearers meet the removal of a badge with some degree of resistance and critique unless done to signify a merit-based change of status. Without group consultation, the act of removal may cultivate ill will.

No discussion of the U.S. Naval Reserve (USNR) badge’s deletion is complete without a sketch of contemporary U.S. Naval culture. The U.S. Navy is compartmentalized and hierarchical in structure. It has aligned its officers into communities. The prestige of attaining rank and qualifications governs these communities. The culture is such that badges represent a passage through a figurative ritual process denoting one’s advancement as a militarized officer. In the specific case of the Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) badge, these rituals include watch standing and mastering damage control. In fact, among the surface officer communities, the award of the badge separates those junior in subject mastery from those who hold advanced, compartmentalized knowledge. In the Surface Supply Corps, if a junior officer does not earn that community’s badge while afloat, they rotate back to shore; this acts as an impetus for the officer to return to the prestige of a ship billet. Moreover, if a junior officer does not earn the SWO badge, they, in turn, do not advance in rank. Since the U.S. Navy has a limited number of billets, failure to advance results in eventual discharge from the service.

The SWO badge has an analog in the enlisted community; it is the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS) badge. The design is similar to the officer’s except it has enlisted cutlasses as opposed to an officer’s swords, and is brushed silver in finish. The prerequisites for earning the enlisted badge are similar to the officer’s badge but dissimilar enough to warrant a separate award. This badge, though, is not the determiner of a sailor’s “fitness”; however, earning it enables an enlisted sailor to advance in rank and opens a hatch for entry into the surface officer community. Junior commissioned officers seen wearing the silver ESWS badge are members of a small community of “Limited Duty Officers” or ex-enlisted sailors who by virtue of specialized knowledge and ambition are granted entry into the officer corps. These individuals call themselves “Mustangs.” After completing the requisite – or what they call “Mickey Mouse” – qualifications, they replace the ESWS for the SWO badge. The replacement of the badge is not done grudgingly; Mustangs are keen to take on the mantle of regular officers and undergo the breadth of rituals associated with the prestige of rank. The only obvious markers of their previous status as an enlisted sailor after attaining the SWO badge would be the deep crimson ribbon for “Good Conduct” in their ribbon rack.

Through a confluence of events and tradition of use, the USNR badge mediates a position of both a skill badge and a unit identifier for the Kings Pointer. As I have discussed before, the badge was created expressly to identify members of the newly formulated U.S. Naval Reserve Merchant Marine Reserve. In time, it was adopted by cadets of the U.S. Maritime Commission and awarded to cadet-midshipmen at state maritime academies (CFR 1941 Title 46 §293.16 “they shall wear such Naval Reserve insignia”). Despite Kings Pointers sharing a similar uniform and speaking the same military vocabulary as their colleagues at the U.S. Naval Academy, the badge became an integral identifier of Kings Pointers and marked them apart. Since the badge was an official U.S. Navy decoration, and since Kings Pointers wore the badge past graduation aboard U.S. Navy ships and auxiliary vessels, it identified them as maritime professionals serving with the U.S. Navy. In this discrete definition, the badge spoke to their community and unique skill-set from the moment they entered the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. Thus, like Mustangs and their silver ESWS badge, the USNR badge denotes membership in a small group of mariners within the ranks of the U.S. Navy officer community. It specifies Naval Officers who completed various prerequisites and swore an oath, at one time or another, as members of the Merchant Marine Reserve (USNR/MMR).

It is worth mentioning that the USNR badge was deleted from the Kings Point midshipman uniform once before during a stretch from 1956 to 1964. Congressional and U.S. Navy oversight legislated away the status of U.S. Navy Midshipman Reserve for the Kings Pointer; this was due to ending the Merchant Marine Reserve Program. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and its allies argument for the reinstatement of the program was that many students enrolled at the Academy for the opportunity to become licensed officers of the U.S. Merchant Marine and for the prestige of joining the U.S. Armed Services as a commissioned officer. Conventional wisdom at the time held, if they wished to simply sail, they could go to a state maritime school. After Congress addressed the oversight and reestablished the program, Kings Pointers reclaimed the title of midshipmen and donned the pin once again.

Popular backlash from the Vietnam War resulted in problems for the U.S. Armed Services to attract recruits after the cessation of hostilities. This, coupled with former volunteers leaving the military in droves, resulted in too many vacancies and a weakened threat response by the military. The U.S. Navy, long a proponent of bifurcation of Active duty and Reserve personnel, found this segregation counter-intuitive for maintaining a ready force and wasteful of resources. Thus, under Admiral Zumwalt, it re-organized its personnel system and abolished both the formal and informal barriers between “regular” and “reserve” officers. Among those in the latter class were U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduates. As a means of identifying Merchant Marine Reserve Officers who took active commissions, and indicating their important contribution to the mission of U.S. Navy, in 1978 the Bureau of Personnel wrote into regulation the ability to wear the USNR badge on the uniforms of active duty officers. This reversed an explicit 45-year prohibition of its wear and gave a long overdue nod to maritime professionals who chose to “Go Navy.” This symbol of status and prestige remained unchanged until 2011.

During early 2011, the U.S. Navy underwent another personnel realignment and rewrote the specifications for its various officer communities. Among those programs written out of existence was the U.S. Naval Reserve/Merchant Marine Reserve (USNR/MMR). Despite their military education component falling under the auspices of the U.S. Navy Education Command, Kings Pointers remained in the U.S. Naval Reserve, but MMR became a component of the Strategic Sealift Officer (SSO) community. Strictly speaking, the USNR badge represented the identification of a class of individuals who no longer existed within the U.S. Navy. A press release from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations states:

Extensive coordination with several Navy organizations and the U.S. Maritime Administration helped with the program change.

The SSOP [Strategic Sealift Officer Program] supports national defense sealift requirements and capabilities, which are executed by Military Sealift Command (MSC). The program provides the Navy with officers that possess sealift, maritime operations, and logistics subject matter expertise, and further hold U.S. Coast Guard credentials as Merchant Marine officers.

“These changes will help align and improve support to Military Sealift Command and numerous other Joint and Navy commands,” said Vice Adm. Bill Burke, Deputy CNO for Fleet Readiness and Logistics, who is the SSOP program sponsor. “This revision improves stewardship, integration, and opportunities for about 2,400 Navy Reserve officers.”

The SSOP, like the old MMR Program, will continue to provide the capability for emergency crewing of sealift ships and shoreside support to Navy commands that require unique maritime expertise. Further, this change provides opportunities for greater operational support to the Navy by expanding selected Reserve (SELRES) billets and active duty recalls to SSOP officers. (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. “Merchant Marine Reserve Program becomes Strategic Sealift Officer Program” NNS110616-16 Release Date: 6/16/2011.)

The new program brought with it a new badge and provisions to earn it. Unlike the USNR badge, a midshipman could not earn the SSWO badge by pledging an oath, as done when formally entering the USNR/MMR; in fact, the initial CNO communication explicitly mentioned midshipmen (at Kings Point and the State Maritime Academies) were not authorized to wear the new badge. This singled-out of Kings Pointers and rubbed a bit of salt in the wound since earning this new badge was unattainable for the duration of a midshipman’s tenure at the Academy. In an ironic twist, the new badge’s design gives a nod to its historical roots – it keeps the “eagle from the USS Constitution’s stern” and places over it crossed U.S Navy officer swords behind a Federal U.S. shield surcharged with “a fouled anchor from the U.S. Merchant Marine flag” (U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations NAVPERS 15665I, 5201.2.bbb). The last design note is deemed particularly insensitive by some Kings Point alumni since one of the few locations that fly U.S. Merchant Marine flags is Kings Point. As a matter of course, the Strategic Sealift Officer program only mans Military Sealift Command ships – thus only mariners attached to MSC will ever earn the badge; in essence, the SSWO badge very clearly pigeonholes maritime school graduates as being merchant mariners in the U.S. Navy. Whereas the USNR badge was more democratic in its wear; Kings Point midshipmen and graduates wore it while attached to any of the U.S. Navy’s activities and not just the MSC.

Nevertheless, with the change, the Kings Point class of 2013, became the last Kings Pointers to wear the USNR badge. Upon graduation, those who took oaths as commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy removed the USNR badge, and due to permutations of administrative procedures, could immediately wear the new SSWO badge. The class of 2014 and all those that followed did not have this opportunity. Unless the Academy took action, incoming U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Plebe candidates would find themselves without the once proud symbol of their Federal service status and obligation on Acceptance Day; as mentioned before, the badge awarding ceremony is the first ritual Kings Point midshipmen participate in at the Academy.

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Commandant, under the provisions of U.S. Code (CFR 2006 Title 46 §51308.1), could prescribe the wear and standards of uniforms at the Academy. Under this umbrella, he granted the Regiment of Midshipmen their distinctive uniforms and ability to wear pieces of insignia and awards specific to the Academy. With word of the deletion of the old badge, the Academy administration was quick to act, and after consultation with the insignia manufacturer, Vanguard Industries, they came up with a redesign of the traditional badge and new name. Vanguard first manufactured the badge on July 11, 2013; afterward, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Ship’s Store stocked the item as “MM BDG MIDSHIP ID GLD” – U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Midshipman Identification Badge in Gold.

The Ship’s Store initially ordered 900 units of the new badge. On the same Purchase Order was a $500 tooling fee for the new die. Kings Point, in effect, now owns a key component of their identity. The badge is a Kings Point-only uniform item. It is similar to the old USNR badge with the exception that four stars replaced the letters U S N R on the scroll beneath the eagle. When in uniform, Kings Pointers at the Academy will continue to look as they have for decades, thus keeping visual continuity and cultivating an esprit de corps. They call it simply: “The Eagle Pin.”

On graduation day, when Kings Pointers become active-duty commissioned officers or join the ranks of those in reserve, they will continue to remove the re-designed USNR badge. Within the U.S. Navy, their unique identity is no longer as markedly visible as before. Since a Kings Pointer is thrifty to a fault, they will reuse their old uniforms, and they will be distinctive by the shadow of two pinholes on their khaki shirts and Service Dress blues. Time will tell whether or not the U.S. Navy will re-establish the oldest of its badges. Until then, Kings Pointers will work for their sanctioned pins and place them over the outline of their first.

Special thanks are owed to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Association and Foundation in granting me access to their trove of old yearbooks and for publishing my previous article on the subject; the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Ship’s Store for answering my queries about the badge; Vanguard Industries for furnishing me with production dates of “The Eagle Pin”; and many others who endured my inane questions about what the old badge meant to them. Thank you all.

Note

The naming convention for the USNR badge has changed over time. In the 1930s documentation refers to it as a USNR insigne and during the Cold War, it became a USNR badge. In colloquial speech, it is today called a USNR pin. I use badge as this is the term commonly used by archivists and collectors in both the United States and British Commonwealth. Insigne (an outmoded term for a single piece of insignia), insignia, badge, and pin nomenclature holds in any discussion of U.S. Naval uniform insignia.

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Midshipman Identification Badge in Gold.
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY.
Single piece, solid construction.
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)
Circa 2017.

Despite some talk that the badge has a variant with no stars, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Ship’s Store staff (the sole distributor of the badge) and Vanguard Industries (the sole manufacturer of the badge) have communicated to me that there is no such variant.

Strategic Sealift Officer Warfare badge.
U.S. Navy.
Two piece construction; punched anchor device.
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)
Circa 2017.

U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve insignia (miniature).
U.S. Navy.
Single piece, solid construction.
Eagle stamped sterling silver with gold-plate.
Hallmark, Vanguard N.Y.
Circa 1943.

Surface Warfare Office badge.
U.S. Navy.
Single piece, solid construction.
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)
Circa 2017.

Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist badge.
U.S. Navy
Single piece, hollow construction.
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)
Circa 1979. The badge is pinned above the ribbon rack on a Zummy uniform reefer.

The U.S. Navy sometimes errs in re-writing uniform regulations. Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., the Chief of Naval Operations, wished to “humanize a service soured by the war in Vietnam” and ordered a drastic change in the uniform for enlisted sailors in 1971. Out were the bell-bottom trousers, buttonless jumpers, black silk four-in-hands tie, and white Bob Evans sailor’s caps. They were replaced with military shirts, straight-legged trousers, pewter-buttoned reefers, neckties, and combination hats. The enlisted sailor became almost indistinguishable in appearance from officers and chief petty officers. This order became mandatory in 1973 when morale in the U.S. Navy was at a low. The thought was if enlisted sailors felt they looked professional, they would take more pride in the service.

However, the changes Admiral Zumwalt initiated resulted in the opposite. Reportedly, the change in uniform caused a problem in morale among career petty officers; they complained loudly that discipline suffered and sailors wanted their crackerjacks back. On August 1, 1977, the Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, supported CNO Admiral James L. Holloway III’s order to return to the old uniform. In classic U.S. Navy style there was a year-long evaluation period before the release of “BuPers Notice 1020 of 22 March 1978” allowing for jumper-style uniform purchase by those testing the new uniform. In July of the same year, U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations, 1978 came out permitting the rest of the fleet Seamen to Petty Officers Second Class the same. By 1984, The service collectively breathed a sigh of relief when the “Zummy uniform” finally was out for all.

But, the uniforms were not retired soon enough for the ESWS badge to be pinned on the above reefer.

Surface Warfare Officer (top) & Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist badge (bottom) (subdued).
U.S. Navy
Single piece, solid construction.
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)
Circa 2017.

Both the officer and enlisted badges have subdued versions for wear in joint combat operations or attached to Fleet Marine Forces, in brown and black metal, respectively. In the U.S. Navy, rank insignia and the SWO/ESWS badge, gold becomes brown and silver black when subdued.

Surface Warfare Officer (top) & Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist badge (bottom) (subdued) – reverse.

References

“Coming Soon… The New Uniforms.” All Hands. 675 (April 1973), p 3-7.

“Jumper Style Uniform Guidance Provided.” All Hands. 736 (May 1978), p 3.

“Traditional Uniform Returns to Navy.” All Hands. 737 (June 1978), p 4.

James C. Bradford. America, Sea Power, and the World. John Wiley & Sons, 2015. see “Z-grams: Zumwalt’s Reforms” p 308

The New York Times & Clyde Haberman. “August 2, 1977: Navy Reviving Bell-Bottoms” in New York Times The Times of the Seventies: The Culture, Politics, and Personalities that Shaped the Decade. Running Press, Nov 12, 2013.

Rogers Worthington “Saluting A Return To Navy Tradition: To Rebellion And Back In A Decade.” Chicago Tribune, July 05, 1986.

Thomas H. Lee, Jr. “Blue Navy.” The Harvard Crimson, December 7, 1972.

United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel. U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations, 1978. Department of Defense, Navy Department, Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1979.

United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel. United States Navy Uniform Regulations, 1985. Department of Defense, Navy Department, Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1985.

United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel. U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations NAVPERS 15665I. Department of Defense, Navy Department, Bureau of Naval Personnel, 2013.

United States. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. “Merchant Marine Reserve Program becomes Strategic Sealift Officer Program” NNS110616-16 Release Date: 6/16/2011.

United States. Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America 1941 Supplement Titles 46-50. National Archives, Washington D.C., 1943.