If only more people held the view of Gold Hat, the Mexican bandit chief in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
"Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!"
Journeyman said:
The Air Reserve used their "Tech Crewman" as FE/Loadies, and they wore the "stewardess wing" (not a slag, I just have no idea what the generic 'maple leaf/small wing' badge is called).
It is the basic "Flight Crew Badge".
Cajun said:
I was just curious as to the distinction between the stub-wings and aircrew wings and how that was determined. . . . The fact that some trades seemed to be switching from one to the other (loadmaster/SAR Tech) was what caught my attention. . . .
Take my poor recollection of rumour and smart-assed commentary with a grain of salt. It's been decades since the number and types of aircrew badges started expanding and back then my primary interest was in the "timmy wings" that I eventually received - Aeromedical Evacuation Badge.
Until the late 70s and early 80s the number of aircrew badges was very limited. There were full wings for Pilot, Navigator, Flight Engineer, and Observer (the one later called AESO, not the TacHel type). Stubby wings were the basic Flight Crew Badge (loadmasters, flight stewards/attendants and anyone else who filled an establishment position that required they fly regularly as crew), Flight Surgeon and ParaRescue Specialist (open to all trades in the CF and eventually became a separate trade, SAR Tech - they got a new full wing badge then). Some of this restrictiveness probably evolved from the badges in the RCAF - they had even fewer.
More and more occupations started lobbying to get specialized badges for themselves because they were . . . well, special. One of the first new ones to be approved was probably Tactical Helicopter Observer Badge, (they may have had something earlier but that wasn't really Air Force). We medics (and nurses) finally got something to put on the flying suits we occasionally wore. Loadmasters devolved to their own separate badge (primarily men back then, they didn't want to be confused with a "flight bag" on the 707s) . . . and on and on.
One of the criteria (smart-assed commentary) I heard back then for why the SAR Techs got a full wing was "they have to open doors in flight and leave the aircraft". This may be one of the reasons why loadies finally got a full wing - they have responsibilities in the back of the aircraft that "directly" relate to maintaining proper function of the aircraft in flight. While other "timmy wing" types may have important functions relating to the mission of the aircraft, their jobs are not as directly related to the proper functioning of the aircraft.