Army - Aerial Observation Recon Badge - MugThe Observer Badge is a military badge of the United States armed forces dating from the First World War. The badge was issued to co pilots, navigators, and flight support personnel (as air observer) who had received a variation in the training required for the standard Pilot's Badge. The Observer Badge survived through the Second World War and into the 1950s, at which time the concept of an Observer Badge was phased out in favor of the modern Aircrew