The term chevron is French, and its origins may be seen in certain heraldic insignia dating from about the 12th century onwards. Ulrich von Liechtenstein, as depicted in the 14th century Codex Manesse, wears chevrons on the lower half of his arms. I have written before on the connection between heraldic insignia and military uniforms, here, and to some extent here.

Chevrons, or at least, stripes worn on the sleeve of the coat, came into use in the 18th century. However, these were not used initially to indicate rank, but rather length of service. In 1782, Brigadier General Patterson's brigade of the Continental Army established an honorary mark of distinction for four years satisfactory service by Privates and NCO's. The distinction consisted of: "one stripe of white tape, on the left sleeve of the regimental coat, which shall extend from seam to seam, on the upper part of the sleeve, three inches from and parallel with the shoulder seam, so that the tape may form a herringbone figure."^1 Later that year, General Washington proscribed the wearing of "a narrow piece of white cloth, of angular form," on the left arm of the uniform coat for privates and NCO's who served more than three years with good conduct.^2

During this period, NCO's in the British and American armies were distinguished not by chevrons, but by epaulettes, sashes, and other somewhat ceremonial paraphernalia. The 1768 uniform regulations in British army stated that sergeants coats were to be: "lappelled to the waist, with the colour of the facing of the regiment. The button-holes of the coat to be of white braid. Those on the waistcoats to be plain. The Serjeants of grenadiers to have fuzils, pouches, and caps. Those of the battalion to have halberts, and no pouches." Sergeants wore a sash around their waist "of crimson worsted, with a stripe of the colour of the facing of the regiment, and worn round the waist." From 1779, the United States Congress proposed that both sergeants, corporals, as well as other ranks from gunners to farriers, would wear worsted epaulettes to distinguish their rank. The infantry were to wear white, the artillery yellow, and the cavalry blue.^4 Finke notes "That it was not always possible to fulfill these orders is brought out in a general order of May 1782 which stated that white strips of cloth might be used to distinguish the infantry sergeants and corporals, if the clothier was unable to procure white worsted epaulettes."^5 An early use of stripes to distinguish NCO's, perhaps?

Some of the terminology in these regulations may seem confusing without some knowledge of the general features of military uniforms during this period. The regimental coat in this period was made of woolen broadcloth, and, as Marko Zlatitch and Detmar H. Finke describe, "came with lapels, cuffs, collar and skirts which could be turned back. The lapels were generally worn buttoned back and the coat fastened by hooks and eyes... It was the practice of the times to face the collar, cuffs, and lapels with a different color from that of the coat to provide a regimental distinction; such coats were then known as regimentals."

In the British army, chevrons were used to distinguish rank from 1803 on. As Michael Barthorp describes, "Each chevron was to be formed of a double row of regimental lace, edged with a strip in the facing colour and worn, points down, on the upper right arm as follows: sergeant-majors and quartermaster-sergeants four, sergeants three, corporals two. Flank company NCOs had formerly worn their epaulettes on both shoulders, and in due course would wear chevrons on both arms, though the date of authorization for doing so is uncertain."^6 The 'Flank Companies' Barthorp refers to were the grenadier and light infantry companies, who together made up two of the regulation ten companies of a British battalion. Features of the flank companies uniform distinguished them from the line, most notably the 'wings', or oval shaped fringed epaulettes worn on both shoulders of the soldier's regimental. For much of its history, until the mid-19th century, the United States Army were strict adherents to British military fashion. The Army made chevrons regulation in 1821, with sergeants wearing a worsted chevron on each arm below the elbow and corporals a single chevron on the right arm. This changed in 1825, when sergeant's chevrons were moved to the upper part of the sleeve. Corporals now wore two on their lower arm.^7

The use of upward or downward facing chevrons is rather arbitrary. For example, US Army regulations in 1847 ordered that chevrons were to point upwards.^8 This order was rescinded in only four years later, when chevrons were made once more to point downwards.^9 In 1905, the chevron was finally made to point upwards,^10 and has, to my knowledge, remained so ever since.

---

^1 Detmar H. Finke, "Recognition, Rank and Valor: Being a survey of insignia and colors," in Harold L. Peterson, The Book of the Continental Soldier, 245.

^2 Ibid.

^3 Marko Zlatich and Detmar H. Finke, "To Clothe the Naked Soldier: Being a survey of the clothing and uniforms of the Continental Soldier," in Harold L. Peterson, The Book of the Continental Soldier, 224.

^4 Finke, "Recognition, Rank and Valor," 244.

^5 Ibid.

^6 Michael Barthorp, British Infantry Uniforms since 1660, 61.

^7 Gregory J.W. Urwin, The United States Infantry: An Illustrated History, 1775-1918, 50.

^8 Urwin, The United States Infantry, 66.

^9 Urwin, The United States Infantry, 78.

^10 "History of U.S. Army Enlisted Ranks", The Institute of Heraldry, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, n.d.

I can't speak to the history of the chevron, however, as for the USAF inverted chevron, it was just the one that was preferred after the airforce became it's own entity.

Here is a direct quote " 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. "

The USAF has reworked their chevron to keep them simple, removing extra ranks and simplifying the rank structure, and the colors of the chevron.

A more in depth explanation can be found here.

http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/airforce/a/afenrankhistory.htm

Some clarification:

USMC begins with one upward pointing chevron at E-2, increasing to three. Next rank, a rocker underneath is added, with additional rockers underneath added for additional ranks.

US Army begins with one upward facing chevron at E-2. Next comes a single rocker underneath, then the rocker underneath goes away, and additional chevrons are added on the top, to a total of three. Rockers underneath are added back on from E-6 to E-8.

U.S.N. gets a single downward pointing chevron starting at E-4 (1, 2, or 3 straight diagonal lines until then). More chevrons are added until E-6, with a single rocker added over the top at E-7. A single star is added on top for E-8, and an additional star at E-9.

USAF starts with one rocker underneath at E-2, up to 5 (downward) rockers at E-6. Chevrons over the top are added one by one at E-7, E-8, and E-9.