Why aren't there (more) decorations with horizontal stripes?

[Eclipse]

Is there some heraldic reasoning, etc?

If we've got a concern about being confused with other services, that would certainly make our decs distinctive.
To my cursory glance I only see two decs, one Navy and one Army that have horizontal stripes.

[Майор Хаткевич]

http://robotech-aod.com/


Nice.

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[Eclipse]

^ Duh, removed.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Good question, but there have been in the past.


Army Reserve Overseas Training Ribbon


USN/USMC PUC

Other countries don't really care for being horizontal either...the British Commonwealth changed its Distinguished Flying Cross/Medal and Air Force Cross/Medal from horizontal to diagonal:


old DFC


current DFC


old AFC


current AFC

[tsrup]

I assume that it would be a cost/manufacturing issue.

It's easier to create a long ribbon with longitudinal stripes and cut to length wherever you wanted as opposed to a ribbon where you have to make your cuts at specific and exact locations each time.


That's my wild guess and that's about all I got.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Wouldn't it be the same, just the "Long" becomes the "wide"?

[Eclipse]

Wouldn't it be the same, just the "Long" becomes the "wide"?

You can have a machine that sprays a color continuously on a vertical strip, but would have to either on/off, or back/forth on a horizontal one.
That or be cutting the strips differently.

This makes sense, though one would like to think that there's more thought given to the colors then whether they are hard to make.

[tsrup]

Wouldn't it be the same, just the "Long" becomes the "wide"?

Then you'd have to have a separately rigged and calibrated machine retooled for a different size. 


I'm still just pulling this out of my fourth point of contact, and is still just a theory at this point.

[BGNightfall]

It would appear that most military awards are rendered as medals, so it would make sense to have vertical, or at least diagonal decoration (varying lengths and widths of medal drapes, depending on the medal, and whether it is mini or full sized would affect the presentation of a horizontal banded ribbon drape).  In addition, many unit awards are presented as streamers to be flown either from the masthead or with the unit colors.  In light of this, it would appear to me that the military heralds decided that it would be more appropriate to render the personal awards vertically, with the striations proceeding horizontally than the inverse.   

[arajca]

No. As tsrup said, having to make specific cuts in relation to the stripes is more expensive and time consuming. Remeber each ribbon needs have the stripes in the same place. Making the material is easy. It's in making the ribbon where the expense comes in.

If a ribbon spec is three even horizontal stripes, red-white-red, every one has to match. I've taken apart some old ribbons and the amount and alignment of material is close, but not quite the same. With vertical stripes, that's not an issue. With horizontal stripes, it would be. Using my example, the white stripe would be centered, but applying what I've seen in ribbons I've taken apart, about half would be right, the rest would be visibly wrong.

[wuzafuzz]

Horizontal stripes are one thing on a tiny ribbon, but would look awful on the longer strip of cloth used for the medal version of an award. 

[LGM30GMCC]

Could also be that ribbons are designed by people.

And, personally, I think horizontal striped ribbons look kinda funky/ugly. Diagonal are even worse (I hate the AF Combat Action Medal...it looks like the reflective striping seen on the bottom of high-viz cars and what not) in my opinion. If a ribbon/medal is being designed and someone goes 'yeah, that's pretty hideous' it likely won't get approved.

You also don't have much space on a 1/4" tall ribbon to have different stripes. Go vertical and you can do all kinds of combinations of wide, narrow, banding, whatever. Try cramming that on a tiny little space.

[MSG Mac]

The horizontal striped ribbons are a pain to make cause now the manufacturer has to mount the cloth onto the frame evenly. That's also the reason CAP resigned their ribbons to remove the various propellers which were formerly on the ribbons.

[SarDragon]

The props were a fairly easy weaving job. Horizontal stripes not so much.

I never received any of that type of ribbons, so I don't have an olde one to tear apart and examine the weaving, so I can't tell exactly how they were done. Maybe I'll get one at the exchange and sacrifice it for a learning exercise.

[arajca]

If you look at them from the end, you can see where the edges of the fabric line up. I used to be a tailor, so I tore apart some that had past their useful life (Earhart is white with stripes, not grayish-tan, right?) out of curiosity.

[ol'fido]

Don't want to be a master of the obvious, but the ribbons with the horizontal stripes, Army Reserve Overseas Training and N/MC Presidential Unit Citation are just that. They are ribbons that have no corresponding medal. As LGM.... said, you can make a ribbon from a vertical ribbon easier than a horizontal one.

Dave, did they weave the propellers, etc. on the ribbon or just print them on the cloth? I haven't looked at mine in a while.

[BillB]

CAP had ribbons with horizontal stripes, Cadet COP, International Drill Comp, IACE come to mind. Only the Cadet COP can still be worn. The others have been replaced.

[GroundHawg]

One of my state awards is the Kentucky Recruiting Ribbon, aka the Blue Falcon Ribbon, made of horizontal stripes. Unlike the ARCOTR which cant be put on incorrectly, this one is red white and blue and is almost always worn incorrectly upside down. I think its strange that the ribbon is worn blue/white/red instead of red/white/blue.

[PHall]

One of my state awards is the Kentucky Recruiting Ribbon, aka the Blue Falcon Ribbon, made of horizontal stripes. Unlike the ARCOTR which cant be put on incorrectly, this one is red white and blue and is almost always worn incorrectly upside down. I think its strange that the ribbon is worn blue/white/red instead of red/white/blue.

They wear it "French" style!

[Flying Pig]

Im going to go with disgustingly hideous in appearance as the reason.

[lordmonar]

Back in the day....the USAF's Promotion Fitness Exam Study Guid show the Armed Forces Expiditonary Medal backwards.....this last 2-3 printings.  I only discovered it when I baught my first mess dress and noticed the hanging medal had the red/whit/blue stripes the other way around.

Also you see the Kuwaiti Liberation medal and Kosovo War Medal put on backwards from time to time.

As for Horzontal stripes....personally I think they don't look that good....and would steer away from them if I had any say in the matter.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Seems to me that the horizontally striped ribbons do NOT translate into medals, so this isn't a problem. Remember, unlike in CAP, in the Real Military, not every ribbon has a medal or miniature medal corresponding to it. Unit citations and ribbons called "ribbons" don't, so they can go horizontal all day and it means nothing. Now, if it was a DSM or a DFC or a MOH, don't think for a second they'd go horizontal. They have long stretches of those colors to make, too!

[SarDragon]

Don't want to be a master of the obvious, but the ribbons with the horizontal stripes, Army Reserve Overseas Training and N/MC Presidential Unit Citation are just that. They are ribbons that have no corresponding medal. As LGM.... said, you can make a ribbon from a vertical ribbon easier than a horizontal one.

Dave, did they weave the propellers, etc. on the ribbon or just print them on the cloth? I haven't looked at mine in a while.

Absolutely woven in. I still have all my olde cartoon ribbons, and the weaving is obvious when you look at the backs.

[ol'fido]

Wish I could find mine.

[Brad]

One of my state awards is the Kentucky Recruiting Ribbon, aka the Blue Falcon Ribbon, made of horizontal stripes. Unlike the ARCOTR which cant be put on incorrectly, this one is red white and blue and is almost always worn incorrectly upside down. I think its strange that the ribbon is worn blue/white/red instead of red/white/blue.

I'm wanting to say it's a heraldry thing, but the darker color is usually worn up or pointing to the right when compared to the lighter color on asymmetric ribbons. Case in point the Leadership Award, Membership Award, the Air Force Kosovo War Medal, the NJROTC Physical Training Ribbon, etc. etc. One notable exception being the GRW award, which is just a flipover of the old National Commander Citation. Guess they were too lazy to design a new one.

As to the original question of why there aren't more horizontal ribbons, the thought of medal drapes is what popped into my head almost instantly. Considering that CAP has miniature medals for every ribbon, imagine how much more expensive they would be due to the extra steps needed to make it, owing to the folding of the fabric and such. Plus think how awful it would look when worn...

[MSG Mac]

One of my state awards is the Kentucky Recruiting Ribbon, aka the Blue Falcon Ribbon, made of horizontal stripes. Unlike the ARCOTR which cant be put on incorrectly, this one is red white and blue and is almost always worn incorrectly upside down. I think its strange that the ribbon is worn blue/white/red instead of red/white/blue.

In Heraldry blue is the "senior" color

[ol'fido]

What is the "cadet" color.

[Brad]

What is the "cadet" color.

:-P

[SarDragon]

Well, I just dissected a Navy PUC. It is woven with the stripes vertical, to a narrower width than a regular ribbon. It's cut to the correct size, and assembled on the bar.

[Texas Raiders]

It's easy.  Horizontal stripes make you look fat, while vertical stripes make you look taller!