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The Department of the Air Force last week released further guidance on implementing a policy directing chaplains to replace rank with religious insignia on their uniforms.
The guidance follows a March 24 announcement by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Chaplains Corps directing them to wear chaplain insignia rather than officer rank insignia.
"A chaplain is first and foremost a chaplain, and an officer second. This change is a visual representation of that fact," Hegseth said in a social media post.
While chaplains will wear religious insignia on their operational camouflage pattern uniform, they will continue to wear rank insignia on their service dress uniform.
Brian Scarlett, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, said in a memo that “removal of rank insignia from the OCP uniform does not alter established customs and courtesies.”
Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve chaplains have 60 days to begin wearing the chaplain insignia on their OCP uniform, per the June 15 memo.
To address concerns regarding implementation in day-to-day interactions, the service outlined examples in a release.
For example, "When in Doubt, Salute" is the guidance when two officers approach each other and the rank of one cannot be visually determined.
“In most day-to-day operations at the wing or delta level, personnel are expected to know their chain of command and the leadership within their units. Officers and enlisted members will generally know the rank of their assigned chaplains (e.g., knowing that the wing chaplain is a lieutenant colonel),” says the service release.
The new guidance also says the Air Force maternity wrap dress may be worn as a mess dress, semi-formal and Class A uniform equivalent for Air Force pregnant Airmen, with a mandatory wear date of July 2030.
Name tags are not authorized on the mess or semi-formal configurations.
Space Force Guardians will wear the Air Force jumper since the Space Force maternity uniform is in the prototype phase. They are not authorized to wear the Air Force maternity dress.
The Air Force’s Personnel Center has resources on all dress and appearance policies.
—By Jennifer Hickey
