The Dictator

[BuckeyeDEJ]

How many of you saw this picture
and immediately looked for CAP ribbons?

(There's a senior recruiter ribbon on the second-to-last row, and to the left of it, what may be an old-style encampment ribbon, which repeats itself two rows above. Am I missing any others?)

[PHall]

I see three California National Guard ribbons.

[SarDragon]

I did look.

Those are not encampment ribbons. The color are wrong. They would be blue-red-green (or upside down), and given the faithfulness of the colors on the other ribbons, the colors look wrong. The center stripe is definitely not bright red, and the blue and green are the wrong shades. They don'y look at all like my olde ribbon.

[spacecommand]

LOL yes I did, when they were doing a video interview I thought I saw the leadership ribbon, but it turned out to be something else when I researched for a photo.

[a2capt]

Where's that from? Some recent news issue? It looks semi C.G. to me.

[SarDragon]

It's the getup he wore to the Oscars, where he made an absolute ass of himself.

[a2capt]

Probably glad I didn't watch.. I might have shut it off right then.

[SarDragon]

Well, his ass-hattery was actually during the red carpet stuff, so it had no real effect on the presentation show, which was mostly good.

[Extremepredjudice]

He is wearing approx. 68 ribbons. 

[ColonelJack]

You know, people who have actual talent don't have to resort to stunts at the Academy Awards to get publicity, recognition, what have you.

I don't think Mr. Cohen is very funny in anything he does, and apparently a lot of other people don't either - which is why (in my never-to-be-humble opinion) he resorts to foolishness like this to get people to notice him.

And as for the original point, among those 68-or-so ribbons he's wearing, I don't see very many U.S. active-duty type ribbons.  Which is a wise move on his part - wear CAP, ROTC, state guard, and foreign awards, but not anything that someone on AD would be earning today.

Jack

[davedove]

My only question is when do we get to adopt this as the Corporate Dress Uniform?   Of course it would have to be grey.

[titanII]

How many of you saw this picture
and immediately looked for CAP ribbons?

guilty.... 

[Abby.L]

Well, I guess he was in Kuwait....

[spacecommand]

I think that might be a recruiter ribbon (second row from bottom).

[Smokey]

As to the suggestion for this as a CAP uniform....

DON'T give Radioman any ideas....

wait IS that Radioman in that photo?

[SarDragon]

There are about a dozen AD ribbons on there.

[ol'fido]

It's the getup he wore to the Oscars, where he made an absolute ass of himself.

Apparently, Dave, he makes a living of making an ass of himself. Personally, I don't think he has to "make" an ass of himself. It's his normal state of being.

[davidsinn]

Nobody has said it yet so I'm still in the dark...But what is that thing?

[Spaceman3750]

Nobody has said it yet so I'm still in the dark...But what is that thing?

According to ColonelJack, that's David Cohen, creator of Futurama.

[Eclipse]

Nobody has said it yet so I'm still in the dark...But what is that thing?

According to ColonelJack, that's David Cohen, creator of Futurama.

Not quite.

That's Sacha Baron Cohen, the creator of Borat (among other things).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacha_Baron_Cohen

All part of marketing for his upcoming movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dictator_(2012_film)
The Dictator Official Trailer #1 - Sacha Baron Cohen Movie (2012) HD

[Spaceman3750]

The Google-fu runs strong with you.

[AirDX]

Sacha Baron Cohen traded in his $2.9 million house for a $14 million dollar house in the Hollywood Hills a couple of years ago.

Here's his wife and mother of his two children:



He may be an ass, but he's a pretty successful ass.

We hang out on CAPTalk.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Ladies and gentlemen, the attractive woman you see above is Isla Fisher. And now, let's look at the ribbon rack at the distant top...

I've seen cadets with fruit salad nearly this ridiculous. Makes me wonder why we don't pare down the achievement ribbons in phases I and II. Also makes me wonder if those kids have a life outside CAP. Or whether they're overdecorated for the things they've done in CAP. Either way, something isn't right.

[Darkside1]

Ladies and gentlemen, the attractive woman you see above is Isla Fisher. And now, let's look at the ribbon rack at the distant top...

I've seen cadets with fruit salad nearly this ridiculous. Makes me wonder why we don't pare down the achievement ribbons in phases I and II. Also makes me wonder if those kids have a life outside CAP. Or whether they're overdecorated for the things they've done in CAP. Either way, something isn't right.

Really? There is no issue here. Cadets usually end up wearing fairly sizable racks in JROTC and CAP. It generally helps them feel good about themselves, feel good about their service within CAP and JROTC, and costs next to nothing to the organization.

They are not OVER decorated. They are decorated to the needs of 12 and 15 and ultimately 21 year olds, notice how the ribbons thin out around the cadet officer grades? I'm not sure what you mean, "do they have lives?". What lives do you expect them to have? Most kids that age go to school and participate in one or two after school groups. If a cadet is spending a majority of his/her spare time with CAP and racking awards, well its better than sitting around and playing video games or something of the sort.

Sure they look a bit silly to seasoned military folk, but its really no big deal. Were dealing with teenagers here who pretty much all have self esteem issues of some kind (No offense Cadets, I was in your shoes not long ago and we are talking about majority here). If ribbons help in that area and provide a tangible award for service then I can live with some massive racks (so to speak).

That said, most cadet officers are usually are wise enough to forgo ribbons on everything but service dress.  And if they don't, who cares?

[Eclipse]

The continued fallacy is in comparing things that look the same, when they are, in fact, very different.

There's a trend in law enforcement and fire service to decorate officers with ribbons, or ribbon-like devices.  Some are for attendance, appearance, or even donating to a memorial fund. In many cases the ribbons awarded are just re-purposed military ribbons of the same design.  Watch COPS long enough and you'll see plenty of officers with 2-3 rows of chest candy.

[Extremepredjudice]

Ladies and gentlemen, the attractive woman you see above is Isla Fisher. And now, let's look at the ribbon rack at the distant top...

I've seen cadets with fruit salad nearly this ridiculous. Makes me wonder why we don't pare down the achievement ribbons in phases I and II. Also makes me wonder if those kids have a life outside CAP. Or whether they're overdecorated for the things they've done in CAP. Either way, something isn't right.

Really? There is no issue here. Cadets usually end up wearing fairly sizable racks in JROTC and CAP. It generally helps them feel good about themselves, feel good about their service within CAP and JROTC, and costs next to nothing to the organization.

They are not OVER decorated. They are decorated to the needs of 12 and 15 and ultimately 21 year olds, notice how the ribbons thin out around the cadet officer grades? I'm not sure what you mean, "do they have lives?". What lives do you expect them to have? Most kids that age go to school and participate in one or two after school groups. If a cadet is spending a majority of his/her spare time with CAP and racking awards, well its better than sitting around and playing video games or something of the sort.

Sure they look a bit silly to seasoned military folk, but its really no big deal. Were dealing with teenagers here who pretty much all have self esteem issues of some kind (No offense Cadets, I was in your shoes not long ago and we are talking about majority here). If ribbons help in that area and provide a tangible award for service then I can live with some massive racks (so to speak).

That said, most cadet officers are usually are wise enough to forgo ribbons on everything but service dress.  And if they don't, who cares?

:clap: :clap: Well said sir!

[Flying Pig]

I thought it was Gadhafi

[Hawk200]

The continued fallacy is in comparing things that look the same, when they are, in fact, very different.

There's an trend in law enforcement and fire service to decorate officers with ribbons, or ribbon-like devices.  Some are for attendance, appearance, or even donating to a memorial fund. In many cases the ribbons awarded are just re-purposed military ribbons of the same design.  Watch COPS long enough and you'll see plenty of officers with 2-3 rows of chest candy.

My father is a Deputy Sherrif, and the Sherrif started an awards program in the last few years. However, he does't go overboard. Dad has two of the available decorations (I don't know how many there are). One is a "service" dec for thirty years (it'll get replaced with one for forty in just a couple years, the other is for a Bachelors in Criminal Justice.

The Sherrif is pro-military, and I was surprised to find out a while ago that he never has been military, even though he has the demeanor. He did refuse to go overboard with the decs, so there is at least one place where the kind of things you mentioned are expected, and not given a reward for doing.

[lordmonar]

Ladies and gentlemen, the attractive woman you see above is Isla Fisher. And now, let's look at the ribbon rack at the distant top...

I've seen cadets with fruit salad nearly this ridiculous. Makes me wonder why we don't pare down the achievement ribbons in phases I and II. Also makes me wonder if those kids have a life outside CAP. Or whether they're overdecorated for the things they've done in CAP. Either way, something isn't right.

My active duty ribbon rack....looks like a lot of cadet's rack........your logic breaks down.
It is not the number of ribbons that count....it is what you need to do to get them.

The Dictator has a lot of ribbons becuase he gave them to himself.....cadets have a lot of ribbons because they earn them.

I will agree....that CAP cadets would survive if we cut down the acheivement ribbons to just the Curry and the Milestone ribbons....they already get their instant gratification from the stripes they earn.

YMMV.

[Flying Pig]

I never understood getting stripes AND a ribbon.  Well...OK, I understand it.  But I was always just for the Curry (sure, a cadet needs a ribbon right out of the gate.  I get it.  I will always remember the CAP cadet that told COl. Lewis Millet that he had more ribbons than the Col   I was standing about 3 ft away.  Col Millet said "Yes you do son, yes you do."

After Curry your next ribbon should be maybe the Wright, and after that, the Mitchell.  So yes, you may spend 6 yrs as a cadet and end up with 6-7 ribbons if you dont do anything else. Curry, Wright, Mitchell, Earhart, Spaatz, Encampment and Red Service.  Nothing wrong there. 
I used to cringe when I saw a cadet with a giant stack that was nothing but rank ribbons with an Encampment and a Red Service.  Tells me you probably didnt do much other than attend meetings and take tests. 
I know I was out of Regs, but as a cadet, I only wore my Mitchell.  My other two+ rows had nothing to do with rank.  I just felt silly wearing rank ribbons and almost never did unless I was at Drill Comp.

[Extremepredjudice]

Don't the first couple ribbons (to say wright bros.) help make the cadet feel good, and give them a reward to stay active?

[Flying Pig]

Depends on the cadet but your right.  But thats why I think Curry, then next is Wright, then on to Mitchell.  Throw them a doggy bone......but not the whole box

[Extremepredjudice]

Depends on the cadet but your right.  But thats why I think Curry, then next is Wright, then on to Mitchell.  Throw them a doggy bone......but not the whole box

3 ribbons (4 with encampment) for 18 months? Seems like a small bone...

I'd give them 5 (6 with encampment) for 18 months.

Right now I have 9 ribbons. (I'm a C/MSgt.)
Community service (4 clusters)
encampment
unit citation
promotion ribbons

[James Shaw]

Senior or Cader, wear them if you earn them. Doesnt matter if its 3 or 30 wear them!! 

[Flying Pig]

Here is an interesting bit of trivia regarding policies that mandate wearing ALL of your medals.  Although I am glad to say that Ive never seen anyone made fun of for wearing their medals in CAP.

In LE, we get very few usually.  Depending on the department.   I have a MoV and a Lifesaving medal.  With the medal comes a small metal pin that is about half the size of a regular CAP ribbon.  It was worn above the name tag on the uniform.  Everyday, not just dress.  Believe it or not, even adults get envious.  There were a few senior officers who didnt have any medals who would literally make fun or give grief to those who did.  "Show-off" "Glory hound" you name it. I stopped wearing mine because one senior officer pulled me aside and told me others were getting upset because they fet I was rubbing it in their faces that I had a couple medals.  Nobody cared, only him, but he tried to convince me otherwise.

The Chief got wind of this and made a policy that if you were awarded a medal you were required to wear it or face discipline for insubordination.  If the city awards you a medal, you WILL wear the medal.  No exceptions.  Interesting tactic.  Took the wind right out of the sails of the jerks.

Now fast forward a few years.  I now work for a different agency.  I cannot wear medals awarded by another agency.  No problem, thats cool.  However, I now have nice gold pilot wings.  Modeled after Navy Pilot wings only with a Sheriffs star in the middle.  I was at an event where we wore Class As.  I had my wings on over my name tag.  A Deputy said "Why do you guys wear wings, we all know who the pilots are?"  The tone of his voice, and the manner in which he asked, I knew exactly where he was headed.  I simply responded "So you want a set huh?  Good luck."  I never heard another word about it.   (Although I dont suggest that approach in a CAP venue)

[Major Lord]

I am still waiting for my "Chairborne" Wings.....A comfy office chair with set of Chicken Wings on each armrest.

Major Lord

[abdsp51]

Makes me wonder what would be said if i wore all my decs

[SPD6696]

While in the military, I wore all of my ribbons and badges.  As an LEO, I wear nothing on my daily uniform other than my badge and sew on name tag and shoulder patches.  In my LEO dress uniform, for official or social events, I will wear my devices that are authorized.  I have seen, in my career, LEOs in other agencies that have worn their military ribbons and badges on their LEO uniform.  It's weird.  It's one more thing to get ripped off a uniform in a scuffle.  Our regulations are restrictive, and we only have a years of service oval pin for every 5 years (in addition to service stripes and service stars), Medal of Valor pin, Medal of Honor pin, and assorted specialty qualification pins.  No ribbons.  Occasionally, I will see an Officer push the envelope, in duty uniform, with a miniature military badge over his nametag, like a CIB.  Not often, though.  I do know a number of Officers with Medal of V or H that don't wear them.

As far as cadets getting buckets of ribbons, so what?  It gives them a sense of accomplishment.  It doesn't hurt anyone, and, for those that don't want a bunch, don't wear them. 

[James Shaw]

Makes me wonder what would be said if i wore all my decs

Probably the same thing they ask me..................Hey whats that one for?

[abdsp51]

Makes me wonder what would be said if i wore all my decs

Probably the same thing they ask me..................Hey whats that one for?

Nice thing though sir is I still have my CAP ribbons so it wont be a problem, but it would cost a pretty penny to do both mil and CAP on CAP uniform.  I have my 4 I can wear and that will suffice for now.  Should I go the mess dress route then I'll have my mil and CAP medals done.

[abdsp51]

Makes me wonder what would be said if i wore all my decs

Probably the same thing they ask me..................Hey whats that one for?

[James Shaw]

Makes me wonder what would be said if i wore all my decs

Probably the same thing they ask me..................Hey whats that one for?

Nice thing though sir is I still have my CAP ribbons so it wont be a problem, but it would cost a pretty penny to do both mil and CAP on CAP uniform.  I have my 4 I can wear and that will suffice for now.  Should I go the mess dress route then I'll have my mil and CAP medals done.

I have the mess dress. I dont wear any AD stuff anymore. I did when I first joined but did not feel right for me so I quit mixing the stuff.

[Flying Pig]

Personally I think it'd be sad to see your SMoV hidden in the middle.

[abdsp51]

I agree, if I didnt have any CAP specific ribbons i'd wear my mil stuff.  Even if I wore to wear both it wouldnt even be near like the pic.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Ladies and gentlemen, the attractive woman you see above is Isla Fisher. And now, let's look at the ribbon rack at the distant top...

I've seen cadets with fruit salad nearly this ridiculous. Makes me wonder why we don't pare down the achievement ribbons in phases I and II. Also makes me wonder if those kids have a life outside CAP. Or whether they're overdecorated for the things they've done in CAP. Either way, something isn't right.

Really? There is no issue here. Cadets usually end up wearing fairly sizable racks in JROTC and CAP. It generally helps them feel good about themselves, feel good about their service within CAP and JROTC, and costs next to nothing to the organization.

They are not OVER decorated. They are decorated to the needs of 12 and 15 and ultimately 21 year olds, notice how the ribbons thin out around the cadet officer grades? I'm not sure what you mean, "do they have lives?". What lives do you expect them to have? Most kids that age go to school and participate in one or two after school groups. If a cadet is spending a majority of his/her spare time with CAP and racking awards, well its better than sitting around and playing video games or something of the sort.

Sure they look a bit silly to seasoned military folk, but its really no big deal. Were dealing with teenagers here who pretty much all have self esteem issues of some kind (No offense Cadets, I was in your shoes not long ago and we are talking about majority here). If ribbons help in that area and provide a tangible award for service then I can live with some massive racks (so to speak).

That said, most cadet officers are usually are wise enough to forgo ribbons on everything but service dress.  And if they don't, who cares?

Speaking as one of those overdecorated cadets, albeit now a former cadet (s'member since 1993), self-esteem should not come from your fruit salad but rather from the feeling of accomplishment that may or may not be recognized by decorations and awards. If you can't be confident in your ability and capability -- remember, you're not always going to be in a uniform -- then no number of ribbons is going to help you. It's not what you look like; it's what you are and can do. Otherwise, you're all hat, no cattle. Speaking to self-esteem for a minute more: If your inner child whines and cries at the first sign of adversity, it's probably time someone kicks its little butt and gives it a wake-up call. This isn't a Nerf world.

We put ribbons on a parallel track with promotions in phases I and II of the cadet program, then pare back with only the milestone awards later. Why be redundant, though? Isn't the promotion enough? Those aren't questions I can answer, but only throw out for discussion. I know that as a cadet, when my ribbons became heavy and unwieldy, I only wore the top three when I had to wear them on a shirt (I got to a point where if I didn't have to wear them, I didn't).

Also, I question the wisdom of awarding cadets meritorious, exceptional or distinguished service awards. I've seen that more than once, and they never quite completely pass the smell test for me. Should you not start with a lower decoration for junior members, and work up as they advance, so that the award is in the ballpark of appropriateness for a person of similar rank and grade who does outstanding work? Or should cadets leapfrog senior members who do more substantial feats and don't see similar reward? Let's hear it, folks.

As for what I said about having a life outside CAP? I speak from experience, and from the experience of others who were cadets when I was. We should want cadets to be well-rounded, not one who solely focuses on, say, CAP.

All that said, the ribbons cadets earn aren't nearly as obnoxious as all those shields seniors are allowed to wear in Heaven-only-knows how many places now (what is it? three positions authorized?). I could wear a few, but one suffices nicely. Now THAT needs a good, hard look.

[titanII]

Now, were I the Dictator (see, I can stay on topic  ) of CAP, I would restructure cadet ribbons in Phase I & II as follows: cadets receive a ribbon for their Curry Achievement, Wright Brothers Award, Lindbergh Achievement, and finally the Mitchell Award. From there on, everything else would follow as it is now. My thinking is that this gives the cadet a ribbon for every part of their "enlisted" period: Airman, Junior NCO, Senior NCO, and so on in the "officer" period.

[AngelWings]

I hate huge ribbon racks. I don't like having my whole CAP career on my chest.

[Eclipse]

I don't like having my whole CAP career on my chest.

But that's the point, and one of the reasons why people get so bent about fakers, CAP, military, or otherwise.  Between members of the same service, it's a short hand to know what level of BTDT you have and whether anyone has appreciated your efforts.  There's plenty of room for error, etc., but what you wear, or don't, can speak volumes.

The Major with nothing but PD ribbons probably doesn't get out much, and a 2nd Lt with a full SAR, NCSA, and a FIND attachment probably went to NESA.  The Captain with wings and a membership ribbon is most likely a Pilot with a capital "P", and the Lt. Col. with nothing from CAP is likely prior military.

It's also a fun game at functions - nothing is more fun than being told all about how messed up "ES" is in CAP by a member without a single thing his uniform that indicates he's ever been involved in ES, or likewise, being provided details about how to "handle kids today" by a member with nothing shiny on that indicates he's ever even met a cadet.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

In other words, your decorations give you credibility. "Been there, done that." I can buy that. Except that some of us don't wear everything.

[Eclipse]

Even that says something.

One thing that still hacks me is when members who do get decorated won't take the time to update their racks, seems somewhat disrespectful to me of the effort of pushing it through.

[Abby.L]

Ladies and gentlemen, the attractive woman you see above is Isla Fisher. And now, let's look at the ribbon rack at the distant top...

I've seen cadets with fruit salad nearly this ridiculous. Makes me wonder why we don't pare down the achievement ribbons in phases I and II. Also makes me wonder if those kids have a life outside CAP. Or whether they're overdecorated for the things they've done in CAP. Either way, something isn't right.

Really? There is no issue here. Cadets usually end up wearing fairly sizable racks in JROTC and CAP. It generally helps them feel good about themselves, feel good about their service within CAP and JROTC, and costs next to nothing to the organization.

They are not OVER decorated. They are decorated to the needs of 12 and 15 and ultimately 21 year olds, notice how the ribbons thin out around the cadet officer grades? I'm not sure what you mean, "do they have lives?". What lives do you expect them to have? Most kids that age go to school and participate in one or two after school groups. If a cadet is spending a majority of his/her spare time with CAP and racking awards, well its better than sitting around and playing video games or something of the sort.

Sure they look a bit silly to seasoned military folk, but its really no big deal. Were dealing with teenagers here who pretty much all have self esteem issues of some kind (No offense Cadets, I was in your shoes not long ago and we are talking about majority here). If ribbons help in that area and provide a tangible award for service then I can live with some massive racks (so to speak).

That said, most cadet officers are usually are wise enough to forgo ribbons on everything but service dress.  And if they don't, who cares?

Speaking as one of those overdecorated cadets, albeit now a former cadet (s'member since 1993), self-esteem should not come from your fruit salad but rather from the feeling of accomplishment that may or may not be recognized by decorations and awards. If you can't be confident in your ability and capability -- remember, you're not always going to be in a uniform -- then no number of ribbons is going to help you. It's not what you look like; it's what you are and can do. Otherwise, you're all hat, no cattle. Speaking to self-esteem for a minute more: If your inner child whines and cries at the first sign of adversity, it's probably time someone kicks its little butt and gives it a wake-up call. This isn't a Nerf world.

We put ribbons on a parallel track with promotions in phases I and II of the cadet program, then pare back with only the milestone awards later. Why be redundant, though? Isn't the promotion enough? Those aren't questions I can answer, but only throw out for discussion. I know that as a cadet, when my ribbons became heavy and unwieldy, I only wore the top three when I had to wear them on a shirt (I got to a point where if I didn't have to wear them, I didn't).

Also, I question the wisdom of awarding cadets meritorious, exceptional or distinguished service awards. I've seen that more than once, and they never quite completely pass the smell test for me. Should you not start with a lower decoration for junior members, and work up as they advance, so that the award is in the ballpark of appropriateness for a person of similar rank and grade who does outstanding work? Or should cadets leapfrog senior members who do more substantial feats and don't see similar reward? Let's hear it, folks.

As for what I said about having a life outside CAP? I speak from experience, and from the experience of others who were cadets when I was. We should want cadets to be well-rounded, not one who solely focuses on, say, CAP.

All that said, the ribbons cadets earn aren't nearly as obnoxious as all those shields seniors are allowed to wear in Heaven-only-knows how many places now (what is it? three positions authorized?). I could wear a few, but one suffices nicely. Now THAT needs a good, hard look.

Myself being a cadet, I find the "All or none" thing to be rather horrible. Albeit I rarely wear my rack on my shirt, if I do, I would want maybe my top 3 achievement awards, and everything else. I know other cadets who have so many ribbons+devices(GTM or Wings), that they actually HAVE to leave off one or both of the devices. Not sure why CAP decided to make cadets wear all or none, but I know that it's annoying on the jacket sometimes too.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

I think that one of the ribbons The Dictator is wearing (diagonally-striped) may be an Australian decoration.  I do recognise a few US military ribbons...I wouldn't be surprised if others are a mish-mash of State Guard, Young Marines, NSCC, and maybe even NOAA.

With me, what you see is what you get...the same ribbon rack since 2006 (I only wear my CAP ribbons), except for another clasp on my Red Service.

I'm not eligible for another one until I complete my Garber award criteria, because (and I've expounded on this at length on another thread) in my tentatively-current unit, being a worker bee and having a life outside of CAP can seem to preclude one from ribbon-worthy recognition.  Que sera sera.  We shall see what the future holds.

I take some solace in my also-mentioned-before notation that the forces of our allies are considerably less generous with multicoloured bits of ribbon on the chest, such as the Commander of the Canadian Defence Liaison Staff in Washington, DC, Rear-Admiral R.W. Greenwood, OMM, CD, RCN, has exactly one-half the rack that my CAP rack contains...



I rarely wear my ribbons on anything but my service dress for a couple of reasons:

1. I don't have that many
2. It lessens wear on them, which means I don't have to shell out for replacements as often
3. It doesn't look like I'm trying to impress anyone
4. K.I.S.S.

I'm thinking of only wearing my CommComm since it's the only one I have with any real "weight" to it, and that's not much given how some wings/groups/squadrons hand those and the Achievement Award (the two are almost interchangeable) out just for knowing the right people.

I agree with the assertion about all the "shields"...I have two but only wear one.

I actually find "The Dictator" type ribbon racks much less annoying than a rack having far less ribbons, but those ribbons are frayed/worn/dirty, and the wearer knows that they're frayed/worn/dirty.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

That's the official portrait of Gen. Merrill McPeak, the CSAF who ushered in the service dress uniform we wear now. Note that we wear a uniform that's retrofitted with epaulets, nameplates, blue mohair sleeve braid and the "U.S." cutouts. They weren't part of the original redesign, as you can tell from this image.

And notice he's wearing top three. The rule was to be "all or some" on service coats, and "all, some or none" elsewhere. I find no fault in that. Air Force officers rarely, if at all, wear ribbons on their shirts; enlisted personnel, on the other hand, many times wear them. (In CAP, many of our officers seem to have an enlisted mentality about the whole thing, anyway.) As for service coats, allowing personnel to wear "top three" rather than an entire barrage of color isn't necessarily a bad option. It's fairly well established that you're going to have a certain number of ribbons, considering the grade you wear.

Before the uniform redesign, this was what his uniform looked like, for comparison and contrast. Note no nameplate — three-stars and four-stars were exempted from wearing them under the old regulations. You can see his top three, albeit on a staggered rack.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

I remember the Tony McPeak coat.  I saw exactly one person wear it - a Ch. Capt.  I still have my old four-pocket "Tony Nelson" coat hanging in my closet.  I miss those.

I don't really have a "top three" of any significance so it would be a bit silly for me to do that.

I find that the ones in CAP who wear ribbons on shirts tend to be the ones who wear the G/W setup...and I don't blame them for that because they've got nowhere else to wear what they've earned.

[abdsp51]

IMO the McPeak coat needs to go go go.  Bring back the 4 pocket one back but refit it.  I know one of the ideas pitched around was the the 4 pocket coat with a belt.  The test photos of it didn't look bad but I think a leather belt would look much better.  The was a huge uproar among the populace with McPeak's uniform changes and thankfully Gen Fogleman reversed a good chunk of it.  I wear/wore my ribbons on my blues when I was wore them working flight until the flt chief nixed them for everyone, wore them working staff support until OIC said that due to my job I didn't need to wear them.   

[lordmonar]

The problem with the all or some rule......there were bozos SNCOS out there wearing just their basic training ribbon.

It did not last long.

[MSG Mac]

BTW The striped Ribbon is the Vietnamese Staff Service Medal 2/c

[CAP_truth]

In my days as a cadet a cadet officer could have only five ribbons to wear. Red, white and blue with clasps, plus encampment and COP ribbon. I had seven when I made cadet 2nd Lt.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

All the diddling with the three service coat variations — the "Hap Arnold," the "Billy Mitchell" and the "Star Trek" — were put on hold, and probably for good reason. At the time, there were issues with the security of our nuclear assets, if I remember correctly. It just looked like senior leadership took their eyes off the ball.