  The American chevron is not a new idea. For thousand of years the military, ecclesiastical and civil authorities have used some outward symbol to identify rank and function in society. In the U.S. military, noncommissioned officer rank insignia evolved over the past 150 years from a mishmash of epaulets, sashes, cockades and stripes to today's limited set of stylized and standardized chevrons. Prior to 1872, documentation standards were almost nonexistent. A general order from the War Department dated March 27, 1821, documented the first firm reference to U.S. soldiers wearing chevrons. Today, the chevron represents a pay grade, not a specific trade.
The direction a chevron points alternated through the years. Originally, they pointed down, and on some uniforms, covered almost the entire width of the arm. In 1847, the point reversed to an "up" position, which lasted until 1851. Service chevrons, commonly called "hash marks" or "service stripes," were established by George Washington to show completion of three years service. After the American Revolution, they fell into disuse and it wasn't until 1832 before the idea was reinstituted. They have been authorized in one form or another ever since.
U.S. Air Force chevrons trace their evolution from 1864 when the Secretary of War approve a request from Maj. William Nicodemus, the Army's chief signal officer, for a distinctive signal rank insignia 10 years later. The names Signal Service and Signal Corps were used interchangeably during 1864-1891. In 1889, a simple sergeant's chevron cost 86 cents and a corporal's was 68 cents.
The official lineage of today's Air Force began Aug. 1, 1907, when the U.S. Army Signal Corps formed an Aeronautical Division. The unit was upgraded to an Aviation Section by 1914, and in 1918, the War Department separated the Aviation Section (air service) from the Signal Corps, making it a distinctive branch of service. With the creation of the Army Air Service, their device became the winged propeller. In 1926, the branch became the Army Air Corps, still retaining the winged propeller design in its chevron.
The Air Force won its independence Sept. 18, 1947, as a full partner with the Army and the Navy when the National Security Act of 1947 became law. There was a time of transition following the new status given the Air Force. The chevrons retained the "Army look." Enlisted personnel were still "soldiers" until 1950, when they became "airmen" to distinguish them from "soldiers" or "sailors."
9 March 1948 - There is no documented official rationale for the design of the present USAF enlisted chevrons, except the minutes of a meeting held at the Pentagon on 9 March 1948, chaired by General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Air Force Chief of Staff. These minutes reveal that chevron designs were sampled at Bolling Air Force Base and the style used today was selected by 55% of 150 airmen polled. General Vandenberg therefore approved the choice of the enlisted majority.
Whoever designed the stripes might have been trying to combine the shoulder patch worn by members of the Army Air Force (AAF) during World War II and the insignia used on aircraft. The patch featured wings with a pierced star in the center while the aircraft insignia was a star with two bars. The stripes might be the bars from the aircraft insignia slanted gracefully upward to suggest wings. The silver grey color contrasts with the blue uniform and might suggest clouds against blue sky.
Information courtesy of U.S. Air Force News Service, and the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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