Navigator Badge The Navigator Badge is a military qualification badge of the United States Armed Forces which was first created during the Second World War . The current USAF badge is designated by Air Force Instructions as the Navigator / Observer Badge and is issued to rated officers in both rating categories . The badge recognizes the Aeronautical Rating of Navigator . The original Navigator badge was a successor to the Observer Badge , which was issued to military aviation navigator s in the 1920s and 1930s . With an increase in aircraft technology , however , the Navigator , Bombardier , Engineer , and Gunner badges were created to recognize the advanced training and qualifications required of various aircrew members . The original Navigator badge was issued by the Army Air Forces and consisted of an armillary sphere centered between two wings . The badge was similar to the Aviator Badge and the Aircrew Badge . On July 26 , 1947 the U . S . Air Force became a Separate Branch of Service . In late 1951 the Aircraft Observer , Navigator , and Bombardier badges were replaced with a single design , with the Air Force shield centered between two wings . At the same time , the aeronautical ratings of Navigator and Bombardier were merged into a single rating . The Aircraft Observer rating continued for Electronic Warfare Officers ( EWOs ) , but eventually EWOs were awarded the Navigator - Bombardier aeronautical rating . Today , the only personnel awarded the Observer rating are otherwise unrated U . S . Air Force officers who complete NASA Mission Specialist ( astronaut ) training . The current USAF Navigator / Observer Badge is issued in three degrees : Basic , Senior , and Master . The degree of the Navigator / Observer Badge is determined by years of flying service in the Air Force and by logged hours of flight time or flying duty assignment time . The degrees are annotated by a star ( senior ) and wreath ( master ) centered above the badge . There is also an astronaut version of the badge for those who have flown the NASA Space Shuttle and / or served on the International Space Station . Like its pilot astronaut counterpart , the Navigator / Observer Astronaut Badge is modified by the addition of the astronaut " shooting star " logo over the USAF shield on the wings . For Navy and Marine Corps officers , the equivalent of the Navigator Badge is known as the Naval Flight Officer insignia and is similar to the Naval Aviator insignia for pilots , being differentiated by two crossed fouled anchors behind the insignia ' s United States shield , versus the single upright fouled anchor of their pilot counterparts . The Coast Guard briefly had Naval Flight Officers when they operated E - 2 Hawkeye aircraft bailed from the Navy . There is also an astronaut version of the badge for those who have flown the NASA Space Shuttle and / or served on the International Space Station . Like its Naval Aviator Astronaut counterpart , the Naval Flight Officer Astronaut Badge is modified by the addition of the astronaut " shooting star " logo over the US shield on the wings . The Marine Corps also issues the Marine Aerial Navigator insignia to enlisted personnel trained as navigators for the KC - 130 and he Coast Guard the Coast Guard Aerial Navigator insignia to enlisted personnel trained as navigators in the HC - 130 . Unlike their USAF counterpart , the Navy , Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviation insignia have no basic , senior or master / command degrees . The Army has no equivalent to the Navigator Badge .