Questions on ribbons/medals

[R-Dub]

You wear the training ribbon and the NDSM...you'll get the GWOT after 30 days on active duty.

[AFCS_Actuator]

Are we supposed to buy the ribbons ourselves, or is ROTC issuing them?

[Guest Jpilot]

You buy your own ribbons at clothing sales.

We probably don't need our Lt ID before our EAD, but it just seems like it would be one less thing to take care of later. However, there's no rule that says we can't get our ID before.

[barney]

i thought that you only wore medals on your mess dress not ribbons? also what wings do you wear on your mess dress the BIG shinny ones or baby shiny ones?

[Champ Kind]

Baby shiny ones on the mess dress.

[Guest redthunder]

One of my academy friends was telling me about how she can wear the Longevity Service Ribbon after spending 4 yrs at the academy. Is the same true after spending 4 years contracted through ROTC?

Anyone on active duty with experience on this?

[jazzdude]

No, you don't get the Longevity Service Ribbon after ROTC.

[Guest rotorhead]

From the AFI: Award to active duty based on an aggregate of 4 years honorable active federal military service with any branch of the US armed forces or Reserve components. Reserve and Guard personnel are credited with award for each 4 years’ satisfactory military service which are creditable for retirement. Service in one of the service academies is creditable as long as the member graduates. Award an OLC for each additional 4 years’ creditable service.

Bottom line: Go to a military academy in Colorado Springs and you get a little ribbon...go to a military academy in Lexington, and you don't.

On a scale of what is important in life, this ribbon (and worrying about who "gets" to wear it) ranks just about last. This is one ribbon that should go away.

[ 10. November 2006, 19:03: Message edited by: rotorhead ]

[Guest ClemsonFlyBoy]

I am just getting service dress and mess dress uniforms ready for active duty here shortly and this is the question i have:

I have purchased the two medals and three ribbons we get when we commission and i cannot put them on a ribbon rack to save my life. the medals are the pain in the a$$! when i finally do they look like sh*t and are halfway destroyed.

is there an easy way to do this? am i missing something?

thanks in advance

[ 03. December 2006, 05:52: Message edited by: Toro ]

[Guest SpectrePilot]

Go to "Superthinribbons.com". They will sell you the medals and/or ribbons fvckin SQUARED away nicely on a custom made rack.

They can be expensive when you have a lot, but at your age it probably wouldn't cost much. 3 years down the road when you have more you can spend it again. Well worth it, especially for the mess-dress mini-medals.

[brabus]

Bend the ribbons out just a bit (widen the gap that goes over the rack...sts). They'll slide on very easily and then you can kind of push them back in to make it a tighter fit (sts).

Secondly, who really cares...just don't bother until you have some dbag shoes ***** enough at ASBC about your out-of-reg uniform and how it will single handedly lose the war on terror, then deal with it...that's what I did.

[ 28. November 2006, 21:25: Message edited by: brabus ]

[jazzdude]

3 ribbons at commissioning? I thought it was two was the standard for ROTC (National Defense Service and AF Training Ribbon), with the GWOT-Service after 30 days on AD (heh, my first 30 days consisted of ASBC- big contribution to the GWOT there...) Maybe something has changed recently.

And at ASBC, the only time anyone said anything about ribbons was at inprocessing (they were wrong anyways). After that, no one seemed to care, or check.

[AFCS_Actuator]

Jazzdude is correct. You only get the training ribbon and NDSM at commissioning. You're supposed to get the GWOT medal after 30 days. I got mine in its original box during my in-processing with MPF.

Personnel Records lady: "Does anyone not have a GWOT medal yet?"

I shit you not.

[Toasty]

The third is commonly the small arms ribbon if you qualified at FT.

[Hacker]

Looking for some experience from anyone who has ordered one of those custom ribbon sets for their blues from someplace like www.ultrathin.com or www.superthinribbons.com.

I hate to say it, but I haven't "updated" my blues since I went to SOS about 5 years ago and I have to wear them for an event in about a month. So, I'm gonna go buy a set off the 'net.

Any recommendations or reviews, aviation brothers?

[Guest Hydro130]

Hacker,

I got a set from www.ultrathin.com not too long ago. They look sweet, and transaction/service/shipping all went very smooth. Getting those custom thin sets ain't cheap, but, damn, they do look awesome. So much nicer than that bent-up and (by comparison) very raggedy-looking AAFES rack I nursed along for so many years...

The big drawback is they are a one-time good deal (unless they now make them changeable somehow). But if you need a nice set for something special, or aren't concerned about always having the latest-and-greatest on your rack everytime you wear 'em, it's well worth it.

Cheers, Hydro

EDIT: Originally bad info on my part removed.

Edited March 21, 2007 by Hydro130

[Chicken]

I didn't think officers wore ribbons on their blues. Come to think of it I don't even own a set of blues.

[POKESC17]

I've used both companies and they both do a good job. You will have to check into it but Ultrathin used to let you send in your old ribbon rack back and they would update for a small fee. Don't know if they still do that or not. Also its pretty easy to add the devices if that is all you have to do.

[Boxhead]

I am guessing he is talking about his Service Dress...as everybody wears everything on those. Ribbons on the blue shirt...usu just prior E's wear ribbons.

How do you manage to not have any blues? You should write a "Slacking for Dummies" book! :)

I concur with Hydro...ultrathin is a little pricey, but looks damn good.

Edited March 17, 2007 by Boxhead

[Hacker]

I didn't think officers wore ribbons on their blues. Come to think of it I don't even own a set of blues.

You don't wear them if you're just wearing the blues shirt without the service dress jacket, but if you wear the jacket you wear your ribbons.

As I said...I haven't worn my blues in about 5 years...and even then that was the first time I'd worn them since UPT graduation.

[Scooter14]

You don't wear them if you're just wearing the blues shirt without the service dress jacket, but if you wear the jacket you wear your ribbons.

As I said...I haven't worn my blues in about 5 years...and even then that was the first time I'd worn them since UPT graduation.

I had to wear mine a few weeks ago. One word - tiiiight. I need to run my fat ass around the block a few times.

I got the https://www.militaryribbons.net/ ones. They did a nice job. You can set the whole thing up online. They know the regs, so let's say you have the AFOUA, but more than 4 devices on it, they know to attach a subsequent AFOUA, even though it doesn't show up. The people who I called on the phone were super nice.

I tried to order the ones out of AF Times with that coupon, mil-thin or whatever, but the 15% promo code didn't work. Even with the 15% discount, I think they were still more expensive. After multiple attempts, I went with Sharper Image.

I managed to butcher my ribbons every time I tried to move them. I'd rather just order a set every few years. With the way the AF hands out all these stupid Expeditionary medals/ribbons, you'll never keep up anyway.

[Guest skycarven]

I ordered a set of the mil thins from www.readyforinspection.com and they look great. He did a great job and like Hydro said, they look so much better than the AAFES racks. If you get more ribbons all you have to do is send them to him and pay a small fee and he will update your rack.

[Guest elcidwill]

www.afribbons.com

Pretty cheap, good ordering system, always in my mailbox about 4-5 days later.

Will

[Guest boofer44]

Transferred from the USMC about 5 years ago to the USAFR. I was a UH-1 Pilot, now fly KC-135's. My unit is trying to submit me for my Combat Readiness Medal. Here's the question - I've read the AFI and understand that you must have qualified in a major combat weapon system for a minimum of 24 months. Does my previous qualifcation as a UH-1 Pilot in the USMC count toward such? Will my time as a UH-1 guy qualify me for 2?

Again, I've read the AFI, it doesn't address this issuse, does anyone have any experience. Thanks for the help.

[Herk Driver]

Transferred from the USMC about 5 years ago to the USAFR. I was a UH-1 Pilot, now fly KC-135's. My unit is trying to submit me for my Combat Readiness Medal. Here's the question - I've read the AFI and understand that you must have qualified in a major combat weapon system for a minimum of 24 months. Does my previous qualifcation as a UH-1 Pilot in the USMC count toward such? Will my time as a UH-1 guy qualify me for 2?

Again, I've read the AFI, it doesn't address this issuse, does anyone have any experience. Thanks for the help.

Probably doesn't matter, but how long between when you were last qual'd for UH-1 and when you were mission qual'd in the tanker?