Medals, Gongs and Cub Scout Badges

[The Almighty Fatwa Sam]

Yeah mate. Because walting around with medals on that you're not entitled to wear is quite laudable isn't it?

If he's been issued with it, then why shouldn't he wear it?
Just because some pen pushing jerkoff has decided to invent some rule banning him from wearing it?
Apart from the fact that it's forbidden by QR's, can you give me a realistic and sensible reason why the wearing of this medal is forbidden?
Will it cause the very fabrics of integrity that hold the RAF together to split at the seams, bringing all of modern society crashing down with it?

I hope it's some nutter of an old SWO who catches you doing your best mitty impression.

If it is, I do hope for his sake that he remembers to call me sir while he attempts to bollock a member of the civillian public.
He would need to be a nutter to think he could bollock Joe Public and get away with it. His bloody feet wouldn't touch the floor matey.

That would be some fizzer.

Indeed it would. I'd love to see them make it stick against someone who was issued with his discharge papers years ago.

Enjoy your jankers is all I'll say.

That doesn't happen here in the real world.

There's enough of your type with your attitude around already without it spreading to "the kids".

Ah, now we get to the root of your problem.
You actually believe the hype about your glorious air farce don't you?
Do you wear a stable belt and bull your shoes every night?
Do you yearn for the day they'll allow ou to wear your SD cap with your blues?
Do you have a wee leatherman and maglight pouch attached to the back of your belt?
Do you wear blue pyjamas and quote your oath of allegience every night just before going to bed?
Sad really.

 

[Red-Rock]

If he's been issued with it, then why shouldn't he wear it?
Just because some pen pushing jerkoff has decided to invent some rule banning him from wearing it?
Apart from the fact that it's forbidden by QR's, can you give me a realistic and sensible reason why the wearing of this medal is forbidden?
Will it cause the very fabrics of integrity that hold the RAF together to split at the seams, bringing all of modern society crashing down with it?



If it is, I do hope for his sake that he remembers to call me sir while he attempts to bollock a member of the civillian public.
He would need to be a nutter to think he could bollock Joe Public and get away with it. His bloody feet wouldn't touch the floor matey.



Indeed it would. I'd love to see them make it stick against someone who was issued with his discharge papers years ago.



That doesn't happen here in the real world.



Ah, now we get to the root of your problem.
You actually believe the hype about your glorious air farce don't you?
Do you wear a stable belt and bull your shoes every night?
Do you yearn for the day they'll allow ou to wear your SD cap with your blues?
Do you have a wee leatherman and maglight pouch attached to the back of your belt?
Do you wear blue pyjamas and quote your oath of allegience every night just before going to bed?
Sad really.

Top post Sam. You beat me to it.

I fail to see how someone who has earned a medal by being in theatre would be walting it up by wearing it on his uniform. If he hadn't been issued it then fair enough.

Did you get out of the wrong side of bed this morning OS or what??DT_Xtremez_15:

 

[The Almighty Fatwa Sam]

Did you get out of the wrong side of bed this morning OS or what??DT_Xtremez_15:

Aaah, I think he's just a baby officer, fresh out of Cranwell. He's still blinded by the Brasso and Bullsh!t.

As for me. I got out of bed on the right side - The civvy side.
And that wasn't until nearly lunchtime.
Aaaaaah.

 

[Red-Rock]

Aaah, I think he's just a baby officer, fresh out of Cranwell. He's still blinded by the Brasso and Bullsh!t.

As for me. I got out of bed on the right side - The civvy side.
And that wasn't until nearly lunchtime.
Aaaaaah.

Not an officer Sam, a copper. Both equally uptight though.DT_Xtremez_15:

 

[The Almighty Fatwa Sam]

Not an officer Sam, a copper. Both equally uptight though.DT_Xtremez_15:

Ah, that explains it all. Bloody self officious scuffers.
I still bet he has the wee leatherman and maglight pouches though.

 

[Scaley brat]

I got out of bed on the right side - The civvy side.
And that wasn't until nearly lunchtime.
Aaaaaah.

Lazy tart, you'll give the rest of us a bad name DT_Xtremez_42: DT_Xtremez_31:

 

[The Almighty Fatwa Sam]

Lazy tart, you'll give the rest of us a bad name DT_Xtremez_42: DT_Xtremez_31:

LOL.
Me = bad.
So what time did you crawl out of your scratcher then?

 

[Scaley brat]

LOL.
Me = bad.
So what time did you crawl out of your scratcher then?

About 1/2 hour before my eyes focus...... that puts it around 0600 DT_Xtremez_42:

 

[Oh sir]

Yawn....

I could adress all of this line by line, but it'll just bore everyone, me included.

Fatwah: All I will say is apologies, I assumed you were still in. In fairness you DID make a comment about stapling a ribbon to your jacket pocket top earlier, hence my assumption.

But then you went and made a fairly big assumption about me, so I guess we're even on that one.

So am I a baby still blinded by brasso etc? No. 18 years in, and as dissillusioned as the next man.

But on the subject of medals I just don't see the need to wear toytown medals. Did you not get enough authorised ones while you were in? In all seriousness there is a HUGE groundswell of opinion within the RBL to ban the wearing of non authorised awards. So you'll get short shrift from most veterans for wearing any gizzits these days.

Look in any sunday supplement, RAFA magazine etc.... there are maybe a dozen "medals" (I use the term loosely) that can be bought by ex service people these days, purely because they were in a particular area, or did a certain amount of time in. It cheapens the whole thing. My father in law has 6 medals in total, and four of them he bought. That, in my eyes is a walt.

And before you say they're not the same thing, you'd be right. But it's no massive difference is it? Lots of people have been "issued" the Kuwait medal, but at the end of the day if Aunty Betty says no, then you don't wear it.

As I say, I'm not all dewy eyed, standing saluting in front of the mirror every night. (Only at weekends.)
But these gizzit medals DO cheapen the real ones, EARNED by the relevant people. And that's my gripe.

 

[The Almighty Fatwa Sam]

About 1/2 hour before my eyes focus...... that puts it around 0600 DT_Xtremez_42:

Crikey. I'd forgotten that there's two 6-o'clocks in the day.
At around that time, I was drooling into my pillow and mumbling something incoherent about a giant raspberry driving my car.

 

[The Almighty Fatwa Sam]

As I say, I'm not all dewy eyed, standing saluting in front of the mirror every night. (Only at weekends.)
But these gizzit medals DO cheapen the real ones, EARNED by the relevant people. And that's my gripe.

Sorry. Don't agree.
Campaign gongs have nothing to do with geography.

If someone has been issued a medal, it is obviously because they have done something to earn it.
If they haven't earned it, then they shouldn't have been issued with it. Simple as that.

Now, if they have participated in a campaign in a capacity that entitles them to a gong, they should be allowed to wear it.
After all, what's the point of issuing a decoration if you're not allowed to decorate anything with it.
That includes people who were assigned to and aided a war effort for a qualifying period directly from places like JARIC or HQSTC.
They still did their bit, and helped to keep the lads on the ground alive. Do you honestly think their contribution in providing our boys on the ground with the int to keep them alive is a worthless task?

At the end of the day, you are getting confused between campaign decorations, and valour decorations.
They are very different things.
Just because they look similar and get stuck in the same place on your uniform, doesn't mean they actualy are the same.

A campaign medal should be awarded to anyone who plays a vital role in a campaign, regardless of geography.

 

[Scaley brat]

Crikey. I'd forgotten that there's two 6-o'clocks in the day.
At around that time, I was drooling into my pillow and mumbling something incoherent about a giant raspberry driving my car.

I hate you DT_Xtremez_37: DT_Xtremez_15:

I need to win the lottery...... badly DT_Xtremez_21:

Then I can crow my head off about getting up in the afternoon DT_Xtremez_30:

And get out of this Sh!t box country !

 

[Oh sir]

A campaign medal should be awarded to anyone who plays a vital role in a campaign, regardless of geography.

Sorry mate you're going off on a tangent here.

I didn't say at any point that people aren't entitled to wear an awarded decoration.

I said people shouldn't wear UNAUTHORISED decorations. For example, the Kuwaiti Government medal as awarded by that country in GW1 or the recent NATO non article 5 when accompanied by the OSM.

You're getting confused. It's probably too much sleep. DT_Xtremez_15: DT_Xtremez_14:

 

[I Look Like Kevin Costner]

I said people shouldn't wear UNAUTHORISED decorations. For example, the Kuwaiti Government medal as awarded by that country in GW1 DT_Xtremez_15: DT_Xtremez_14:

All the lads in Saudi during GW1 were awarded Saudi medals as well as the Kuwaiti ones. Of the three I got, only one I can wear and one I want to, Ours!

 

[The Almighty Fatwa Sam]

I said people shouldn't wear UNAUTHORISED decorations. For example, the Kuwaiti Government medal as awarded by that country in GW1 or the recent NATO non article 5 when accompanied by the OSM.

And I still say that they should be allowed to wear them if they've been awarded them.
If the RAF don't want them to wear them, then the RAF should step in and prevent them being issued.
You still haven't given a good believable reason why they shouldn't be worn, apart from the fact that some penpusher has decreed it to be so.

 

[Oh sir]

You still haven't given a good believable reason why they shouldn't be worn

No I suppose I haven't. Except:

apart from the fact that some penpusher has decreed it to be so

Yep. The Queen is some pen pusher though ain't she?

 

[The Almighty Fatwa Sam]

Yep. The Queen is some pen pusher though ain't she?

Sorry, I don't blindly follow instructions that have no logical reason to back them up.
Now tell me. If some penpusher were to make a rule that you had to bang yourself on the back of the hand with a hammer every day before going to lunch, would you question the thinking behind it, or would you blindly obey?

The point being, I'm not asking who made the decision. I'm asking why they made the decision.

And for the record. I don't believe the queen herself personally made the decisions on what medals can and can't be worn. Do you?

 

[Oh sir]

Sorry, I don't blindly follow instructions that have no logical reason to back them up.
Now tell me. If some penpusher were to make a rule that you had to bang yourself on the back of the hand with a hammer every day before going to lunch, would you question the thinking behind it, or would you blindly obey??

Now that's just daft. It's a silly example.

But having said that, if the QR's were amended with Her Maj's authority that said, for example, we now all had to march around the unit instead of walking, then of course you'd do it. Following orders is all part of being in the Armed Services. Not blindly maybe, and there's a time to question orders etc, sure. But when you make a habit of it, it's probably time to have a sit down and think as to whether the Forces was really a career for you. (I don't mean you personally by the way).

And for the record. I don't believe the queen herself personally made the decisions on what medals can and can't be worn. Do you?

No of couse not, but she does authorise all these desicions, so they are hers at the end of the day. Especially in respect of decorations etc.

 

[The Almighty Fatwa Sam]

Now that's just daft. It's a silly example.

Not really.
Out here in the real world, if an employer makes a decision and enforces that rule upon me, I want to know the reasoning behind the decision. I am well within my rights to ask the reasons why, and expect an answer that makes sense.

The RAF is an employer just like any other, and contrary to what many of the currently serving sheep choose to believe, they are bound by the same rules that affect all employers in this country.
The reason why it sometimes seems otherwise is because a lot of people are afraid to question the RAFs right to infringe their rights as an employee in case it reflects badly on their next 6442.

I don't think it's unresonable to want to know or understand the reasoning or thinking behind a decision.

 

[Red-Rock]

Yawn....

I could adress all of this line by line, but it'll just bore everyone, me included.

Fatwah: All I will say is apologies, I assumed you were still in. In fairness you DID make a comment about stapling a ribbon to your jacket pocket top earlier, hence my assumption.

But then you went and made a fairly big assumption about me, so I guess we're even on that one.

So am I a baby still blinded by brasso etc? No. 18 years in, and as dissillusioned as the next man.

But on the subject of medals I just don't see the need to wear toytown medals. Did you not get enough authorised ones while you were in? In all seriousness there is a HUGE groundswell of opinion within the RBL to ban the wearing of non authorised awards. So you'll get short shrift from most veterans for wearing any gizzits these days.

Look in any sunday supplement, RAFA magazine etc.... there are maybe a dozen "medals" (I use the term loosely) that can be bought by ex service people these days, purely because they were in a particular area, or did a certain amount of time in. It cheapens the whole thing. My father in law has 6 medals in total, and four of them he bought. That, in my eyes is a walt.

And before you say they're not the same thing, you'd be right. But it's no massive difference is it? Lots of people have been "issued" the Kuwait medal, but at the end of the day if Aunty Betty says no, then you don't wear it.

As I say, I'm not all dewy eyed, standing saluting in front of the mirror every night. (Only at weekends.)
But these gizzit medals DO cheapen the real ones, EARNED by the relevant people. And that's my gripe.

Oh Sir, I'm curious as to why you think that these 'gizzit medals' as you call them cheapen the real ones. All of the medals being discussed have been ISSUED to said individual for being in a certain area/conflict not purchased cos he fancied them. Fair enough a couple may not be authorised but that doesn't mean they haven't been earned. If he has bought the medals then, yes he is a walt, but if, as in this case they were issued then he most definately isn't one.

When I left I only had 3 gongs, GW1, GSM (NI) and ACSM. In addition to these I have 2 gizzit medals, Saudi Liberation of Kuwait Medal (very nice) and Kuwaiti Liberation of Kuwait Medal sat in a draw at home. I most certainly earned those 2 in addition to my authorised one. Does that make me a Walt OS??