Bleah.....

This sounds like the rivalry in my family, where the father of my nephew was in the military for years, but never in direct combat.

The son fought in Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan etc. and has his combat infantry badge, and essentially poo-pooh's (he says he doesn't, but he really does) the service of anyone who does not have one.

Joins special facebook groups etc. for only those who have "The Badge"

Now my other younger nephew is in the Marines, and seems to be desperately doing everything possible (so far unsuccessfully) to get himself into combat, anywhere possible, chasing after that badge....

Much bitter family competition/angst over something that to my eyes should be a non-issue. They also serve who only stand and wait?

EDIT: My nephews father actually tried to re-enter the military, after he heard his son had "THE BADGE".

Edited September 23, 20223 yr by HiFlyer

1 minute ago, HiFlyer said:

They also serve who only stand and wait?

Many who have been standing and waiting are called.  Yes, they serve and have the potential to find themselves in harm's way on very short notice.

Noel

As long as we are talking about combat units let me explain about the Air Force Weather Serviced.

There are two branches.  Those that operate weather stations at Air Force Bases and Army Airfields.  And those that are assigned to Army Combat Units.

My weather flight had two missions.  Our primary mission was to support he 163rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (later becoming the 163rd Separate Armored Brigade) of the Montana Army National Guard.  We trained with them.  Our 'weather station' was an M113 armored personnel carrier which each member of the flight had to learn how to drive.

Our secondary mission was to support the 6th US Army Headquarters at the Presidio of San Francisco.  It doesn't exist anymore.  Several of us were deployed there after the Loma Prieta earthquake to provide weather support and forecasts to the emergency operations center.  We had several weather observers providing support to the helicopters at Hamilton Field. 

We received training in the basic combat skills such as map reading, using a compass, Selecting a defensive position for our 'weather station' and assigning fields of fire positions for defense.

In addition to the M113 we had a jeep and trailer which carried our squad tent and camo netting.

Noel

 

 

 

14 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

Ahem!

Space Force Uniform:

Imagine you're a Space Force officer.  You and several of your colleagues are assigned to attend a NATO meeting in Europe.  Your group arrives at the check-in station for the meeting, where a security guard tells you: "Gentlemen, I'm afraid you're at the wrong location.  The Sci-Fi convention is at the hotel three blocks down the road to your right."

@Mike A 

Like these guys??

 

 

15 minutes ago, charliearon said:

Like these guys??

Yeah, that's it!  

I actually went to a Star Trek convention around 30 years ago, which was held at a hotel next to KSFO.  Brent Spiner, the guy who played Data, gave a talk. Lots of costumes.  One guy was wearing a Star Fleet uniform, and there was something wrong with it, but I just couldn't put my finger on what it was.  I think during Spiner's speech, or just before, he asked all those wearing costumes to come up front and stand together.  It then hit me what was wrong.  I told my friend who was with me: "See that guy with the uniform that's somewhat off compared to the others?  I know what happened now.  The only reference material that poor guy had was a VCR tape of a Star Trek episode. Look how the color on his uniform is different from everybody else.  The tint control on his TV was out of wack!" 🤣

1 hour ago, HiFlyer said:

Now my other younger nephew is in the Marines, and seems to be desperately doing everything possible (so far unsuccessfully) to get himself into combat, anywhere possible, chasing after that badge....

That nephew is unfortunately chasing a unicorn:

Quote

Can a marine wear a CIB?

(1) NAVY AND MARINE CORPS PERSONNEL ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO WEAR THE U.S. AIR FORCE COMBAT ACTION MEDAL (CAM) OR THE U.S. ARMY COMBAT INFANTRYMAN BADGE (CIB), COMBAT MEDICAL BADGE (CMB), OR COMBAT ACTION BADGE (CAB), UPON THE NAVY OR MARINE CORPS UNIFORM.

Marines, Navy sailors, or Coast Guardsmen who are awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, Combat Medical Badge, Combat Action Badge, or Combat Action Medal while assigned to United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Space Force units, or who earned such for prior service in the U.S. Army, Air Force.

But even if earned in the course of having served on assignment to any of the above branches, they would not be allowed to wear the CIB on their uniform, so what would be the point?

However, if a Marine has earned a CIB, s/he may apply for the equivalent award for Navy personnel, the CAB (Combat Action Ribbon).

My Drill Instructor during Basic Training was awesome. He himself was a true Unicorn. He was among around 324 Army personnel to have earned the CIB three times for WWII, Korean Conflict and Vietnam. Having attended a military school and JROTC, I recognized immediately just how much he should be respected, and I made it a point to make this clear to the rest of my training platoon. His name is forever to be seen on this memorial plaque:

@Mike A 

I also attended a Star Trek Convention!  The first one held in San Francisco in 1974 at Washington High School.  Still got my "Admit one Grup" ticket.  Got to meet Jimmy Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, and Arlene Martel (T'Pring).  That was a hoot and a half!

57 minutes ago, n4gix said:

But even if earned in the course of having served on assignment to any of the above branches, they would not be allowed to wear the CIB on their uniform, so what would be the point?

About that: He is very disillusioned with the Marines, and wants very much to switch to the Army, soooooo.....

EDIT: Since he has done very very well in the marines, he says the Army seems more than interested in having him, if he switches.

Edited September 23, 20223 yr by HiFlyer

13 minutes ago, charliearon said:

Got to meet Jimmy Doohan

I actually met him also, but it was when I worked on the Military Police Desk at the Presidio.  I was working there one 4th of July, which was always the craziest day of the year on the Presidio.  Lots of activities & crowds eventually leading to the fireworks show (speaking of crazy, imagine the phones ringing constantly for hours, where more than 50% of the callers ask "when/where/best place to see the fireworks". After hours of this, I hit my limit.  A woman called and asked "I'm in Berkeley, which direction will the fireworks be shot?", and I answered "That will be straight up in the air, ma'am".  As I finished, I regretted what I said, but luckily she started laughing, I apologized explaining how many times I had to answer that question.)

So anyway, a local radio station was sponsoring a show with music & celebrities at Crissy Field.  The station told the performers & celebrities to check in at the MP Station, and that transportation would be provided for them from there to the stage area.  The desk sergeant, while not exactly a spitting image, kind of looked similar to the guy who played George Jefferson on The Jeffersons TV show:

This guy comes up to the desk, and when the Desk Sergeant makes eye contact with him, says with a sheepish grin "Hi, I'm Scotty from Star Trek.'  The Desk Sergeant looks him over and replies "Oh, yeah? Well I'm Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!"  I look at him, and this is around thirty years after the original Star Trek was aired, and I hadn't seen any recent pictures of him.  I told the Desk Sergeant "Hey, you know what, that is Scotty from Star Trek!"  So he came up onto the desk and hung out with us for about 20 minutes until his ride came, very gracious guy and seemed to enjoy being there.  Even with all he MPs who came in, saw him and said "Hey, Scotty, beam me up!"😆

Some of the costumes on Lost in Space were outlandish. A simple flower pot on your head, however, won't hide your identity. But might get your picture on the front page. Of course this is Australia. Had to be!

EDIT: The 'exposure' was not on purpose ( because inebriated). 

Edited September 23, 20223 yr by Fielder

17 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

The son fought in Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan etc. and has his combat infantry badge, and essentially poo-pooh's (he says he doesn't, but he really does) the service of anyone who does not have one.

I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a combat infantry badge for action in Iran, but in any case, someone should point out to him that without the assistance of a lot of people who do not have any such action badge from combat, he would not have got to and from those combat zones in the first place to obtain one either, nor would he have been wearing any clothes whilst there, would have had no rations either, no ammunition, no weapons, and anything he did whilst he was there, if he did manage to make it there without the assistance of others, would not have been on record either. Frankly, he sounds like a douchebag.

Edited September 24, 20223 yr by Chock

22 hours ago, Bob Scott said:

Now where it gets stupid is when talk arises of awarding decorations or other recognition reserved for personal risk-taking and/or bravery in combat to guys sitting at desks on another continent--that's a bridge too far, and there have been ridiculous attempts to cross that bridge at times, too--e.g. the idea of drone operators logging "combat time" while flying a Predator drone over Afghastlystan from an air-conditioned van in the middle of the Nevada desert. 

That is nuts that they even tried such a thing. No ones disputing that these are military personnel serving their country but they should not be allowed to log "combat time" or get any medals for sitting in aircon accommodation 12,000km away pressing buttons on a console and joysticks.

I can only imagine the conversation that would take place if a veteran manned-airplane combat pilot (A-10 etc) came across a decorated droner.

7 minutes ago, ThrottleUp said:

I can only imagine the conversation that would take place if a veteran manned-airplane combat pilot (A-10 etc) came across a decorated droner.

They get the Distinguished Warfare Medal made just for them.  It ranks higher than the Bronze Star which is awarded to soldiers who distinguished themselves in battle.  If I were a drone operator I would be embarrassed to wear it.

Amid a firestorm of protests from veterans’ groups and lawmakers, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a review of a new military medal for pilots of unmanned drones.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal for drone operators was ordered last month by former Defense Sectary Leon Panetta, but it was ranked above the medals awarded service members who fought under fire on the front lines, the Bronze Star with combat V and the Purple Heart.

Critics among veterans and on Capitol Hill argued any medal for drone operators thousands of miles from the battle zone should be ranked below the traditional combat awards.

 

Perhaps another medal equivalent to the Purple Heart be issued for drone operators to be awarded for tripping over his shoe laces or paper cuts while performing drone missions.

 

Noel

43 minutes ago, birdguy said:

Distinguished Warfare Medal

A review of numerous articles was interesting. Notably the "award" had barely more than a 2-month existence before being cancelled entirely. Among the various nicknames the "Nintendo Award" stood out comically.