As a general rule, the Air Force Honor Guard ceremonial belt is worn by certain members of the service’s Honor Guard and Base Honor Guards when it is considered pertinent to the ceremony and is practical, i.e., when the ceremony does not require a great deal of movements. Examples of Honor Guard personnel who wear the ceremonial belt are bearers (flowers, awards, wreaths) at funerals, color teams, Officers in Charge (OIC) or Non-Commissioned Officers in Charge (NCOIC), and the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge of Firing Party. Pallbearers and members of Firing Parties do not wear the belt because the movement their requires would cause the blouse to rise above the belt. Similarly, team members conducting saber cordons or sword-arch ceremonies do not wear the belt (but the OIC or NCOIC does). Guidon bearers do not wear the belt.
Ceremonial belts are worn between the second and third buttons (counting down from the top) of the ceremonial blouse. If a raincoat is worn, the belt is also worn between the second and third buttons from the top, above the coat’s pockets. The black belt is worn underneath the ceremonial blouse (or overcoat or raincoat) in order to lessen the amount of clothing material directly underneath the ceremonial belt and reduce the chance of it bunching or bulging around it.
The buckle of the ceremonial belt worn by enlisted Air Force personnel features the “Wing and Star” insignia, commonly called the “Hap Arnold device” in honor of the famed Air Force General who was the only officer to hold a five-star rank in two branches of the United States Armed Forces.