RAF Bird Colonel ?
 

I came across this pic on the InterWeb today and curious over the apparent need for the Group Captain to wear USAF Colonel lapel insignia in addition to his traditional shoulder Rank Braid on his Flying Overalls ? Is it now common for RAF Officers OF-1 to OF-5 to "Double Up" like this when on duty in the US ? Surely No 1/No 2 Service Dress remains as AP1358 ?

Seems a bit excessive ...

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/...psdecfd230.jpg

Not unusual and is at the request of our hosts. You will even see our top brass having to sport stars to complement our bar codes in some theatres. If you are in a US job that requires it you even get a USAF ID card with your American rank on it - hurumph.

It's not universally welcomed but one of those things you get used to. We never do it to our No1s or No5s though.

Many thanks JTO ... Perhaps USAF should have kept the McPeak Officers uniform design from the 90's ... it could have helped with recognition :ok:

I've routinely worn US rank in the Middle East and in Afghanistan. In Saudi immediately after 9/11 I wore what I thought was a Major's leaf - in turned out I was wearing the rank of a LCOL (ie silver rather than gold - albeit toned-down). It got to the point here to change it would have seemed odd; a quite chat with my boss and he was happy that I remained 'pinned up'. It's pretty common amongst most ranks. Of course Wg Cdr in the USAF has a different meaning from Wg Cdr in the RAF - so I routinely described my rank as LCol (anyway many of their databases for passes etc couldn't cope with non-US rank).

In AFG, wearing US rank was not only helpful to the US CoC, but to the British Army who, it seems, regularly struggle to identify RAF ranks - as one wag said - without the aid of a bar-code reader.

Not quite in the same league but I remember being refused entry to the BX at Nellis AFB because whoever was on duty didnt recognise our RAF rank or even accept the validity of our F1250s. Fortunately the manager recognised them and allowed the Brits in to stock up on cheap goodies to take home!

Having done a NATO tour many years ago - it was noticeable how some Officers seemed quick to complain when they were not saluted yet were unable to recognise those senior who they should have saluted themselves. At least the NATO rank was printed on the flying suit name badges to help things a little.


Good to see MJ wearing his 8 Sqn brevet badge again though!

Pretty common practice in US and Saudi

And not quite as bad as the wings sellotaped onto a KD shirt at the start of Granby - none of the Saudis would take him seriously until he did so as they would not talk to non pilots!

Conversely, you get some USAF Exchange officers wearing RAF Stripes in addition to their bars or leaves.

It must be a very cold, wet, Sunday in the UK!

Found it embarrassing as a Master with that dratted bird inside the greenery on the badge. Poor Yanks saluted anyway - just in case. Who's to blame them.

Let's face it, they are not known for being flexible are they? So what JTO said makes sense.

Another Americanism some Brit officers picked up with the the MFO Sinai when I was there in the mid 80s was saluting when not wearing headdress. At South Base, which was largely inhabited by US Army personnel, if you did not return a salute 'properly' because you were not wearing headdress then your behaviour was considered very rude/strange.

Just as well he wasn't posted to NATO, with all the different countries badges he'd have to add he'd end up looking like some third world African Dictator, all be it with less aircraft at his disposal than the Dictator.

It doesn't bother me that foreign insignia features on the growbag, but I'm curious as to how the badges are attached.

If not sewn on or attached with velcro, would it be fair to assume that they are metal with some type of clasp to hold them in place? If so, my only observation would be the FOD potential on a dispersal or in an aircraft should a badge or clasp come loose. I'm naiively assuming that the chap is engaged on flying duties - otherwise why would he be wearing a flying suit?

Saw the Det Cdrs at Ali do that too, with Kuwaiti Colonel's rank added for good measure!

I've always found it slightly ironic that the US forces need help reading RAF ranks when it's actually the US insignia (at OF-5 and below) that have no obvious 'system' of progression. I mean, bar, 2 bars, gold leaf, silver leaf, bird.... who came up with that? Even if you don't 'get' the RAF barcode (and the trick is to understand the dirty grey colour as representing the colour of the underlying garment) you can make a rough correlation between width of shoulder board and rank!

Same drill with our Army. Pip, crown, crown and pips, sword - and yet they can't count a few coloured stripes. I ask you...

Until to you get to Major General and Lt General, where the natural sequence is reversed ;)

Apparently the rank was originally Sergeant Major General, hence the progression.

Yes, that was my understanding of it as well.

Even the US Navy uses rank symbols when not in dress or walking out uniforms...

Working dress, combat fatigues, flying suits etc etc are ranked with symbols...