U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military
aviation skill standards established and awarded
by the United States Air Force for commissioned
officers participating in "regular and frequent
flight", either aerially or in space, in performance
of their duties.
USAF aeronautical badges, commonly referred
to as "wings" from their shape and their historical
legacy, are awarded by the Air Force in recognition
of degrees of achievement and experience.
Officers earning these badges and maintaining
their requirements are classified as rated
officers and receive additional pay and allowances.
The first U.S. military aviator ratings were
awarded in 1912, and the issuance of badges
for recognition of the award began in 1913.
The division of ratings into multiple skill
levels and categories began in 1914 and expanded
during World War I.
With minor variations in numbers and titles
of ratings, the system remained largely unchanged
until 1940, when the current system of pilot
ratings was introduced.
During World War II, as many as 19 aeronautical
ratings were recognized and awarded by the
Army Air Forces, but most were discontinued
after the war when the USAF came into being.
USAF ratings gradually expanded until seven
categories and 21 ratings exist currently.
The most recent change added the RPA (Remotely
Piloted Aircraft) Pilot rating, effective
13 December 2010.
Although in much smaller numbers, enlisted
personnel were historically eligible to be
rated until 1949.
Since the later 1950s, highly trained enlisted
personnel, along with officers whose duties
do not include flying, are recognized by the
awarding of Air Force Occupational Badges.
In 2016, the Air Force opened RPA pilot positions
to enlisted personnel, making them the first
enlisted pilots since 1949.
== Overview ==
For all categories of aeronautical ratings,
to be eligible for the rating and to wear
the appropriate badge, an officer must be
medically qualified to fly and also be qualified
by flying status proficiency.
Certified flight officers who develop medical
conditions that disqualify them from flying
are classified DNIF (Duties Not Including
Flying).
DNIF may be temporary or permanent.
Officers placed on permanent DNIF status are
either cross-trained into another career field,
or separated from the Air Force, depending
on the severity of their medical condition.
The Astronaut "qualifier" is awarded only
by the Air Force Chief of Staff for rated
officers formally qualified to perform duties
at least 50 miles above the earth's surface
and who have participated in at least one
operational mission, and has a distinctive
Astronaut Badge, consisting of a "shooting
star" qualifier device superimposed on their
rated badge.The seven categories of aeronautical
ratings, as authorized by Title 10, U.S.C.
8691, are:
Pilot: awarded by the Commander or delegated
wing commanders, Air Education and Training
Command (AETC)
Navigator: awarded by the Commander or delegated
wing commanders, AETC
Combat System Operator (CSO): awarded by the
Commander or delegated wing commanders, AETC
Air Battle Manager (ABM): awarded by the Commander
or delegated air control wing commanders,
AETC
RPA Pilot: awarded by the Commander or delegated
wing commanders, Air Combat Command, or Commander,
Air Force Reserve Command
Observer: awarded by the Senior Air Force
Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Badge is identical to that worn by USAF Navigators
and CSOs.
In current practice, is awarded with the Astronaut
distinguishing insignia to those USAF officer
astronauts who are not previously rated USAF
Pilots or USAF Navigators/CSOs.
Although identical to the badge worn by Navigators
and CSOs, recipients are not graduates of
USAF Navigator or CSO training.
Flight Surgeon: awarded by the Commander,
USAF School of Aerospace Medicine
== Evolution of the USAF ratings system ==
From the Aviation Act (40 Stat.
243), 24 July 1917:
That officers detailed in or attached to the
aviation section of the signal corps may,
when qualified therefore, be rated as junior
military aviator, military aviator, junior
military aeronaut, and military aeronaut ... Provided
further, that any officer attached to the
aviation section of the signal corps for any
military duty requiring him to make regular
and frequent flights shall receive an increase
of 25 per centum of the pay of his grade and
length of service under his commission.
=== Civil ratings ===
Aeronautical ratings were established on 23
February 1912, by War Department Bulletin
No. 6, as a new measurement of pilot skill.
Before that time most pilots of the Aeronautical
Division, Signal Corps soloed by the "short
hop method" (also known as "grass-cutting"),
in which student pilots, flying alone, learned
to handle airplane controls on the ground,
taxied in further practice until just short
of takeoff speeds, and finally took off to
a height of just ten feet, gradually working
up to higher altitudes and turns.
The practice resulted in the first pilot death
only a month into training.
At least three of these pilots had been previously
instructed by Glen Curtiss at North Island
field, California.
Concurrently, two pilots (future General of
the Air Force Henry H. Arnold and Thomas DeWitt
Milling) were instructed by the Wright Brothers
and certified by the Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale (FAI) in July 1911.
=== Military Aviator ===
To establish formal standards of certification,
the Army created the Military Aviator rating
and published requirements on 20 April 1912.
The first rating was awarded to Henry H. Arnold
on 5 July 1912.
The first rating requirements were:
Attain an altitude of at least 2,500 feet;
Pilot an aircraft for at least five minutes
in a wind of 15 m.p.h. velocity or greater;
Carry a passenger to an altitude of 500 feet,
with a combined weight of pilot and passenger
of 250 pounds or more, and make a deadstick
landing to within 150 feet of a designated
point; and
Make a military reconnaissance flight of at
least 20 miles cross-country at an average
altitude of 1,500 feet.
War Department General Order No. 39, dated
27 May 1913, certified 24 officers including
Arnold as "qualified", and authorized issuance
of a certificate and badge.
A number of designs for the badge were considered
before the War Department chose that of an
eagle holding Signal Corps flags in its talons,
suspended from a bar embossed with "Military
Aviator", and had the dies manufactured.
A group of 14 aviators still detailed to the
Signal Corps was recommended on 29 September
1913 to receive the badge, and the two gold
proofs were issued 16 October 1913, to Captain
Charles DeF.
Chandler and Lt. Thomas D. Milling, both of
whom had also received the first ratings with
Arnold on 5 July 1912.
All 24 officers certified by G.O. 39, or their
survivors, were eventually issued the badge.Two
levels of qualification were specified in
War Department Bulletin No. 35 on 4 May 1914,
with aviators below the rank of captain to
be rated as Junior Military Aviator and those
captain and above to be rated as Military
Aviator.
Similar ratings were created for the lighter-than-air
branch of aviation, termed Military Aeronaut.
On 18 July 1914, Congress established the
Aviation Section, Signal Corps, incorporating,
expanding and superseding the Aeronautical
Division, and established in law both flight
pay ( called the "aviation increase") and
the awarding of ratings.
The Act of 1914 authorized an aviation increase
of 25% in pay to student pilots, 50% to those
rated JMA, and 75% to those rated MA.
Rated lieutenants who flew "regularly and
frequently" were given the temporary rank,
pay, and allowances of the next higher grade.Because
a provision also required three years' experience
as a JMA in order to become eligible to be
rated MA, all remaining Military Aviators
had their ratings changed to JMA.
None re-acquired the rating (and its "aviation
increase") before July 1917.
The National Defense Act of 1916 eliminated
pilot age and rank eligibility restrictions
and allowed captains to also draw the temporary
rank, pay, and allowances of the next higher
grade if required to participate in regular
and frequent flight.
=== World War I and Air Service revisions
===
The Military Aviator badge was superseded
on 15 August 1917 by authorization of a new
embroidered "wings" badge, the first sketches
of which are attributed to Arnold.
A new rating, Reserve Military Aviator, was
authorized on 3 June 1917 to rate pilots during
World War I, with all ranks and grades being
temporary.
The Aviation Act of 24 July 1917 authorized
those holding a pre-war JMA rating to advance
to MA rating by the three-year rule, and along
with RMA holders, by "distinguished service."
A wartime Reserve Military Aeronaut rating
for balloon pilots was also created, as was
a rating of Observer for both airplanes and
balloons, bringing the total number of aeronautical
ratings to seven.After the creation by executive
order in 1918 of the Army Air Service, a standard
wings-and-shield design for the rating badge,
still in use today, was created by sculptor
Herbert S. Adams of the United States Commission
of Fine Arts and approved on 25 January 1919.
Army regulations regarding ratings underwent
a major revision by the Director of Air Service
on 16 October 1919, when the RMA rating was
officially changed to Airplane Pilot (although
usage of the RMA terminology continued until
1920), all observers were termed Aerial Observer,
and new ratings of Enlisted Pilot, Airship
Pilot, Aerial Gunner, and Aerial Bomber were
created.
Among the new ratings, a 50% aviation increase
was authorized for the enlisted pilot and
25% for all the others.
The new ratings, however, proved to be only
a demobilization expedient and lasted less
than nine months.In 1920, when the Air Service
was made a statutory arm of the line, the
National Defense Act of 1920 also ended the
differentials in flight pay and standardized
it at 50%.
The policy of awarding rated officers a temporary
advancement in grade was also terminated.
To qualify for command of a unit, an officer
was required by law to be rated.
The existing ratings were reduced to four
on 10 August 1920, combining the ratings of
Reserve Military Aviator/Airplane Pilot, Junior
Military Aviator, and Military Aviator into
the rating of Airplane Pilot and Military
Aeronaut and Balloon Observer into the rating
of Balloon Observer, renaming the rating of
Aerial Observer as Airplane Observer, and
continuing the rating of Airship Pilot.
All those already holding the old ratings
qualified automatically for the new.
In 1921 the Air Service authorized the wearing
of 3.125-inch ratings badges made of oxidized
silver in lieu of embroidered badges.In 1921
the Air Service also revised its pilot training
program, adopting the "A Plan", which divided
pilot ratings between Junior Airplane Pilot
(completion of primary training, normally
an enlisted rating) and Airplane Pilot (completion
of advanced training).
The bulk of new pilots were acquired from
the enlisted classification of "flying cadet",
with achievement of a JAP rating making a
cadet eligible for advanced pilot training
and commissioning.
However, some older Air Service officers without
flying experience, but requiring a rating
to remain in the Air Service, acquired a JAP
rating, including Chief of Air Service Maj.
Gen. Mason Patrick.
In 1924 the Tenth Annual Report of the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, submitted
by President Calvin Coolidge to the Congress,
reported:
The Air Service has 845 officers with rating
as airplane pilots, airplane observers, airship
pilots, airship observers, or balloon observers.
In addition about 51 enlisted men have the
rating of airplane pilot, junior airplane
pilot, or airship pilot.
=== Air Corps, World War II, Cold War and
Post-Cold War changes ===
In 1926, the new Air Corps discarded the A
Plan in favor of the B Plan, which awarded
only a single rating, Airplane Pilot, requiring
completion of all phases of a year-long, three-school
(Primary, Basic, and Advanced) flying training
course.
The Airship School closed in 1928 for economic
reasons, ending all increases and replacements
in airship ratings.
The Air Corps Act of 1926 mandated that 90%
of all Air Corps officers be rated, and that
for reasons of economy, by 1929 at least 20%
of tactical pilots had to be enlisted men.
However, the latter requirement was so utterly
impractical it was circumvented by the Air
Corps with the tacit approval of the War Department.
The Air Corps had only 38 rated enlisted men
in 1930 (about 4% of all pilots), and nearly
every enlisted graduate was being commissioned
to decrease deficits in rated officers.
Those remaining as enlisted men in the Regular
Army held reserve officer commissions in the
event of war.In 1936, Maj. Gen. Frank M. Andrews,
commanding the GHQ Air Force, promulgated
a policy requiring newly minted pilots to
spend a year flying single-engined aircraft
and accruing 750 logged flight hours as a
prerequisite to becoming a bomber pilot.
Seven years of military flying experience
and 2,000 logged hours qualified a pilot as
an "airplane commander" in the GHQAF.
In 1937 the Army formalized the requirement,
creating a new advanced rating of Military
Airplane Pilot, setting 12 years as a rated
pilot and 2,000 hours of flight time as the
standard.
The rating of Airship Pilot was discontinued
at the same time and that of Airship Observer
incorporated into Balloon Observer, leaving
the Air Corps with five ratings.Between November
1939 and March 1940 pilot ratings were revised
to the permanent three-tier system with objective
standards that exists today, with a total
of eight ratings overall.
Graduation from Advanced Flying School was
required to be rated a Pilot; ten years service
and 1,800 hours of military flight for Senior
Pilot rating; and either 15 years service
with 3,000 hours, or 20 years service with
2,000 hours, to become a Command Pilot.
For both advanced ratings, hours as a pilot
or navigator (a specialization then performed
only by rated pilots) were calculated at 100%,
but military flight hours in any other capacity
were calculated at a 50% rate.
The Air Corps also divided the former Airplane
Observer rating into that of Combat Observer
and Technical Observer.
Navigator was recognized by the United States
Army Air Forces as a rating and authorized
its own badge on 4 September 1942, one of
a number of new wartime ratings that included
Bombardier, the Glider Pilot, Liaison Pilot
and Service Pilot ratings (N.B.: these three
ratings were typically awarded to soldiers
on the basis of prior civilian flying experience,
with a higher age limit and relaxed medical
requirements for entry vs. the normal Pilot
training pipeline; their duty assignments
were limited in scope), and enlisted Aircrew
ratings.
Combat Observer was renamed Aircraft Observer.
All of the wartime ratings except Navigator
were discontinued by the USAF on 26 July 1949,
with Navigator and Bombardier merged into
a single Navigator rating and the badge design
being changed in 1951 from that of an armillary
sphere flanked by wings to that of the USAF
shield flanked by wings.
At this time, a tiered system of ratings based
on hours and years of service was also implemented
with Senior Navigator and Master Navigator
following the same precepts as Senior Pilot
and Command Pilot.
Beginning in 2011, the rating of Navigator
was retitled, replaced by the aeronautical
rating of Combat Systems Officer (CSO), with
the same badge insignia as Navigator.
This title change was intended to place the
CSO more in line with their Naval Flight Officer
(NFO) counterparts of the U.S. Navy and U.S.
Marine Corps, especially since the latter
have historically enjoyed more robust operational
flying command and major command opportunities,
to include promotion to 3-star and 4-star
rank.
Although observer ratings were also discontinued
by USAF in 1949, the Observer title was revived
in 1981 when a rating was created for otherwise
non-aeronautically rated USAF officers who
completed NASA mission specialist astronaut
training and subsequently flew in space.
Flight Surgeons were rated and received the
"aviation increase" between 1918 and 1920.
The rating was discontinued in 1920, however,
and flight surgeons as a military profession
were neglected by the headquarters of the
successive Army air arms until late in 1939.
In July 1940, the recommendations of a board
of flight surgeons appointed by Gen. Arnold
were adopted, standardizing ratings requirements
as:
graduation from a Class A medical school,
completion of a one-year rotational internship,
completion of the School of Aviation Medicine
course,
one year's service in the AAF as an Aviation
Medical Examiner, and
50 hours of logged military flight.The Flight
Surgeon rating received its own distinctive
gold badge on 3 March 1942, which was changed
to the standard oxidized silver wings in 1944
to avoid confusion with naval aviator badges.
== USAF rating requirements ==
=== 
Pilot ratings ===
The USAF awards pilot ratings at three levels:
Pilot, Senior Pilot, and Command Pilot, to
active duty officers and to officers considered
as "rated assets" in the Air Force Reserve
and Air National Guard (i.e., the Air Reserve
Components).
Rating standards apply equally to both fixed-wing
and helicopter pilots.
The following additional criteria are required
to be rated as a USAF Pilot:
=== RPA Pilot ratings ===
The USAF awards remotely piloted aircraft
(RPA) pilot ratings at three levels: RPA Pilot,
Senior RPA Pilot, and Command RPA Pilot, to
active duty officers, to enlisted personnel,
and to officers considered as "rated assets"
in the Air Reserve Components.
The following additional criteria are required
to be rated as a USAF remotely piloted aircraft
pilot:
=== Combat System Officer ratings ===
The Combat System Officer (CSO) rating is
awarded to individuals who entered the CSO
Undergraduate Flying Training after 1 October
2004.
The USAF awards combat system officer ratings
at three levels: Combat System Officer, Senior
Combat System Officer, and Master Combat System
Officer, for active duty officers and officers
considered rated assets in the Air Reserve
Components.
The insignia is identical to USAF Navigator,
but rated navigators who are not CSO rated
are not eligible for award of advanced CSO
ratings.
The following additional criteria are required
for rating as a USAF Combat System Officer:
=== Navigator ratings ===
The USAF awards navigator ratings at three
levels: Navigator, Senior Navigator, and Master
Navigator, for active duty officers and officers
considered "rated assets" in the Air Reserve
Components.
After 2009 only Combat System Operators receive
ratings formerly awarded to navigators, as
the occupational field is being phased out.
The following additional criteria are required
for rating as a USAF Navigator:
=== Air Battle Manager ratings ===
The USAF awards Air Battle Manager ratings
at three levels: Air Battle Manager, Senior
Air Battle Manager, and Master Air Battle
Manager, for active duty officers and officers
considered "rated assets" in the Air Reserve
Components.
The following additional criteria are required
to be rated as a USAF Air Battle Manager:
=== Observer ratings ===
The USAF awards observer ratings at three
levels: Observer, Senior Observer, and Master
Observer, for active duty officers and officers
considered "rated assets" in the Air Reserve
Components.
The insignia is identical to USAF Navigator/CSO
and is typically only awarded as an "observer"
insignia with the Astronaut emblem to USAF
officers who have completed training as NASA
Mission Specialist Astronauts, have flown
at least once in space in the Space Shuttle
and/or served at the International Space Station,
and are not otherwise rated as USAF Pilots
or USAF Navigators/CSOs.
The following additional criteria are required
to be rated as a USAF Observer:
=== Flight Surgeon ratings ===
The USAF awards flight surgeon ratings at
three levels: Flight Surgeon, Senior Flight
Surgeon, and Chief Flight Surgeon, for active
duty officers and officers considered "rated
assets" in the Air Reserve Components.
The following additional criteria are required
for rating as a USAF Flight Surgeon:
== Pilot-Physicians ==
Flight surgeons may also perform duties as
Pilot-Physicians (Air Force Specialty Code
48VX).
The purpose of pilot-physicians is to provide
"integrated operational and aerospace medicine
guidance" in the research, development, testing,
and evaluation of Air Force systems and missions
to realize the greatest effectiveness and
cost savings.
Pilot-physicians were previously assigned
only to an operational flying squadron in
their respective aircraft, with their main
assignment as a pilot, but also with clinical
duties seeing patients, usually the flight
medicine clinic, depending on the pilot-physician's
medical specialty.
On 21 April 2011 the Pilot-Physician Program
(PPP) was completely revised to make "the
most of the special resources of Air Force
officers who are simultaneously qualified
both as pilots and flight surgeons," with
a senior pilot-physician selected by the Air
Force Surgeon General to be Program Director,
and assignment of designated command, staff,
research, training, and education billets
as well as duty in operational units.
A P48VX specialty code is assigned to those
on aeronautical orders as a pilot-physician
and assigned to one of these designated PPP
billets.
Pilot-Physicians are entitled to conditional
flight pay (ACIP), that is, only if assigned
to an active flying position and flying a
prescribed number of hours monthly.
In addition to being a rated pilot and a rated
flight surgeon, a pilot-physician must have
completed at least three years of operational
flying and one year as an operational flight
surgeon, with a provision for assigning applicants
without flight surgeon operational experience
to a base where they would likely become a
"first assignment pilot-physician".
The revised program allows flight surgeons
access to undergraduate pilot training and
remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) pilot training
(one slot per year); allows participation
of flight surgeons with experience as navigators,
electronic warfare officers, RPA sensor operators,
and flight test engineers as navigator-physicians
or flight test-physicians; and authorizes
pilot-physicians to compete for assignment
to USAF Test Pilot School.Pilot-physicians
are defined by four core competencies to achieve
program objectives:
Providing expert guidance through the synthesis
of operational and medical experience,
Conducting research by applying operational
insights to studies; basic and applied science;
relevant research, development, test & evaluation
(RDT&E); and operational test & evaluation
(OT&E),
Teaching aircrew, senior Air Force leaders,
and medical personnel on subjects of particular
expertise, and
Conducting analysis to provide recommendations
for operational systems, environments, and
mishaps; and solutions to human performance
problems.Pilot-physicians are eligible for
advanced ratings as both flight surgeons and
pilots.
They may apply toward advanced pilot ratings
any USAF pilot years of aviation service,
months of operational flying duty, and total
flying hours accrued before achieving flight
surgeon status.
After attaining status as a pilot-physician,
all hours flown as a pilot, and months of
operational flying duty credit accrued as
a pilot, are "dual-credited" toward both advanced
pilot and flight surgeon ratings as long as
the officer is on aeronautical orders as an
active pilot-physician.
== See also ==
Badges of the United States Air Force
Military badges of the United States
Obsolete badges of the United States military
== Notes ==
Footnotes
Citations
