Shoulder Cords

[Turk]

Are there any wings out there that award shoulder cords outside the realm of CAC or drill comp?

I've heard that INWG awards them to ES-qualified members (ground? air? base?)

I know that NJWG once awarded a blue/gold aigulette to their senior of the year (dunno if they still do).

Provided it's properly approved and supplemented (and worn only within the wing), cords to cadets and officers might be an attractive incentive to fill critical gaps. Of course some will say that it's unnecessary Pinedaesque "bling." And still others will say "Ah, here's old Turk, starting trouble in CAPTalk again!" 

[SSgt Rudin]

Florida wing has:

Gold Lanyard - Wing's Outstanding Cadet of the Year (Phase IV).
Gold/Black cord - Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III Cadet of the Year.
Green/White cord - Group's and Squadron's Outstanding Cadet of the Year.
White cord - Winners of the Florida Wing Cadet Competition (Drill and Color Guard).
White/Blue cord - Members of Group/Squadron Color Guards.
Blue/Yellow cord - Members of the Florida Wing Honor Society.
Blue cord - Wing CAC Chairman/Representative to the Region CAC.
Red cord - Group primary representatives.
Green cord - Squadron primary representative.
Red/White - cord The Wing CAC Vice Chairman, Recorder and staff.

Copied directly from the FLWG Supplement to 39-1

[jeders]

I believe TXWG has one for C/CC, but I don't recall the color. Beyond that and CAC/drill comp, I don't know if TXWG has any others. At my old squadron we had one for the local Cadet of the Quarter, I think it was green and white. The color choice was based solely on the fact that we found it in a locker full of miscellaneous items and decided to use it for Cadet of the Quarter.

[davidsinn]

Are there any wings out there that award shoulder cords outside the realm of CAC or drill comp?

I've heard that INWG awards them to ES-qualified members (ground? air? base?)

INWG does not award any cords beyond the nationals that I know of. For ES we allow the wear of a blue beret with standard flight cap insignia for GTM/L and GOBD quals.

[SJFedor]

Are there any wings out there that award shoulder cords outside the realm of CAC or drill comp?

I've heard that INWG awards them to ES-qualified members (ground? air? base?)

I know that NJWG once awarded a blue/gold aigulette to their senior of the year (dunno if they still do).

Provided it's properly approved and supplemented (and worn only within the wing), cords to cadets and officers might be an attractive incentive to fill critical gaps. Of course some will say that it's unnecessary Pinedaesque "bling." And still others will say "Ah, here's old Turk, starting trouble in CAPTalk again!" 

PAWG, or moreso, HMRS, awards cords for wear. I believe orange is for a HMRS Staff member, and black is for Expert Ranger. Not sure if there's more...and don't really care.

[AlphaSigOU]

I believe TXWG has one for C/CC, but I don't recall the color. Beyond that and CAC/drill comp, I don't know if TXWG has any others. At my old squadron we had one for the local Cadet of the Quarter, I think it was green and white. The color choice was based solely on the fact that we found it in a locker full of miscellaneous items and decided to use it for Cadet of the Quarter.

Decoding the TXWG 'deodorant strings':

Cadet commander = dark forest green
GSARSS = black
Advanced GSARSS = black and gold
Squadron rep to Group CAC - kelly green
Group rep to Wing CAC - red
CTEP NCO Academy - blue and red
CTEP Senior NCO Academy - blue and gold
CTEP Officer Training School - blue and white
CTEP Cadet Command and Staff College - blue and silver
CTEP cadet instructors - same color as the school they instruct, plus a single ferrule.

TXWG supplement to CAPM 39-1 is currently being reworked.

CTEP - Cadet Training and Education Program

[IceNine]

My old unit had one for C/CC that was a pale blue color

[mikeylikey]

No one has any pink ones???

[Duke Dillio]

My old unit had one for C/CC that was a pale blue color

Kinda sounds like an infantryman's blue cord if I am not mistaken....  I'd have to see the color to be exact but I think it is like a baby blue.....

[SSgt Rudin]

I wanted to get a cord approved for squadron cadet of the quarter and squadron staff member of the quarter(cadet, incase thats not clear) it was going to be blue/metallic gold and blue/metallic silver respectively. But my cadets didn't really seem to care so I dropped it. Would have look cool though.

[IceNine]

My old unit had one for C/CC that was a pale blue color

Kinda sounds like an infantryman's blue cord if I am not mistaken....  I'd have to see the color to be exact but I think it is like a baby blue.....

It was pretty close.

Also, WIWAC me and some other C/staff created a Merit program using cords.  It a monthly program based off of inspection, attendance, drill test, merit demerit, and CPPT.  Each section was weighted appropriately and cadets were given scores based off of their grade.  No cadet was eligible until they were a C/SAmn.  We used Red/White for Cadet of Distinction, Black for cadets that achieved 90 points or higher (this was a GIGANTIC PITA to get), Yellow for 80-89, and white for 65-79.

It created some pretty productive competition, and was a huge motivator... But when run improperly proved to serve no purpose, its as with any motivation project is only as good as the enthusiasm of the folks running it and the members being affected

[JC004]

...
I know that NJWG once awarded a blue/gold aigulette to their senior of the year (dunno if they still do).
...

When I was in NJ for something, I asked about all the silly senior members wearing shoulder cords.  They said it was for encampment staff, I think.  Never mention the fact that a wing king can't authorize shoulder cords for senior members, but ok...

I wanted to get a cord approved for squadron cadet of the quarter and squadron staff member of the quarter(cadet, incase thats not clear) it was going to be blue/metallic gold and blue/metallic silver respectively. But my cadets didn't really seem to care so I dropped it. Would have look cool though.

You have cadets who don't care about uniform bling?  Where did you get these cadets?  Will you send me some?  I will take about a dozen.

[SSgt Rudin]

I wanted to get a cord approved for squadron cadet of the quarter and squadron staff member of the quarter(cadet, incase thats not clear) it was going to be blue/metallic gold and blue/metallic silver respectively. But my cadets didn't really seem to care so I dropped it. Would have look cool though.

You have cadets who don't care about uniform bling?  Where did you get these cadets?  Will you send me some?  I will take about a dozen.

Well, they were all for it, then I told them they had to draft up a proposal and send it through CAC to get the wing king to approve it. They never did the proposal, I reminded them a couple times then dropped it.

[SAR-EMT1]

When I was a still a college cadet in AFROTC I recieved permision to wear my AF Cordage with my CAP uniform.

[JayT]

When I was a still a college cadet in AFROTC I recieved permision to wear my AF Cordage with my CAP uniform.

That's not something you can do, or something you can get premission to do.

Just because a squadron/group/wing commander says you have 'premission' to do something doesn't mean its correct/in regulations/the right thing to do.

Also, unless I'm mistaken, it wasn't an Air Force cord, it was an AFROTC cord. Different things.

My question for you is this. Why did you feel it nessary to wear that cord on your CAP uniform?

[SAR-EMT1]

It was encouraged when we wore our CAP outfits.
Also, every once in a while myself and the other one or two "dual hatters" present
would wear our ROTC uniforms in full (usually BDUs on PT night; and we would then procede to smoke the high school kids.)

[JayT]

It was encouraged when we wore our CAP outfits.
Also, every once in a while myself and the other one or two "dual hatters" present
would wear our ROTC uniforms in full (usually BDUs on PT night; and we would then procede to smoke the high school kids.)

Okay, so you were encouraged to break the regulations. Great standards there.

[SAR-EMT1]

< shrugs > Show me the reg.

[JayT]

< shrugs > Show me the reg.

5-5. Shoulder Cords. Shoulder cords may be worn by cadets only to denote special honor positions or may be authorized by the wing commander for special purpose activities (see Table 1-4).

(a) Shoulder cords. Not more than one shoulder cord will be worn at one time, and it will be worn on the left shoulder (see Figure 5-2). Color to be determined by the wing commander, EXCEPT all primary members of Cadet Advisory Councils will wear gold at the National level, blue at region level, and red at wing level. (See CAPR 52-16, CAP
Cadet Program Management.) National Cadet Competition teams will wear
white shoulder cords. Honor Guardsmen will wear silver shoulder cords

1-1. Policy. CAP members are authorized to wear CAP distinctive uniforms as well as uniforms similar to the U.S. Air Force.

5-4. Military Service Awards. Military service ribbons may be worn on the CAP AF-style uniform provided they were awarded in writing by competent military authority. Awards of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard will be worn in the order prescribed by the awarding service, subject to the following: In all cases of relative priority, Air Force awards will take precedence. See Table 5-3. Awards for wars, campaigns, expeditions etc., will be worn in chronological sequence.

I don't see anything there authorizing CAP Senior Members to wear Air Force ROTC cords in CAP uniform, or ROTC uniforms to CAP activities.

Your turn. Prove me wrong.

[RickFranz]

Cadets in Kansas for many years have been able to wear in the wing a black and gold cord for a gpa of 3.5 and a blue and gold cord for a gpa of 4.0.