New ES Patch --need help posting the picture

[Slim]

The Commander's badge is more likely to be passed on from one commander to the next, based on my experience.

^This.

I'm the fourth commander in my squadron to wear the badge.  When I step down, it will go to my successor.

Do you give all the Commander's Badges to your successors? Because having only one is a bit hard to believe. Personally, I have at least two of any badge I'm authorized. Having a single one left to wear as a graduated commander isn't unreasonable, people wouldn't be as picky about a graduated commander only wearing one on shirt/blouse or on their coat. But I don't have any problem passing one in tradition, it's fitting.

We only have the one badge.  When it was authorized, the sitting commander (at the time) bought it.  At the end of her term, she passed the badge to her replacement, who passed it along to his, then to me.  Just throws a little bit of tradition and meaning behind the badge, the outgoing commander passes along the unit flag, and then the badge is passed along in a handshake after the formalities.

We don't wear service dress all that often, and three of the four wearers have been CSU or white/grey wearers.  None of us popped for the jacket, and there aren't provisions to wear it on the blazer, so we only ever needed the one.

That's the only badge I wear that I have just one.  I've doubled or tripled up on pretty much everything else.

We also have a tradition of passing down our grade insignia when we get promoted.  When I made major, all of my captain stuff went to a 1st Lt in the squadron who was due for promotion.  I have a pair of Lt Col epaulets once worn by Col Ed Phelka (former COWG/CC and a very good friend of mine) waiting for the day I get level IV out of the way. 

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Like I said earlier, we need to eliminate the Comm patch and the ES patch and replace them with ES qual badges. So we would have aeronautical badges, ES badges, and specialty track badges. GES would not have a badge but as soon as you get any ES qual you could qualify for a badge in MBS, GT/GBD, Comm, Aircrew(gives us MS something to wear or maybe a set of wings with a "C" instead of the "O"), IC, UDF, and FL. May need to add a few more "degrees" to some of these to come up with a basic, senior, master/command format i.e. Mission Radio Operator(BCUT), Senior RO(ACUT), Master RO(CUL).  I haven't got a whole system worked out but you get the drift?

Perhaps something like this?

Intriguing idea. I like the idea of consolidating badges.

But what I don't get is how mission base staff and groundpounders would get a badge with wings on it. Especially since they're stolen jump wings.

I think a bigger issue where badges are concerned is that there's little correlation between the specialty track badges and the emergency services specialties -- which is something I know the public affairs folks are studying right now, but I don't know that the safety folks or anyone else are looking at.

We probably only need no more than eight badges. A communications badge could easily incorporate public affairs and information technology, for instance. A manpower badge could include admin and personnel, and possibly even safety, professional development and cadet program. A support badge would work for logistics (supply, transportation, et al). An operations badge would cover operations (ground and air), emergency services and other related fields. And on, and on....

... but the badges, as an extension of the specialty tracks, would incorporate ops quals, since ops quals should necessarily be part of the specialty tracks. No one should train in public affairs and get a senior rating without being a qualified PIO. No safety officer should be allowed to be one without having the ops qual. And so on, and so on. In other words: If you're going to be in CAP, support the reasons we're here -- emergency services, not just the cadet program and weekly meetings. Go big or go home.

We don't need a different badge for every ops qual. We sure as heck don't need them for every specialty track. After the first couple of them, they all look the same, and they all look like cartoons. It's obvious from the badges' art direction and execution that they're unnecessary.

[flyboy53]

Like I said earlier, we need to eliminate the Comm patch and the ES patch and replace them with ES qual badges. So we would have aeronautical badges, ES badges, and specialty track badges. GES would not have a badge but as soon as you get any ES qual you could qualify for a badge in MBS, GT/GBD, Comm, Aircrew(gives us MS something to wear or maybe a set of wings with a "C" instead of the "O"), IC, UDF, and FL. May need to add a few more "degrees" to some of these to come up with a basic, senior, master/command format i.e. Mission Radio Operator(BCUT), Senior RO(ACUT), Master RO(CUL).  I haven't got a whole system worked out but you get the drift?

Perhaps something like this?

Intriguing idea. I like the idea of consolidating badges.

But what I don't get is how mission base staff and groundpounders would get a badge with wings on it. Especially since they're stolen jump wings.

I think a bigger issue where badges are concerned is that there's little correlation between the specialty track badges and the emergency services specialties -- which is something I know the public affairs folks are studying right now, but I don't know that the safety folks or anyone else are looking at.

We probably only need no more than eight badges. A communications badge could easily incorporate public affairs and information technology, for instance. A manpower badge could include admin and personnel, and possibly even safety, professional development and cadet program. A support badge would work for logistics (supply, transportation, et al). An operations badge would cover operations (ground and air), emergency services and other related fields. And on, and on....

... but the badges, as an extension of the specialty tracks, would incorporate ops quals, since ops quals should necessarily be part of the specialty tracks. No one should train in public affairs and get a senior rating without being a qualified PIO. No safety officer should be allowed to be one without having the ops qual. And so on, and so on. In other words: If you're going to be in CAP, support the reasons we're here -- emergency services, not just the cadet program and weekly meetings. Go big or go home.

We don't need a different badge for every ops qual. We sure as heck don't need them for every specialty track. After the first couple of them, they all look the same, and they all look like cartoons. It's obvious from the badges' art direction and execution that they're unnecessary.

Why not just do away with the enamelled speciality badges and go to one, two or three better designed chromed ones. broken into functional areas. Why not also eliminate the ES and Comm badges and create a General ES badge -- separate of GT or IC and award it for all the other ES specialities.

The problem is this. There are so many enamelled speciality badges and they can be worn virtually every where on either side of a a dress uniform, but nowhere on a utility or BDU uniform. Talk about uniform diarrhea. Even the Air Force started consolidating a lot of specalities under different but correlating badges. The Air Force also only allows two occupational badges above the ribbons on the left side of a uniform.

This whole discussion started because the ES patch is about the only way to recognize a lot of ES ratings without badges and an ES patch is not an ES badge. I always thought it a little odd that there was a GT badge but nothing to recognize things like flightline marshallers. Of course, if the CAP ever formally adopts the MEMS Program, that one badge does that.

One other thing...give the ES patch greater status. Put it on the right shoulder where all the other special activity or aircrew-related patches are worn.

[Spaceman3750]

I think everyone should just be like me and wear only a flag, nametape, branch tape, and badge (in my case a GTL badge, YMMV) .

On your dress uniform, only a nameplate and badge. One row of ribbons if you really want to show off .

I'm joking, of course

[Hawk200]

One other thing...give the ES patch greater status. Put it on the right shoulder where all the other special activity or aircrew-related patches are worn.

That spot is already used. All those patches are now worn on the left pocket.

The ES patch location is already pretty distinctive, it's the only patch that goes in that location on the uniforms it is worn on. (BDUs: above nametag, flightsuit/jumpsuit: right breast pocket or corresponding position.) Right now, there is no way to confuse it for anything else. Moving it someplace else means it actually loses it "greater status", as it then gets lost among all the others that can be worn in that location.

[JC004]

One other thing...give the ES patch greater status. Put it on the right shoulder where all the other special activity or aircrew-related patches are worn.

That spot is already used. All those patches are now worn on the left pocket.

The ES patch location is already pretty distinctive, it's the only patch that goes in that location on the uniforms it is worn on. (BDUs: above nametag, flightsuit/jumpsuit: right breast pocket or corresponding position.) Right now, there is no way to confuse it for anything else. Moving it someplace else means it actually loses it "greater status", as it then gets lost among all the others that can be worn in that location.

Its BEST status is lost...

[arajca]

This whole discussion started because the ES patch is about the only way to recognize a lot of ES ratings without badges and an ES patch is not an ES badge. I always thought it a little odd that there was a GT badge but nothing to recognize things like flightline marshallers. Of course, if the CAP ever formally adopts the MEMS Program, that one badge does that.

Um, no. The MEMS badge has a whole lot more requirements than serve as a flight line marshaller or radio operator for two days.

[Hawk200]

One other thing...give the ES patch greater status. Put it on the right shoulder where all the other special activity or aircrew-related patches are worn.

That spot is already used. All those patches are now worn on the left pocket.

The ES patch location is already pretty distinctive, it's the only patch that goes in that location on the uniforms it is worn on. (BDUs: above nametag, flightsuit/jumpsuit: right breast pocket or corresponding position.) Right now, there is no way to confuse it for anything else. Moving it someplace else means it actually loses it "greater status", as it then gets lost among all the others that can be worn in that location.

Its BEST status is lost...

I'll agree with that.

[Hawk200]

This whole discussion started because the ES patch is about the only way to recognize a lot of ES ratings without badges and an ES patch is not an ES badge. I always thought it a little odd that there was a GT badge but nothing to recognize things like flightline marshallers. Of course, if the CAP ever formally adopts the MEMS Program, that one badge does that.

Um, no. The MEMS badge has a whole lot more requirements than serve as a flight line marshaller or radio operator for two days.

True. From what I've read about the MEMS badge is that it's heard to even be awarded it nowadays, something about the SGAUS being practically non-functional in the last couple years.

I've read the program itself, it seems to be a good one, and the badge is decent looking. But from the looks of it, it's not really awarded anymore.

[Eclipse]

One other thing...give the ES patch greater status. Put it on the right shoulder where all the other special activity or aircrew-related patches are worn.

That spot is already used. All those patches are now worn on the left pocket.

The ES patch location is already pretty distinctive, it's the only patch that goes in that location on the uniforms it is worn on. (BDUs: above nametag, flightsuit/jumpsuit: right breast pocket or corresponding position.) Right now, there is no way to confuse it for anything else. Moving it someplace else means it actually loses it "greater status", as it then gets lost among all the others that can be worn in that location.

Its BEST status is lost...

I'll agree with that.

I third....

[sab163]

 simple method is if you earned it and want to wear it you wear it, if you earned it and you don't want to wear it don't! How difficult is that honestly?

[flyboy53]

This whole discussion started because the ES patch is about the only way to recognize a lot of ES ratings without badges and an ES patch is not an ES badge. I always thought it a little odd that there was a GT badge but nothing to recognize things like flightline marshallers. Of course, if the CAP ever formally adopts the MEMS Program, that one badge does that.

Um, no. The MEMS badge has a whole lot more requirements than serve as a flight line marshaller or radio operator for two days.

Actually, yes....and I know because I'm rated at the basic level. Completing the MEMS requirements actually spurred me to complete those courses necessary for a dormant ES rating that I wasn't interested in completing, and it certainly opened my eyes about the CAP's response in emergencies or disasters.

I'm now working on the senior MEMS badge and those courses fulfill some of the NIMS requirements for other CAP ES ratings and what was already done actually opened a door for me to assist a county Emergeny Services Agency.

Certainly flight line marshaller or radio operator have their own requirements. However, the idea of one badge to serve as a general badge that all ES ratings would solve a lot of problems.

[Eclipse]

simple method is if you earned it and want to wear it you wear it, if you earned it and you don't want to wear it don't! How difficult is that honestly?

We're talking about establishing standards going forward.

I would hazard that it is much more popular with newer, less experienced members and cadets.  My experience has been that the more you do, the
less excited you are about showing it off, especially on working uniforms.

[arajca]

This whole discussion started because the ES patch is about the only way to recognize a lot of ES ratings without badges and an ES patch is not an ES badge. I always thought it a little odd that there was a GT badge but nothing to recognize things like flightline marshallers. Of course, if the CAP ever formally adopts the MEMS Program, that one badge does that.

Um, no. The MEMS badge has a whole lot more requirements than serve as a flight line marshaller or radio operator for two days.

Actually, yes....and I know because I'm rated at the basic level. Completing the MEMS requirements actually spurred me to complete those courses necessary for a dormant ES rating that I wasn't interested in completing, and it certainly opened my eyes about the CAP's response in emergencies or disasters.

I'm now working on the senior MEMS badge and those courses fulfill some of the NIMS requirements for other CAP ES ratings and what was already done actually opened a door for me to assist a county Emergeny Services Agency.

Certainly flight line marshaller or radio operator have their own requirements. However, the idea of one badge to serve as a general badge that all ES ratings would solve a lot of problems.

I have also completed the MEMS Basic qualification. Here is ONE item from the Basic level requirements:

At a minimum, complete the following online (classroom preferred) EMI ISP courses (Basic MEMS Course Curriculum):
a. IS100 Introduction to Incident Command System
b. IS200 Basic Incident Command System
c. IS275 Emergency Operations Center
d. IS292 Disaster Basics
e. IS700 National Incident Management System (NIMS)
f. IS800 National Response Plan* (NRP)

Unfortunately, the handbook does not support copy/paste very well, so I can't put the entire basic level up. Suffice to say, there are 11 more requirements, including a written narrative with specific information required. Check it out here.

Is it a good program? From what I've read in it, yes. Would it serve as a ES Qualification Badge? No.

[Spaceman3750]

A lot of people tend to get the whole badge thing backwards. In the Boy Scouts, you do something to earn the badge. In CAP, you train in something to fill the role, the badge is an indicator that you have completed that training. Some folks have the BSA mentality in a CAP world.