Note: Customers searching for the sew-on chevron for the Airman Battle Uniform please click here.From 1 October 1918 until 1 April 2021, the Air Force will have two distinct types of utility uniforms: the Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) and the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP). In addition to the obvious difference in camouflage pattern and insignia coloration, arguably the biggest change from the ABU uniform to the OCP is the placement of rank insignia.
With the ABU, Enlisted Airmen and Officers wore their rank insignia on the shoulders and collars, respectively, while all personnel wear rank insignia on the chest of OCP. Both hook-and-loop (Velcro) and sew-on versions of rank insignia are permitted on the OCP, but the wearer is required to use the same type of attachment method for rank insignia, nametapes, and USAF tape.
Additionally, both ABU and OCP embroidered insignia are worn on other garments, often in the form of a slip-on insignia that slide over rank tabs on specialized garments such as the All-Purpose Environmental Clothing System or the Woodland Gore-Tex Jacket. Officers also wear sew-on rank insignia on the ABU and OCP Patrol Caps.
Use the selection boxes to the right to choose the uniform style and attachment method appropriate for the uniform on which it will be worn.
More E-2 Airman Insignia and Devices