The United States Air Force’s Fire Emergency Services (FES) requires personnel to wear insignia on all uniform shirts. Insignia may be worn on the collar in the form of cloth patches (metal pin-on insignia is prohibited) or displayed on slide-on shoulder marks. Rank and duty position are indicated by the combination of the number and color of trumpets displayed on the insignia, with gold-colored insignia authorized only for Chief Officers.
Two parallel silver trumpets are often worn by FES personnel serving as Lead Firefighters or Fire Inspectors, duty positions that are not dependent upon the military member’s grade. The Lead Firefighgter position requires completion of specific Fire and Emergency Services Certification Programs (FESCPs), including Fire Officer I, Fire Instructor I, Fire Inspector I, Hazardous Materials Technician, and Incident Safety Officer; Fire Inspectors must have completed Fire Instructor I, Fire Inspector II, and Hazardous Materials Technician.
Please note that Installation Fire Chiefs have the final say on what insignias will be worn for each duty position, and that two parallel silver trumpets might be worn by personnel serving in a different position.