The Hacker Emblem was first proposed in October 2003 by Eric S. Raymond, claiming a need for a uniting and recognizable symbol for his perception of hacker culture. This does not refer to the hackers breaking into computers, but to the hacker culture around BSD, perl, GNU, Linux, etc; that is, the community around free software and open source.
Raymond has said that one does not claim to be a hacker by displaying this emblem, but suggests that "by using this emblem, you express sympathy with hackers' goals, hackers' values, and the hacker way of living".
The image itself is a representation of a glider formation in Conway's Game of Life.
Hackers also associate and represent themselves with mascots from notable free and open source projects such as the GNU Project's "Gnu" or more commonly the Linux kernel's "Tux". The "Dust Puppy" from the web comic User Friendly is also commonly associated with Hackers, Internet culture, and free and open source communities due that strip's coverage of those topics.
2008年11月29日星期六
Hacker Emblem
BDSM Emblem
The BDSM Emblem is a proposed 3-D symbol of the BDSM community, based on a triskelion design similar to a three-fold Yin Yang symbol (see Sam taeguk and Mitsu tomoe).
HistoryThis symbol was created after 1995 discussions on an AOL message board, when user Quagmyr proposed a design for a BDSM Emblem, originally inspired by the Roissy ring described in the Story of O (although he later decided the Roissy design had spirals rather than "teardrops"). In fact the Triskelion is an ancient symbol used by many cultures, including Oriental variants with Yin-Yang style dots or eyes.
Quagmyr realised it was impossible for him to copyright a general design with thousands of years of history, and instead claims ownership of one very specific emblem: The rims and spokes are of a color indicating metal. The rims and spokes are of uniform width with the arms rotating clockwise. The inner fields are black. The holes in the fields are truly holes and not dots.
He sells merchandise featuring the Emblem, and allows other people to use his specific emblem for non-profit cultural, educational and artistic use within the BDSM community. However, written permission is required for any commercial use of the Emblem (including fund raising by non-profit BDSM organisations.)
With these restrictions on his original design, many variants of the ancient triskelion have been used on BDSM websites and other media instead of Quagmyr's. Unlike the Leather Pride Flag, no single colour scheme is universally used. Quagmyr's site includes a page showing other triskelions and explaining how they differ from the design he claims rights over.
However, the legal status of his claim to copyright of the design has been questioned. While he has copyright of the original image files, if someone were to recreate the image and republish it then it is doubted that he would have any claim to the image.
Along with the Leather Pride Flag, the BDSM Emblem forms the basis of the BDSM Rights Flag which is free of copying restrictions.
Emblem of India
The Emblem of India is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka.
Emperor Ashoka the Great erected the capital atop an Ashoka Pillar to mark the spot where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma and where the Buddhist Sangha was founded. In the original there are four Asiatic lions, standing back to back, mounted on a circular abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening Dharmachakra or Ashoka Chakra wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. It was carved out of a single block of polished sandstone.
The version used as the Emblem does not include the fourth lion (since it is hidden from view at the rear) or the bell-shaped lotus flower beneath. The frieze beneath the lions is shown with the Dharma Chakra in the center, a bull on the right and a galloping horse on the left, and outlines of Dharma Chakras on the extreme right and left.
Forming an integral part of the Emblem is the motto inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script: Satyameva Jayate (English: "Truth Alone Triumphs"). This is a quote from Mundaka Upanishad, the concluding part of the sacred Hindu Vedas.
It was adopted as the National Emblem of India on 26 January 1950, the day that India became a republic.
Indian passport
The emblem forms a part of the official letterhead of the Government of India, and appears on all Indian currency as well. It also sometimes functions as the national emblem of India in many places and appears prominently on the diplomatic and national Passport of the Republic of India. The wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base has been placed onto the center of the National Flag of India
Emblem book
Scholars differ on the key question of whether the actual emblems in question are the visual images, the accompanying texts, or the combination of the two. This is understandable, given that the first emblem book, the Emblemata of Andrea Alciato, was first issued in an unauthorized edition in which the woodcuts were chosen by the printer without any input from the author, who had circulated the texts in unillustrated manuscript form. Some early emblem books were unillustrated, particularly those issued by the French printer Denis de Harsy. With time, however, the reading public came to expect emblem books to contain picture-text combinations. Each combination consisted of a woodcut or engraving accompanied by one or more short texts, intended to inspire their readers to reflect on a general moral lesson derived from the reading of both picture and text together. The picture was subject to numerous interpretations: only by reading the text could a reader be certain which meaning was intended by the author. Thus the books are closely related to the personal symbolic picture-text combinations called personal devices, known in Italy as imprese and in France as devises.
Woodcut from Guillaume de La Perrière, Le Théâtre des bons engins, 1545.
Emblem books, both secular and religious, attained enormous popularity throughout continental Europe, though in Britain they never captured the imagination of readers to the same extent. The books were especially numerous in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France. Andrea Alciato wrote the epigrams contained in the first and most widely disseminated emblem book, the Emblemata, published by Heinrich Steyner in 1531 in Augsburg. Another influential illustrated book was Cesare Ripa's Iconologia, first published in 1593, though it is not properly speaking an emblem book but a collection of erudite allegories.
Early European studies of Egyptian hieroglyphics, like that of Athanasius Kircher, assumed that the hieroglyphics were emblems, and imaginatively interpreted them accordingly.
League of Nations
The League of Nations (LoN) was a supranational organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920. At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to the 23 February 1935, it had 58 members. The League's goals included disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy and improving global quality of life. The diplomatic philosophy behind the League represented a fundamental shift in thought from the preceding hundred years. The League lacked its own armed force and so depended on the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, keep to economic sanctions which the League ordered, or provide an army, when needed, for the League to use. However, they were often reluctant to do so. Sanctions could also hurt the League members imposing the sanctions and given the pacifist attitude following World War I, countries were reluctant to take military action. Benito Mussolini stated that "The League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out."
After a number of notable successes and some early failures in the 1920s, the League ultimately proved incapable of preventing aggression by the Axis Powers in the 1930s. The onset of the Second World War suggested that the League had failed in its primary purpose, which was to avoid any future world war. The United Nations replaced it after the end of the war and inherited a number of agencies and organizations founded by the League.
National emblem
Most national emblems originate in the natural world, such as animals or birds, but another object may serve.
National emblems may appear on many things such as the national flag, coat of arms, or other patriotic materials.
One should not confuse a formal national emblem with less formal symbols perhaps associated with tourism or clichés, for example windmills in the Netherlands.
Many unofficial symbols are as or even more important than the official ones. However official symbols are defined by law, which guarantees the proper use of them.
The national emblems of nations of the world in alphabetical order
National emblem
Most national emblems originate in the natural world, such as animals or birds, but another object may serve.
National emblems may appear on many things such as the national flag, coat of arms, or other patriotic materials.
One should not confuse a formal national emblem with less formal symbols perhaps associated with tourism or clichés, for example windmills in the Netherlands.
Many unofficial symbols are as or even more important than the official ones. However official symbols are defined by law, which guarantees the proper use of them.
The national emblems of nations of the world in alphabetical order
Emblems of the International Red Cross
The emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, under the Geneva Conventions, are to be placed on humanitarian and medical vehicles and buildings to protect them from military attack on the battlefield. There are four such emblems, three of which are in use: the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and the Red Crystal. The Red Lion and Sun is also a recognized emblem, but is no longer in use.
There were also prior disputes concerning the use of a Red Star of David by Magen David Adom (MDA), the Israeli first-aid society; the Red Crystal was created in response to these disputes, thus enabling the admission of MDA to the movement.
TerminologyA totem
The 1531 publication in Augsburg of the first emblem book, the Emblemata of the Italian jurist Andrea Alciato launched a fascination with emblems that lasted two centuries and touched most of the countries of western Europe. "Emblem" in this sense refers to a didactic or moralizing combination of picture and text intended to draw the reader into a self-reflective examination of his or her own life. Complicated associations of emblems could transmit information to the culturally-informed viewer, a characteristic of the 16th century artistic movement called Mannerism.
Emblem
The words emblem and symbol often appear interchangeably in day-to-day conversation without causing undue confusion. A distinction between the two may seem unnecessarily fastidious. Nevertheless, an emblem is a pattern that is used to represent an idea, or an individual. An emblem crystallizes in concrete, visual terms some abstraction: a deity, a tribe or nation, a virtue or a vice. An emblem is an object or a representation of an object.
An emblem may be worn or otherwise used as an identifying badge. A real or metal cockle shell, the emblem of St James the Apostle, sewn onto the hat or clothes identified a medieval pilgrim to his shrine at Santiago de Compostela. In the Middle Ages, many saints were given emblems, which served to identify them in paintings and other images: St Catherine had a wheel, or a sword, St Anthony Abbot a pig and a small bell. These are also called attributes, especially when shown carried by or in close proximity to the saint in art. Kings and other grand persons increasingly adopted personal devices or emblems that were distinct from their family heraldry. The most famous include Louis XIV of France's sun, the salamander of Francis I of France, the boar of Richard III of England and the armillary sphere of Manuel I of Portugal. In the fifteenth and sixteenth century there was a fashion, started in Italy, for making large medals with a portrait head on the obverse and the emblem on the reverse; these would be given to friends and as diplomatic gifts. Pisanello produced many of the earliest and finest of these.
"The big eat the small": a political emblem from an emblem book of 1617
In current American usage, police officers' badges refer specifically to their personal metal emblem — sometimes with a uniquely identifying number or name on it — while the woven emblems sewn on their uniforms identify all the members of a particular unit.
A symbol substitutes one thing for another, in a more concrete fashion:
The Christian cross is a symbol of the Crucifixion; it is an emblem of sacrifice.
The Red Cross is a symbol of the International Red Cross. A red cross on a white flag is the emblem of the humanitarian spirit.
The crescent shape is a symbol of the moon; it is an emblem of Islam.
The skull and crossbones is an symbol identifying a poison. The skull is an emblem of the transitory human life.
FAI Gliding Commission Badges
ISTUS (Internationale Studienkommission für motorlosen Flug), was founded in Frankfurt on 13 June 1930, to record international gliding achievements. The founding nations were Belgium, France, Holland, Hungary, Germany, Italy, and the USA. A series of badges for gliding was devised called A, B, C, D etc.
Later the D badge became known as the Silver C, and more often today just the Silver Badge. Earning the Silver C Badge shows that a glider pilot has achieved an altitude gain of at least 1,000 m, made a five-hour duration flight, and has flown cross-country for a straight-line distance of at least 50 km: these three attainments are usually, but not invariably, achieved in separate flights. The first recipients of the Silver C were Wolf Hirth and Robert Kronfeld on 15 February 1931.
In 1932 the FAI recognized gliding, and formed a new section: the Commission Internationale de Vol à Voile (CIVV). This eventually took over the role of ISTUS. The FAI decided that the Silver C was sufficiently meritorious to be internationally recognised, and issued the first 300 before turning the awarding over to the national societies. From the beginning the lesser badges were only recorded by local gliding associations, and their criteria varies, although they are usually integrated into organized training programs. For example, in the United States a Bronze Badge is issued for demonstrated pre-cross country flying skills beyond the C level. In Britain a pilot progresses from the B to the Bronze level and then receives an additional endorsement for cross-country training.
The E badge (later called the Gold C and now usually just the Gold Badge) was established in 1935. A pilot who has completed the Gold Badge has flown 300km, though not necessarily to a pre-defined goal, gained 3,000 m in height and has made a five hour flight (only one has to be done to count for both the Silver and Gold). Up to this level the badges are registered only by the national gliding associations.
The F Badge (now the Diamond Badge) started in 1949. The Diamond Badge requires three achievements: flying 300 km to a pre-defined goal, going 500 km in one flight (but not necessarily to a pre-defined goal), and gaining 5,000 m in height. Earning all three "diamonds" qualifies the pilot for the FAI registry as a Diamond Badge holder. The FAI also issues a diploma for a flight of 1,000 km and further diplomas for increments of 250 km.
Gliding records
The wide variety of records have been defined by the FAI Gliding Commission. The classes of glider have been combined into four groups: Open, 15 metre, World Class and Ultralight. Although female pilots can claim world records in these general categories, there are also additional records in these categories just for female pilots. Because of the number of records the table below only summarises some of the Open Category gliding records as at the beginning of 2008. A full list is available on the FAI web site. Records that had not yet been ratified have not been included.
FAI Gliding Commission
The International Gliding Commission (IGC) is the international governing body for the sport of gliding.
It is one of several Air Sport Commissions (ASC) of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), or "International Aeronautics Federation". FAI is the world body for sporting aviation and the certification of world records for aeronautics and astronautics and was founded in 1905.
When the IGC was founded in 1932, it was called CIVV (Commission Internationale de Vol a Voile) and has also been called CVSM (Commission de Vol Sans Moteur). It is the FAI commission responsible for the international competitions, records and badges that apply to gliders and motor gliders. The term "sailplanes" is sometimes used. Hang gliders and paragliders have a separate body called the FAI CIVL Commission, which stands for "Commission Internationale de Vol Libre".
Within FAI, the sport of glider aerobatics is managed by the FAI Aerobatics Commission (CIVA which stands for "Commission Internationale de Voltige Aerienne" and also deals with powered-aircraft aerobatics
Badge coding system
Shape was chosen by analogy with the common triangular road hazard signs in Germany that denote warnings to motorists. Here, a triangle is called inverted because its base is up while one of its angles points down.
The most common forms of the badge were:
Red triangle — political prisoners (social democrats, trade unionists, liberals, communists, Freemasons, anarchists.) Some anarchists, and other "enemies of the state," were also given a black triangle.
Green triangle — "habitual criminals" (ofttimes Kapos).
Blue triangle — foreign forced laborers, emigrants.
Pink triangle — homosexuals and sexual offenders.
Purple triangle — Jehovah's Witnesses.
Black triangle — people who were deemed "asocial elements," including
Roma, who were later assigned a brown triangle
The mentally retarded
The mentally ill
Alcoholics
Vagrants and beggars
Aristocrats
Intellectuals
Pacifists
Conscription resisters
The habitually "work-shy"
Prostitutes
Some anarchists.
Brown triangle — Roma (previously wore the black triangle).
Double-triangle badges resembled two superimposed triangles forming a Star of David.
Two superimposed yellow triangles — a Jew.
Red inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one — a Jewish political prisoner.
Green inverted triangle upon a yellow one — a Jewish "habitual criminal".
Purple inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one — a religious dissident of Jewish descent.
Pink inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one — a Jewish homosexual.
Yellow triangle superimposed over a black inverted triangle, or "voided" black inverted triangle superimposed over a yellow triangle — an Aryan convicted of miscegenation and labeled as a "race defiler".
In addition to color-coding, some groups had to put letter insignia on their triangles to denote country of origin. Red triangle with a letter: "B" (Belgier, Belgians), "F" (Franzosen, French), "H" (Holländer, Dutch), "I" (Italiener, Italians), "N" (Norweger, Norwegians), "P" (Polen, Poles), "S" (Republikanische Spanier, Republican Spanish) "T" (Tschechen, Czechs), "U" (Ungarn, Hungarians).
Also, repeated offenders would receive bars over their stars, a different color for a different crime.
A political prisoner would have a red bar over his/her star or triangle
A habitual criminal would have a green bar
A foreign forced laborer would have a blue bar
A Jehovah's Witness would have a purple bar
A homosexual or sex offenders would have a pink bar
An "asocial" would have a black bar
A Roma would have a brown bar
There were many markings and combinations. A prisoner would usually have at least two, and possibly more than six.
In some camps the Nacht und Nebel prisoners got painted with two big letters NN in yellow.
Penal battalion, penal company, etc., are military units consisting of convicted persons for which military service was either the assigned punishment or a voluntary replacement of imprisonment.
Nazi concentration camp badges
The system of badges varied between the camps, and in the later stages of the war, the use of badges dwindled in some camps, and became increasingly accidental in others. The following description is based on the badge coding system used before and during the early stages of the war in the Dachau concentration camp, which had one of the more elaborate coding systems.
United States Aviator Badge
A United States Aviator Badge refers to three types of aviation badges issued by the United States military, those being for Army, Air Force, and Naval aviation. The first United States Aviator Badges were issued to members of the United States Army Air Service during the First World War. The badges were issued in three degrees: enlisted, junior officer, and senior officer. The Army Air Corps also issued a badge for balloon pilots, known as the Aeronaut Badge.
During the Second World War, with the rise of the Army Air Forces, a second series of aviator badges were issued to include a design that has survived to the modern day. The Army Air Corps Pilot Badge was issued in three degrees, including Pilot, Senior Pilot, and Command Pilot, and this badge was the predecessor of the modern United States Air Force Pilot Badge. The Enlisted Aviator Badge was eliminated, since the new pilot corps was composed entirely of officers.
After the creation of the Air Force as a separate service in 1947, Army aviation continued to a degree that warranted a new badge for Army Aviators. The result was the creation of the Army Aviator Badge, which is a modified version of the U.S. Air Force Pilot Badge. Army and USAF aviators' badges are silver in color.
The aviator badge currently used in the Navy has remained virtually unchanged since it was first issued on 13 November 1917. The Naval Aviator Badge is earned by all U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps pilots upon graduation from advanced flight schooling. Naval aviators' badges are gold in color.
Command Pilot Badge, WWII Army design and currently Air Force regulation
In the modern military, Army and Air Force Aviator Badges are issued in three ratings: Basic, Senior, and Command/Master/Chief. The higher degrees are denoted by a star or star with wreath above the badge. Air Force regulations state that the basic rating denotes completion of specified training and that the advanced ratings denote experience levels. The Naval Aviator Badge is issued in a single rating for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.
Medieval usage
Badges are occasionally taken from a charge in the bearer's coat of arms, or they have a more or less direct reference to those charges. More often, badges commemorated some remarkable exploit, illustrated a family or feudal alliance, or indicated some territorial rights or pretensions. Some badges are rebuses, making a pun or play-on-words of the owner's name.
It was not uncommon for the same personage or family to use more than one badge; and, on the other hand, two or more badges were often borne in combination, to form a single compound device.
Impresa
Main article: Personal device
By the later sixteenth century, allegorical badges called impresa were adopted by individuals as part of an overall programme of theatrical disguise for a specific event or series of events, such as the fancy dress jousts of the Elizabethan era typified by the Accession Day tilts.
Famous badges
Bear and ragged staff. The ragged staff and the bear, both badges of the Beauchamp Earls of Warwick, were sometimes united to form a single badge. The successors of that family, including Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, bore the "bear and ragged staff" as a single device.
Prince of Wales's feathers. The personal badge of the Prince of Wales derives from the "shield for peace" of Edward, the Black Prince.
Roses. The Tudor rose badge adopted by Henry VII of England combines the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster, the two warring houses of the Wars of the Roses.
Stafford knot.
White Hart. A white hart was the personal badge of Richard II of England, and a white hind was the badge of Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor under Elizabeth I.
White Boar. A white boar was the personal badge of Richard Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III.
Revival
Heraldic badges fell into disuse after the Middle Ages but were revived by the College of Arms in 1906 by Alfred Scott-Gatty, and have since then often been included in new grants of arms, in addition to the traditional grant of the coat of arms. Whether or not they are so granted is at the option of the grantee, who pays a higher fee if they are. When granted, the badge is typically illustrated on the letters patent containing the grant of arms, and upon a heraldic standard (flag).
Heraldic badge
In heraldry, a badge is an emblem or personal device used to indicate allegiance to or property of an individual or family.
Physical badges were common in the Middle Ages particularly in England. They would be made of base metal and worn on the clothing of the followers of the person in question. This might be in battle or in other contexts where allegiance was displayed. The badge would also be embroidered or appliqued on standards, horse trappings, livery uniforms, and other belongings.
Yellow badges
Christian countries In Christian countries, dress codes were also imposed on Jewish and other non-Christian residents. In Europe, the Fourth Council of the Lateran of 1215 ruled that Jews and Muslims must be distinguishable by their dress (Latin "habitus")", and the yellow badge in Europe dates from this, unlike the Jewish hat (or "Judenhut"), a cone-shaped hat, which is seen in many illustrations from before this date, and remained the key distinguishing mark of Jewish dress in the Middle Ages From the sixteenth century, the use of the Judenhut declined, but the badge tended to outlast it, surviving into the eighteenth century in places. The identifying mark varied from one country to another, and from period to period. Apart from the hat, there were also attempts to enforce the wearing of full-length robes, which in late 14th century Rome were supposed to be red. The most common form of badge was the "rota" or "wheel", which looked like a ring, of white or yellowThe shape and color of the patch also varied, although the color was usually white or yellow. Married women were often required to wear two bands of blue on their veil or head-scarf. Edward I of England's Statute of Jewry prescribed "the form of two Tables joined, of yellow felt of the length of six inches and of the breadth of three inches". This shape - two separate strips or two joined round-topped rectangles - was particular to England. In Portugal a red star of David was used. Louis IX of France ordered French Jews to wear oval rouelle a version of the "rota". As with all sumptuary laws, enforcement of the rules was very variable; in Marseilles the magistrates ignored accusations of breaches, and in some places individuals or communities could buy exemption.
Nazi period After the German invasion of Poland in 1939 there were initially different local decrees forcing Jews to wear a distinct sign – in the General Government. The sign was a white armband with a blue Star of David on it, in the Warthegau a yellow badge in the form of a Star of David on the left side of the breast and on the back.The requirement to wear the Star of David with the word Jude (German for Jew) inscribed was then extended to all Jews over the age of six in the Reich and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (by a decree issued on September 1, 1941 signed by Reinhard Heydrich) and was gradually introduced in other German-occupied areas, where local words were used (e.g. Juif in French, Jood in Dutch).
Yellow badge
The yellow badge (or yellow patch), also referred to as a Jewish badge, was a cloth patch that Jews were ordered to sew on their outer garments in order to mark them as Jews in public. It is intended to be a badge of shame associated with antisemitism.In both Christian and Islamic countries, persons not of the ruling religion were intermittently compelled by sumptuary laws to wear badges, hats or other items of clothing that distinguished them from members of the ruling religious group.
The yellow badge that was compulsory in the Middle Ages was revived by the German Nazis.
Muslim countries
While antisemitism was less pronounced in Muslim countries, Jews were treated with contempt. This was expressed through sumptuary laws that established what colors, clothing or hats they were permitted or not permitted to wear. The use of distinctive clothing or marks for Jewish and other religious communities has been traced by historians to ancient times.In the early Islamic period, non-Muslims were required to wear distinctive marks in public, such as metal seals fixed around their necks. Tattooing and branding of slaves and captives were widespread in the ancient world. However, Islam, like Judaism, forbids permanent skin markings. In consequence, lead or copper seals were used to mark non-Muslims and slaves in the Islamic world. Likewise, they were not allowed to wear colors associated with Islam, particularly green. The practice of physically branding Jews and Christians appears to have been begun in early medieval Baghdad and was considered highly degrading. According to Bernard Lewis, Christians and Jews were forced to wear special emblems on their clothes. The yellow badge was first introduced by a caliph in Baghdad in the ninth century, and spread to the West in medieval times. Even in public baths, non-Muslims wore medallions suspended from cords around their necks so no one would mistake them for Muslims. Belts, headgear, shoes, armbands and/or cloth patches were also used. Under Shi'a rules, they were not even allowed to use the same baths In 1005 the Jews of Egypt were ordered to wear bells on their garments.
Aviation Insignia
Insignia of 1) Naval Aviator, 2) NFO, 3) Marine Aerial Navigator, 4) Naval Aviation Observer, 5) Naval Aircrew, and 6) Combat Aircrew
Aviation Insignia are breast insignia which are issued to Marines who are qualified or designated to perform duties related to operation and support of Marine aircraft.
Officer insignia include the Naval Aviator insignia for pilots and the Naval Flight Officer insignia for non-piloting officers. There is also an astronaut version of each of these insignia, known as the Naval Astronaut and Naval Astronaut (NFO), respectively.
The Marine Aerial Navigator insignia is issued to enlisted personnel qualified to act as navigators aboard Marine aircraft; the Naval Aviation Observer insignia is issued to flight support personnel; and the Aircrew insignia is issued to enlisted personnel designated to operate equipment aboard airborne aircraft.
Parachutist Insignia
Two degrees of parachutists
Main article: Parachutists insignia
The Parachutist Insignia, also known as "jump wings", is awarded to personnel for training in airborne school. The basic insignia is issued for completion of basic parachutist training. The Naval Parachutist insignia is issued after 10 qualifying jumps.
Breast Insignia
Authorized breast insignia are worn on the left breast of all service and dress coats. It may optionally be worn on khaki shirts when it is the outermost garment, utility coats or maternity work uniform coats. Miniature versions exists for evening dress jackets .
When worn alone, it is worn in the same position a single ribbon would be worn. When worn with ribbons, medals, or marksmanship badges, it is positioned 1/8" above such awards. On combat utility uniform coats with slanted pockets, it is worn above a horizontal line tangent to the highest point of the pocket or "U.S. MARINES" service tape .
No more than two USMC-approved breast insignia shall be worn at any one time. When two insignia are worn it is ordered from top to bottom in the following order with 1/8" separation in between: diver, EOD, parachutist, aviation. A Marine with more than one insignia within the parachutist, EOD and diver groups may only wear the senior insignia of the group. Marines may wear two insignia from the aviation group .
Badges of the United States Marine Corps
As described in Chapters 4 and 5 of Marine Corps Uniform Regulations MCO P1020.34, "badges" are categorized as breast insignia (worn immediately above ribbons/medals) , identification badges (usually worn at breast pocket level) , and marksmanship badges (worn immediately below ribbons) .
For the purpose of this article, the term "badge" shall be used exclusively to describe identification badges and marksmanship badges , and the term "insignia" shall be used for other worn accouterments , according to the language in Marine Corps Uniform Regulations.
Merit badge (Boy Scouts of America)
Merit badges are awards earned by youth members of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), a U.S.-based organization, based on activities within an area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to further pursue them as a career or avocation. Originally, the program also introduced Scouts to the life skills of contacting an adult they hadn't met before, arranging a meeting and then demonstrating their skills, similar to a job or college interview. Increasingly, though, merit badges are earned in a class setting at troop meetings and summer camps.
Each merit badge has a pamphlet published by the Boy Scouts of America associated with it; the pamphlet contains information on completing the requirements for the badge. There are designated merit badge counselors for each badge, and a Scout would meet with a counselor to demonstrate that he's completed the requirements. The counselor would then 'sign off' on each one.
The current library of Merit Badge Books is planned to be replaced in late 2008 with a color series.
The award of a merit badge is represented by circular patch with an image representing the badge's topic. The patches for the Eagle-required merit badges are distinguishable by the silver ring on the outside edge. Merit badges are displayed on a sash which can be worn with the Boy Scout uniform on formal occasions.
Every year the National Council reviews and updates a certain number of merit badges. The most recent new merit badges are Nuclear Science, created in 2005, originally named 'Atomic Energy'; Snow Sports, created in 1999 originally as 'Skiing'; and Fly Fishing, split off from the Fishing merit badge in 2002. The most recent merit badges to be created are Composite Materials (created in 2006;[1]) Archaeology and Climbing (both created in 1997), and Entrepreneurship (created in 1998). The total number of badges available is 121, as of 2006.
Aside from the BSA, Scouting organizations in the following countries issue or have issued merit badges: Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Austria has a program similar to merit badges for certain age groups
Cap badge
A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Boy Scouts, civil defence organizations, paramedical units (e.g. the St. John Ambulance Brigade), customs services, fire services etc.
Cap badges are a modern form of heraldry and the design of same generally incorporates highly symbolic devices
General Nathan Farragut Twining, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1957–1960), wearing an officer's insignia.
U.S. Army
In the United States Army, a Distinctive Unit Insignia(DUI) is worn on the flash of a beret. For service caps, a gilt eagle device is worn. For officers, a large eagle device is worn. For enlisted men, a small version of the officer's insignia centered on a disk is worn on the front. Warrant Officers wear a gold eagle device centered on the cap. For garrison caps, generally the rank insignia is worn, but recent regulations call for the wear of the DUI.
U.S. Air Force
For U.S. Air Force service caps, a large, silver eagle device is worn on the service caps. For enlisted men, a smaller version of the officer's insignia is worn, but inclosed in a ring.
United Kingdom
British Army
In the British Army (as well as Commonwealth armies), cap badges are extremely important, with each regiment and corps having its own. In some regiments, officers and other ranks have different cap badges. When a soldier is assigned to a regiment or corps, it is known as being capbadged to that organisation.
Variations of cap badges
British Infantry cap badges
Other British cap badges
British cap badges are commonly made of the following materials:
copper
bronze
brass
silver
plastic
cloth
white metal
bi-metal
staybright
blackened brass