Military uniforms and their insignia are remarkable in the comprehensive and precise ways they communicate information about their wearer. To a knowledgeable observer, variations in color, style, ornamentation, symbols and so can tell a precise story about a person's status, assignment, achievements and even career history. Examined in context, uniforms and their systems of insignia in turn can reveal much about an armed service's history, organizational structure and culture.

This site is intended to present some of these systems, organized in illustrated tables and charts, to hopefully shed some light on how and why they evolved the way they did. The information comes from cited publications and documents, using primary sources as much as possible. The focus is on the United States armed forces and to a lesser extent those of the United Kingdom, which have been so influential on the US and worldwide.