Air Assault Badge The Air Assault Badge is awarded by the U . S . Army for successful completion of the Air Assault School , a two - week ( ten - day ) course . The course includes three phases of instruction involving U . S . Army rotary wing aircraft : combat air assault operations ; rigging and slingload operations ; and rappelling from a helicopter . According to the U . S . Army Institute of Heraldry , " The Air Assault Badge was approved by the Chief of Staff , Army , on 18 January 1978 , for Army - wide wear by individuals who successfully completed Air Assault training after 1 April 1974 . The badge had previously been approved as the Airmobile Badge authorized for local wear by the Commander of the 101st Airborne Division , effective 1 April 1974 . " The division had been reorganized from parachute to airmobile in mid - 1968 in Vietnam and designated the 101st Airborne Division ( Airmobile ) . The parenthetical designation changed to Air Assault on 4 October 1974 and the name of the badge was likewise changed . Training locations . Formal air assault training has been conducted at Fort Campbell , Kentucky by the 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ) since the Air Assault School was formed in 1974 . During the early stages of the occupation of Iraq in late 2003 , the division conducted a course in - theater to maintain Air Assault proficiency . Air Assault training is also offered by the Army National Guard ( ARNG ) Warrior Training Center at Fort Benning , which conducts training both at the post and at a variety of other locations throughout the United States by means of Mobile Training Teams . The " Fort Hood Sentinel " announced on May 24 , 2012 the start of the new III Corps Air Assault School in June 2012 . Air assault training has also been offered over the years on either a continual or occasional basis at other locations , to include ( but not limited to ) : Air Assault training was also conducted by the 2 / 1 Calvary Squadron LRRP platoon in the mid 1980s . Rapplemaster certification courses were also offered during this same time period . Most of these locations no longer run air assault courses . Wear of the badge . The wear of the Air Assault Badge on Army uniforms is governed by AR 670 - 1 , Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms . Vietnam veterans of the 101st Airborne Division and 1st Cavalry Division have sought the retroactive award of the Air Assault Badge for their training and pioneering experience in combat , but the Army has yet to grant their request . Origin . An article in the Army Times dated 16 March 1981 featured a picture of an officer holding a set of Air Assault wings about a foot wide and included the paragraph below : " Badge Designer : When he designed a badge for the 101st Abn Div in Vietnam in 1971 , Maj . Jack R . Rickman thought that was the end of a project assigned by the division operations officer . Years later he recognized his design as the Air Assault Badge , which the Army adopted officially in January 1978 . Rickman never earned the badge himself . " The design was influenced by the Parachutist Badge worn when the division was on jump status , as well as the Glider Badge worn by glider units during World War II . Charles Bloodworth , a pathfinder officer in the 101st during the early 1970s , wrote , " Locally designed and fabricated , the badge was deliberately crafted to mimic the glider wings of WWII . The nose of the Huey took the place of the glider body , and the horizontal rotor blade was the spitting image of the glider wing . " When the 101st returned from Vietnam to Fort Campbell , Kentucky , the 173rd Airborne Brigade was inactivated and its assets used to form the division ' s 3rd Brigade , which was on jump status . The remainder of the division was organized as Airmobile . In February 1974 , Major General Sidney B . Berry , Commanding General , signed Division General Order 179 authorizing the wear of the Airmobile Badge . Concurrently it was announced that the 3rd Brigade would terminate its jump status effective 1 April 1974 , the same date on which the Airmobile Badge would be authorized . Bloodworth describes the transition of the post - war division to fully Air Assault and the adoption of the Air Assault Badge at this link . Wing background trimmings . When the 101st adopted Air Assault wings , it also adopted their wear with the cloth wing background trimmings ( ovals ) previously worn behind Parachute wings . According to AR 670 - 1 , Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia , " a background trimming is authorized for organizations designated ( by structure , equipment and mission ) ' Airborne ' or ' Air Assault ' by HQ DA . Qualified personnel are authorized to wear the background trimming with the Parachutist or Air Assault badges . " The following are wing trimmings worn by air assault qualified members of air assault units . These trimmings below are only the ones currently featured on the U . S . Army ' s Institute of Heraldry ( TIOH ) website and do not represent all of the trimmings authorized . Army National Guard air assault units . Numerous units in the Army National Guard , such as the California ARNG ' s 1st Battalion , 184th Infantry Regiment carry the parenthetical designation “ Air Assault , ” but the Institute of Heraldry has denied them the authorization to wear trimmings behind their Air Assault wings . A letter dated 1 April 2004 from Colonel Paris M . Mack , Chief , R & R Task Force , Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G - 1 to Lieutenant Colonel Steven Goff , Commander , 1st Battalion , 184th Infantry , states “ current policy requires units to be designated as Airborne or Air Assault for Soldiers to be authorized the wear of the background trimming insignia on their service uniform . Force structure developers within Headquarters , Department of the Army , utilized the Air Assault Modified Table of Organization and Equipment ( MTOE ) when documenting your unit ’ s structure . Accordingly , the use of the Air Assault MTOE template for your organization was intended to provide Combatant Commanders a more ‘ robust ’ infantry structure , not to increase the number of air assault units in our Army today . Therefore , your MTOE narrative does not designate an air assault mission to your unit , nor does the current document provide the full resources normally authorized a designated Air Assault organization . Granting your request is not in keeping with the intent for which the organization was initially created ; thus your request is denied . ” Original badge . On 7 February 1963 the colors of the 11th Airborne Division were reactivated at Fort Benning , GA , as the 11th Air Assault Division ( Test ) . The 11th was a small unit , never intended for deployable status , used to test the airmobile concept then under development . Units of the 2nd Infantry Division , also located at Fort Benning , were “ borrowed ” for large - scale airmobile tests and maneuvers . An earlier Air Assault Badge , pictured on the right , was worn in the early 1960s by troops of 11th who qualified for it by making three helicopter rappels from and three from . Soldiers were also required to be knowledgeable of aircraft safety procedures ; familiar with aircraft orientation ; proficient in hand and arm signals and combat assault operations ; able to prepare , inspect and rig equipment for external sling loads ; and able to lash down equipment inside helicopters . The badge was first awarded in early 1964 and was only authorized for wear by soldiers within the 11th , as it was a division award and not authorized for Army - wide wear by the Department of the Army . On 30 June 1965 the colors of the 11th Air Assault Division were inactivated and its assets merged with the 2nd Infantry Division to become the 1st Cavalry Division ( Airmobile ) . The colors of the 2nd Infantry Division were sent to Korea , where the existing 1st Cavalry Division was reflagged as 2nd Infantry Division and the colors of the 1st Cavalry Division sent to Fort Benning . Shortly thereafter the 1st Cavalry Division ( Airmobile ) was sent to Vietnam . Air Force wear . All of the military services can and do send personnel to the U . S . Army ' s Air Assault School . Other than the Army , however , only the U . S . Air Force allows for the wear of the Air Assault Badge . Although the Miscellaneous Badges section of the 2012 update to AFI36 - 2903 ( USAF ' s uniform regulation ) has been removed , the Air Force Uniform Board still authorizes the Air Assault Badge , along with some other U . S . Army Special Skill Badges ( such as the Parachute Rigger Badge ) , for wear on Air Force uniforms as a " permanent " decoration , " regardless of duty assignment , " " upon graduation from Air Assault School . " Navy , Marine Corps , & Coast Guard wear . The Army ' s Air Assault Badge is not authorized for wear on U . S . Navy , U . S . Marine Corps , or U . S . Coast Guard uniforms .