  the special forces tab is a service school qualification tab of the united states army, awarded to any soldier completing either the special forces qualification course, or the special forces detachment officer qualification course (formerly known as the special forces officer course), at the u.s. army john f. kennedy special warfare center and school, fort bragg, north carolina (previously known as the u.s. army institute for military assistance). soldiers who are awarded the special forces tab are authorized to wear it for the remainder of their military careers, even when not serving in a special forces command. because it is longer than the other qualification tabs, it is called the "long tab". personnel who have earned it are nicknamed "long tabbers". ==description and history== the special forces tab was created in 1983 and is an embroidered quadrant patch worn on the upper left sleeve of a military uniform. the cloth tab is 3&nbsp;inches wide and is teal blue with yellow embroidered letters. a metal special forces badge is authorized for wear on the mess/dress uniforms and green shirt. the metal badge is teal blue with a gold edge and gold letters.u.s. army quartermaster museum: special forces tab at the time of its creation, the special forces tab was retroactively awarded to any army soldiers previously special forces-qualified. in addition, as set forth in army regulations, veterans of certain categories of former wartime service are also eligible for retroactive awards of the tab. among these are:army regulation 600-8-22 military awards (24 june 2013). para. 8-49. * personnel who served with a special forces unit during wartime between 1942 and 1973 and were either unable to or not required to attend a formal program of instruction but were awarded the proper special qualification identifier by a competent authority. u.s. army warrant officers are excluded. * personnel with at least 120 days' wartime service prior to 1955 in certain units, including the 1st special service force, oss detachment 101, [[operation jedburgh|oss jedbur
United_States_military_badges