Our Naval Flight Officer (NFO) belt buckle features the insignia used for NFO qualification, a winged shield surmounted over a pair of crossed, foul anchors. When the designator of Naval Flight Officer was established in 1965, the Navy had not yet designed an insignia to go with the new classification of unrestricted line officer, which was originally divided into eight sub-specialties (Bombardier, Controller, Electronic Countermeasures Evaluator, Navigator, Interceptor, Photographer-Navigator, Tactical Coordinator, and Reconnaissance Navigator). For the time being, Officers serving in these positions would all the wear same insignia, Naval Aviation Observer Wings.
Over three years later, the Chief of Naval Operations finally approved a breast insignia for Officers who qualified as Naval Flight Officers, spurred on in part by a need to keep up with the changes to designators in the Naval Aviation Observer category.