Trajan and several senior officers wear muscled cuirasses, armour shaped to reproduce an idealized male torso. On the Column, this distinctive equipment visually separates the imperial command group from many of the ordinary soldiers and reinforces their rank, authority and martial status.

Roman standard-bearers stand out from the surrounding troops through the animal skins worn over their helmets and shoulders. Combined with their standards, this distinctive appearance made them immediately recognizable within the formation and emphasized their special military role. On the Column, the exact species of the animal is not always certain, so the safest description is simply “animal-skin” rather than a more specific identification.

Roman military musicians carry the cornu, a large curved bronze horn used to transmit audible signals across formations. Its long tube bends around the player’s body and is reinforced by a transverse support bar, allowing the instrument to be carried while standing or moving. On the Column, cornicines appear alongside standards and assembled troops, emphasizing the organized communication system of the Roman army.

Below the cuirass, Trajan and several senior officers wear rows of hanging strips known as pteryges. These flexible elements covered the hips and upper thighs while preserving freedom of movement, and they also formed an important part of the formal visual appearance of elite military dress. On the Column, they help distinguish the emperor and senior officers from many of the ordinary soldiers around them.