Driver and Mechanic Badge

Criteria: Awarded to Army personnel who have received driver or mechanic MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) training, and who have subsequently qualified to operate military motor vehicles. The badge – much like weapons qualification badges - is issued with a number of corresponding metal bars, suspended below the decoration denoting the various vehicle qualification(s) received. Current Driver and Mechanic Badge-issued qualification bars include: (1) OPERATOR - S Bar (for special mechanical equipment); (2) MECHANIC Bar (for automotive or allied vehicles); (3) DRIVER – A Bar (for amphibious vehicles); (4) DRIVER - M Bar (for motorcycles); (5) DRIVER - T Bar (for tracked vehicles); and (6) DRIVER - W Bar (for wheeled vehicles). The Driver and Mechanic Badge is worn suspended beneath a service member’s standard decorations and to the right of any of the wearer's Weapons Qualification Badges. The Driver and Mechanic Badge was created in July of 1942 and was originally referred to as the “Motor Vehicle Badge.” It gained its current “Driver and Mechanic Badge” title during the Korean War.