Military Cap Badges: US, UK & Commonwealth Guide

How Cap Badges Identify Services

Military cap badges are small emblems that identify an armed service, regiment or role. Their design varies between countries and historical periods, so a badge should be interpreted alongside the uniform and any available provenance. This guide compares examples from the United States, Britain and the Commonwealth.

In the United States, Cap Badges denote the Service, being, Army, Navy and USMC. There was no Air Force as a separate entity until 1947. During World War Two the Air Force was part of the Army and was called the US Army Air Force or USAAF. Some countries such as Canada and Israel have integrated Armed Forces with no separate divisions for the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, the tradition is to have the Branch of Service Insignia on the cap, for example, Engineers, Royal Tank Regiment etc. The Royal Army Medical Corps is not an independent regiment, and its personnel are assigned to their respective branch of service. They generally do not carry firearms, and they are not engaged in active military roles. Both in the US and the UK, Officers and often Warrant Officers have different Insignia and caps from "Enlisted Men" or "Other Ranks". In the US, the Branch of Service insignia such as Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Quartermaster, Signals, etc,, are worn on the lower lapel on both sides. The upper lapel has the US insignia on it. In the UK and Commonwealth, Regimental Badges or "Collar Dogs" are worn on the upper lapel. To add to confusion, US "Garrison" or "Side-Caps" have the rank rather than Service whereas the opposite applies in the UK and Commonwealth. Below are the Branch of Service Cap Insignia of the::

US Navy (USN), US Coast Guard USCG), US Marines Corps (USMC), US Army (Enlisted), US Army (Officer) (same Insignia for WW2 USAAF) and the US Air Force (USAF) post-1947.

United States Navy officer cap insignia with eagle shield and anchor United States Coast Guard commander visor cap insignia US Marine Corps officer visor cap Eagle Globe and Anchor insignia World War II US Army Air Forces enlisted cap US Army Air Forces officer tropical crusher cap insignia United States Air Force cap insignia

Here are some Regimental Insignia / Cap Badges from the WW2 British Armed Forces. Again, Officers, Warrant Officers and Other ranks, wore different Cap Insignia. British Army brigadier embroidered bullion cap badge Staff Officers in the British Army wear a distinctive bullion cap insignia against a Red Band, which was not a regimental identifier (see above).

British cap badges of the Royal Tank Regiment and Fusiliers

Above: Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) on left and Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) on right. King’s Liverpool Regiment and Irish regimental cap badges The King's Regiment, Left to right: 8th Irish, The Kings Regiment,, The King's (Liverpool) and The King's (Manchester)