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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 3202
Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
Saw a Seaman Second or Seaman Apprentice...two white stripes. He had a big white verticle anchor over his two white diagonal stripes where we had a strikers designator. He had five ribbons...one row of three, with two above. What in the hell can a seaman apprentice do to earn five ribbons...?? OK,OK He had the "belly button" ribbon (National Defense) ribbon...the one they give you at boot camp if you come equipped with a belly button...but I couldn't figure out what the other four were. He didn't look old enough to have served in a major naval engagement or have rescued folks from a burning naval vessel....five ribbons. My old man served in two world wars and had three rows of very meaningful ribbons when he died. E-2, five ribbons, two rows....I may have seen the Audy Murphy of the Second Fleet/ DEX |
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Crew
Posts: 57
| Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
Dex, I share your bewilderment. Saw two Aviation Boatswain Seaman Apprentices at the Seattle airport after the Cruise with two ribbons apiece. Talk to one to verify her Rating and she indicated that they had just graduated from "A" school. I guess you earn two ribbon for just joining. |
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Old Salt
Posts: 264
Location: Harrison, NJ | Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
He Could've been a Coxswain. As I recall, members of the Seaman Gang or BM strikers who ran the small boats, wore an anchor over their rate.
At least, I *think* I remember it tha way. a lot of things change over the course of 40 years.  |
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 3202
Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
A friend e-mailed me. Here's his take...National Defense ribbon, Rifle and pistol marksmanship ribbon and two school completion ribbons or a global war on terror ribbon. Makes sense. DEX |
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Crew
Posts: 98
Location: Lipan, TX | Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
I don't know of any "A" School in the Navy that gives a ribbon just for completing the school. Here at the MA (soon to be SFS) "A" School at Lackland, a striker can get only 2 ribbons; one for the m9 and one for the m16. Both are marksmanship and they cannot gradate unless they actually qualify for those ribbons. Now I have seen fleet returnees come through here that are E2 & E3's that arrive with 3 ribbons and leave with 5. The 3 we usually see are the NDSM, GWOT and overseas service ribbon. The bootcampers who graduate from here don't get the GWOT until they get to their first command.
Back to my earlier comment..... the MA rate is soon to change. What is now referred to as MA or Master at Arms will soon become SFS or Security Force Specialist. What most of you guys remember as MAA being a collateral duty, we will see come back once the rate is officially changed to SFS. With any luck, I'll be out before all this happens. You don't just say "Hey Chief Lewis or Jones", or whatever anymore. It is MAC Lewis or MA1 Jones or YN2, yada, yada. Can you imagine trying to say "Hey SFSC Lewis, or SFS1 Jones" or worse yet, what happens when SFSC Lewis makes E8 or E9. Crap...that would be SFSCS Lewis or SFSCM Lewis.
I can see it now.......because of all the confusion, it will probably get abbreviated to "hey Spec Lewis" without anyone even catching the fact they just called their Chief an E3 in the Army!!!
Nope, not me, I'll settle for just saying I was an MA2 (hopefully MA1) when I get out this next spring
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 557
| Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
I saw an E5 Air Force Sargeant with 14 ribbons. |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 2357
| Subject: Most of us...
in the RAN have either 2 or 3 Medals after 20 years Service. ( used to be 1 or 2 but they just recently gave us another one....because they could )
I have 3!
Blue *_* |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 811
Location: NW Connecticut | Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
Gee I know a certain Senior Chief with 23 Ribbons, several of which are repeat awards.. His top 9 ribbons are all Combat awards and repeat Combat awards. I think he worked just as hard for his as any sailor before him did in any War..
I think many of us "Peace Time" Cold War vets fail to realize that this Country has been involved in at least 6 Campaigns that are represented by various ribbons/medals since Vietnam. My Dad was a 2 War Vet and he too earned 4 different Campaign medals as well as his other service related medals and decorations.
Many of us between the war Vets had little opportunity to build a "rack". This doesn't mean these new warriors are any less deserving of their fruit salad..
What does surprise me is so many Navy Admirals etc. that have a chestful of fruit salad and not one Combat award.. That's scary.
Hey today's military is a busy occupation if you so choose... |
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Senior Crew
Posts: 188
Location: Manassas, VA | Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
Reminds me of an admirals inspection at Group 6 (Charleston). It was during the time where all boat sailors had the National Defense and perhaps a Good Conduct. Even the attack boats, because they couldn't divulge there ops, were not given medals. Some of us in subflot six were farmed out to the surface force for a while.
That is all back ground.
Before the inspection one of our crew found he was eligible for the Dominican campaign ribbon. He wore it to the inspection. The admiral noting it, and not recognizing it, queried the sailor, "Where did you get that ribbon?" His answer, "The Navy Exchange."
The resulting laughter broke out, and the admiral instructed the captain, "Dismiss the troops, we will never restore a military air after this!"
chiefjoe |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 892
Location: Palo Pinto County, Texas | Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
1952 RDSN age 18
Four ribbons
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1107
Location: Tucson AZ | Subject: Hmm! This guy chose to wear only 4 ribbons...
This is Rear Admiral Eugene Fluckey, sometime after WW II. I'm sure there was a ton of fruit salad he could have worn, but he chose to wear just 4.
Bottom row, l to r: Navy Cross (4 awards), Presidential Unit Citation (looks like 2 awards), Navy Unit Commendation.
Top: Medal of Honor
'Nuff said.
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 3202
Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
I difer to you Vic....with all your heroic combat awards. Are you the same Vic who spent a lot of your first REQUIN reunion asking your shipmates about remembering your service because of some medical condition that erased your memories of service aboard?...and we all did our best to tell you about your service which was exemplary and a credit to yourself and the boat. Somewhere you have undergone a complete personality change and like to hurt people...like my late bride, who never understood why you called liberal Democrats (which she was) traitors and other vile things. She was a gentle soul who liked you for your courtesy at the reunion. In her last days she stopped going on the board, because it was painful to hear what a traitor she was. In November of 2005, I carried her in my arms to the car to drive her to the polling place where she voted...Voted Democratic....From the day she was naturalized until the day of her death December 13th 2005, she never failed to vote...and God never made a prouder or better American citizen than Solveig Nordvik Armstrong. I wish I knew what happened to the happy-go-lucky Radioman who served aboard REQUIN. I served six years...saw no action (as I think applied to you.) I got the National Defense Ribbon and a Good Conduct Medal....I never understood exactly what I did to rate either. There are E-2's who really deserve combat awards...I can assure you, the lad I saw had (A) seen no combat and (B) hadn't cleared the boot camp gate for more than six months. His unit rocker indicated that he was attached to a shore duty billet....and he looked like a "rubber sock". I don't know about the Navy, but the Army hands out ribbons for satisfactory school completion, personal achievement and for service in conjunction certain deployments. I was the Pentagon Building's Manager during the bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon and the Grenada liberation action. Personnel who remained in the Pentagon and supported the operation were assembled in two ranks in the center courtyard and presented with a brown envelope known as a "holy joe" that contained what was known as the Grenada medal group. Don't ask me what medals were in there, but a gentleman who had been awarded the DSC for valor in the Ardennes stood in my office and shook his head in disgust. Ira died a year later and I attended his service in Arlington where a spokesman for the delegation from the Jewish War Veterans read a summary of his service, decorations and awards. He was a true hero in every sense of the word and never had to brag about it. Vic, I'm not ashamed of one thirty seconds of my service, and have never represented myself as anything other than a damn good sailor, who held the record for the fewest questions missed on my final qual walkthrough according to Cdr. Ed (no middle name) Frothingham...and the last Requin sailor to be with him (and Ruth) before he died and have dinner with him on his last birthday. My naval service was honorable, totally undistinguished, and laced with memories. DEX |
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Old Salt
Posts: 256
| Subject: RE: Saw a Seaman Deuce today
Hey Guys.......Let's all give this particular discussion a rest.....looks like we're at a stage where old friendships
are being damaged. 
Bob M.
Tincanman |
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Saw a Seaman Deuce today
