The Missile Badge is a military decoration of the United States Air Force which was first created in the 1960s. The badge recognizes those commissioned officers of the Air Force who have qualified as ICBM silo personnel and have the training and authority to launch land based nuclear weapons under the direction of the National Command Authority.

Also known as the Missilier Badge, the Missile Badge is awarded as a permanent decoration upon a service member’s graduation from missile operator training and posting to active nuclear missile silo. The badge is worn on the lower left pocket and is the largest of the U.S. Air Force specialty badges. It is also one of the few United States military badges which is not transferable between services, meaning that a qualified Missile Director, who transfer to another branch of the United States armed forces cannot display the Missile Badge on another service uniform.

The Missile Badge is issued in three degrees being basic, senior and master. The level of degree is determined by a service member’s years of duty in the Air Force and also the level of command responsibility held within the Air Force missile units. The Senior Missile Badge is denoted by a star above the decoration with the Master Missile Badge displays a star and wreath.

The Missile Badge is also upgradeable to include an “operations designator” which is denoted by a wreath device centered behind the missile badge. The operations designator may be obtained by those who have advanced command and control experience involving multiple missile deployment and coordination with other branches of the Air Force.

The operations designator is typically obtained by those missile officers who serve tours of duty at major Air Force installations, such as NORAD, or airborne command and deployment centers such as Air Force One and the Looking Glass plane.

Most officers who qualify for the Missile Badge are also eligible to receive the Space and Missile Badge.