Battlefield: Bad Company 2/Insignias and pins

Pins and insignias are awards, similar to achievements, yet differ in their own ways. Most notably, neither pins nor insignias count for gamer points. Instead, insignias and pins both add varying amounts of experience to the player's experience level. Earning pins and insignias are a quick way of gaining levels, which in turn will help the player obtain the other weapons.

Pins
With the exception of kill streak pins, pins can be earned over multiple lives. Also note that each pin can also be categorized by its shape.

Some pins have somewhat misleading descriptions. The Squad Member pin, for example, refers to completing orders that are given by your squad; obtaining a defend order means to receive orders to defend a flag or objective (via the communicate button) and then killing an enemy from a position close to the objective you were ordered to defend.

Insignias
Insignias are closer to achievements than pins are. Insignias can only be earned once, but once earned they give a single large boost of experience. Most insignias are simple grind achievements and merely require time to obtain.