Naval Flight Officer Wings Patch

Pilot wings carry one fouled anchor behind the shield; Naval Flight Officer wings carry two, crossed, and every back-seater knows the difference at a glance. That second anchor belongs to the radar intercept officers, bombardier/navigators, electronic countermeasures officers and tactical coordinators who fought the jet's systems while the pilot flew it. The Navy created the Naval Flight Officer designation in 1966, when observer duty was taken out of the enlisted ranks. From then on the back seat and the mission crew stations belonged to commissioned officers with their own wings. These are those wings, in gold thread.

NFOs flew as RIOs in the F-4 Phantom II and the F-14 Tomcat, and as bombardier/navigators in the A-6 Intruder. In the EA-6B Prowler they were ECMOs; today they fly as weapon systems officers in the F/A-18F Super Hornet and as electronic warfare officers in the EA-18G Growler. In the E-2C and E-2D Hawkeye they run the combat information center, and in the P-8A Poseidon they work as tactical coordinators. Their training runs at NAS Pensacola, through VT-10 Wildcats in the T-6A Texan II and VT-86 Sabrehawks in the T-45C Goshawk, with VT-4 Warbucks for the maritime crews. Cdr. William P. Driscoll became the first NFO ace with five Vietnam-era kills, and Adm. William Fallon became the first NFO to wear four stars.

This patch is the wings alone, 4 inches across and 1 inch tall, with a cut edge trimmed close to the feathers. The gold thread is outlined in black, so every feather, the shield's stripes and both anchors read clearly from across a room. The two anchors cross behind the shield, stocks and rings rising above it, flukes and fouled lines hanging below. There is no lettering, because none is needed. The back is iron-on, and it can also be sewn down.

The NFO earns his wings the long way: Pensacola, the T-6, then the jet or the crew station, then a fleet replacement squadron and a first tour. Many of the Navy's best known combat crews were a pilot and an NFO, and the officer in back called the intercepts, ran the jammers or found the submarine. Back-seaters have commanded carriers, air wings and fleets, and Dale Gardner took NFO wings into space on STS-8. Every one of them started with a set of gold wings.

Iron them onto the flight jacket you still wear, or set them in a shadow box above a cruise book and a squadron patch from your fleet tour. They are also a good gift for a son or daughter who just pinned on NFO wings in Pensacola. Press them on, or stitch them for good. Two anchors, one back seat, gold wings.