Does an Air Force officer wear the US Air Force Sword or the Army Officer Saber? We want the answer to this question too. There is not a current uniform regulation available that outlines the sword/saber wear, but we have seen the following:

History & Tradition: Some say that an Air Force officer should wear an Army saber because of the Army Air Corps roots. “I saw a picture in a history book,” “I found it on an online message board,” and “there is this old manual from 1959” are all answers, but are the sources valid and current? Be careful. Your chain of command probably does not want to hear, “but sir/ma’am, it says so in my cousin’s college textbook!”

Base Honor Guards: The US Air Force Honor Guard from Bolling AFB has an USAF Honor Guard Training Guide containing a sword and saber section. This is a great training guide designed specifically for Ceremonial Guardsmen. It should be used in that context. Base Honor Guards might have unique uniform items for ceremonial use, but those are probably not to be used outside of an official Honor Guard capacity. It is the closest thing to a sword/saber answer, but it is targeted specifically for Base Honor Guards.

We are searching for the answer ourselves, but would appreciate any insight. If you have any additional information on this topic, please send it to . (javascript must be enabled to see the e-mail link)