The Space Force just released their new enlisted rank insignias

Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force Roger Towberman announced the new rank insignias for enlisted Guardians Monday.

Founded in 2019, the United States Space Force is the first new branch of the Armed Forces since its parent branch, the Air Force, split from the Army in 1947. Since then, the Space Force has been innovating and experimenting with how a military branch is structured and run.

The branch has grown to the size of almost 6,500 officers and enlisted members, who hold the name of Guardians. Most of the early additions came from its predecessor, Air Force Space Command. This also means most of the symbols and traditions of the branch carried over.

Slowly, the branch has started to create their own brand – with different uniform devices and changing their enlisted member’s names from Airmen to Guardians. Now the Space Force further differentiates itself with brand new insignias for its enlisted Guardians.

The new enlisted insignias are a fresh take on the classic chevrons and rockers we’ve seen from other branches. The “Vandenberg Strips” date back to a proposal by General Hoyt Vandenberg (for whom Vandenberg Space Force Base is named after) for Air Force enlisted ranks that were not accepted. Now they live on, being used for denoting Guardian specialist ranks.

The rockers for Senior Non-Commissioned Officers have a new name and meaning. Now called “Orbital Chevrons”, these three arcs represent the three orbits that the Space Force deals with (low, medium, and geostationary). All the ranks, from E-1 to E-9, are placed on a blue hexagon. The 6 sides represent the 6 branches of the US Armed Forces.

In the future, we may see changes to officer ranks and official uniforms, as both still mimic the Air Force’s design and structure.

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