Air Force
/AIR FORCEor/AFQCWA advocacy · A historical milestone
Honoring Military Service on the Air
Recognizing amateur radio operators who are serving, or have honorably served, in the United States military.
The outcome
Recognition was already permitted.
QCWA petitioned the FCC in 2006 to recognize military service through optional call-sign indicators. In its 2007 order, the FCC denied the requested rule change because the existing station-identification rule already allowed this form of recognition.
The result affirmed an existing option for operators; it did not create a separate military call-sign assignment or reserve these suffixes.
Read the FCC’s decision: DA 07-3069 →The original QCWA proposal
Five branches. A shared tradition of service.
The petition proposed these indicators for a control operator who was a current member or an honorably discharged former member of the United States military. This list reproduces the five branches and indicator pairs in the original proposal.
Army
/ARMYor/AANavy
/NAVYor/NAMarine Corps
/MARINESor/NMCoast Guard
/COAST GUARDor/ACGArtwork: original illustrative badges created for this page, dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. They are not official service seals, insignia, or marks and do not imply military endorsement. The historical proposal predates the Space Force.
Station identification today
Your assigned call sign remains essential.
Under 47 CFR § 97.119(c), an optional self-assigned indicator may precede or follow an assigned call sign. Separate it using a slash or a spoken equivalent, and avoid conflicts with other FCC indicators or another country’s assigned prefix.
Continue to identify with your assigned call sign at the end of a communication and at least every ten minutes during it, as required by § 97.119(a).
Rule reference checked October 5, 2026. Read the current rule and the FCC order for the full requirements.
A place in QCWA’s history
QCWA submitted its petition for recognition of amateur operators with military service.
The FCC adopted Order DA 07-3069.
The order was released, explaining that the existing rules already permitted this recognition.
Explore the original documents
The original petition and FCC response remain available below.
QCWA · Submitted December 1, 2006
Veterans Identification Petition
The Association’s original request to recognize military service in amateur station identification.
Read the Petition · PDFFCC · Released July 9, 2007
Order DA 07-3069
The Commission’s decision and explanation of the existing station-identification rule.
Read the FCC Order · PDF