Its not just CAP who gets the fakers...

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

They also have loads and loads of qualification badges for various small arms (my dad had Marksman with "Rifle" bar...good old M-1), aviators, aircrew (actually, I like the Army Aviator wings better than the AF!  ), etc....I wonder how much time Drill Sergeants take to teach new Soldiers about all this blingage and what it means.

I'll bet the average troop goes through a lot of Brasso.

[NIN]

I wonder how much time Drill Sergeants take to teach new Soldiers about all this blingage and what it means.

Not as much time as you'd think. Most of your average soldiers don't know [fecal matter] from shinola when it comes to the specifics of another MOS's blingage. 

I could not tell you the requirements for the EIB, for example, but it still lives in approximately the same general spot as my aircraft crewman badge.  As for blue disks, well, that and the blue cord, not sure. If I saw a guy wearing same at the Pentagon, I'd be like "Uh, Infantry." and grunt at him. He'd get it.

Likewise, an 11Bang-bang probably doesn't know that all of the 15-series MOS get aircraft crewman badges out of AIT.

I'll bet the average troop goes through a lot of Brasso.

That, sir, is a fact. And Kiwi.

[NIN]

Really?

Infantry cords+branch insiniga+regimental number+infantry disk+battalion crest+divisional patch+combat patch+overseas stripes+longevity stripes+unit citations (all of them even those earned in WWI)+combat unit patch.

They are just as full of bling as CAP's uniforms.....more so in some ways.

The Army is way, way, way into blingage.  Hell, I have TWO insignia boxes for all my Army crap, and I was 10 years enlisted, and only 5 in the Army cadets.  Only had 1 for CAP, and that was 28 years worth of junk.

Major big differences between Army & AF uniforms (apart from things like different ribbons or badges)

SSI (both CA and FWTS) on the sleeves (Greens) or the metal insignia on the pocket (blues, not a fan). 
DUIs on the epaulets.  Combat leader tabs if warranted
Regimental crest
branch insignia in addition to any US insignia
branch-specific braid (officers, on both the cap and sleeve)
hash marks
overseas bars (IIRC, those are going away with the blues, but I could be wrong)
trouser braid
Marksmanship badges
Beaucoup qual badges (but then, the AF has occupational badges, too)

Thats just off the top of my head.

[JK657]

I'll bet the average troop goes through a lot of Brasso.

That, sir, is a fact. And Kiwi.
[/quote]

No kiwi as shoes issued in BCT are corfams and no Brasso due to STA-BRITE badges

[NIN]

Please allow me to wax poetic about how much tougher things were in the "Old Army"

<mutter>corframs as initial issue. What is the world coming to? &#*% kids these days...</mutter>

[stillamarine]

Please allow me to wax poetic about how much tougher things were in the "Old Army"

<mutter>corframs as initial issue. What is the world coming to? &#*% kids these days...</mutter>

When I was in the police academy we had a young kid (turned 21 just before graduation) who was a Marine reservist. Imagine my surprise and utter disappointment whenever I found out he had no idea how to shine boots. He was issued corframs and rough side boots. Never had to shine boots on the Island.

[Cliff_Chambliss]

Just adding on:  Army Uniform bling?  Maybe, but on the other side, consider the "bling" is a walking resume.  You can 'read' the soldier and the soldier's history at a glance.   I enlisted in civies, wore the green, got married in the blue, and retired again in the green.  Although it has been more than a few years since I last hung up my Greens and Nomex, and the padding in my flight helmet has dried out, I can still 'read' the soldiers. 
  A few years back CAP allowed former soldiers far more latitude in wearing of Army Combat patches and skill tabs.  Again, it was one of those periods when an old soldier could 'read' other old soldiers.  However, that has now gone away in favor of the bland.
  Do I wear military ribbons badges on the CAP Uniform?  No.  However, I have to say at the present time I am outside the weight limits and I refuse to disrespect the uniform by trying to fit in one.
  However, I will get back into limits, I will get back into a uniform and then I will wear military and CAP ribbons together and proudly.
  And I do miss the distinctiveness of the Army Uniform, so even though I may not be able to display much on the uniform, My flight bag (helmet bag) will display the crosed sabers, Regimental Insignia, Combat Unit Patch, Last StateSide Assignment Patch, etc.

[NIN]

Just adding on:  Army Uniform bling?  Maybe, but on the other side, consider the "bling" is a walking resume.  You can 'read' the soldier and the soldier's history at a glance.   I enlisted in civies, wore the green, got married in the blue, and retired again in the green.  Although it has been more than a few years since I last hung up my Greens and Nomex, and the padding in my flight helmet has dried out, I can still 'read' the soldiers. 

Indeed. And if you're sharp-eyed and astute as it pertains to SSIs, DUIs and unit citations and such, its pretty easy to figure out what specific unit a guy is from.  Sadly, I put all that arcane (and mostly useless) information out of my brain and into a cardboard box that was subsequently lost in the myriad of moves I've made. Oh well.   

A few years back CAP allowed former soldiers far more latitude in wearing of Army Combat patches and skill tabs.  Again, it was one of those periods when an old soldier could 'read' other old soldiers.  However, that has now gone away in favor of the bland.

I wouldn't say its "gone away," but rather "It really shouldn't have been in the first place."    Someone called NHQ, got SomeoneAtNHQ™ on the phone to say "Yeah, you can do that!" and *poof* suddenly people are wearing combat patches, ranger tabs, etc.   (hey, I'm not against combat patches and ranger tabs on people who have both, but they're not supposed to be worn on the AF uniform except in _extremely_ narrowly defined circumstances, like TACPs assigned to an Infantry unit, and then only while they're assigned to that unit, not after. And nowadays, with ACUs/ABUs and all that, I don't even know how that happens, if at all)    Now, unless somehow some CAP member somehow got himself attached in his CAP capacity to an infantry brigade (uh, what?), then I'm still not sure how that would *ever* be authorized to be worn legitimately. 

But Army combat patches and skill tabs certainly went against the grain of the mainstream wear of the the AF uniform and the philosophy behind that uniform.   (BITD, it annoyed me that I had to wear my aircrew wings over my nameplate, but that changed in the mid-1990s..)

  And I do miss the distinctiveness of the Army Uniform, so even though I may not be able to display much on the uniform, My flight bag (helmet bag) will display the crosed sabers, Regimental Insignia, Combat Unit Patch, Last StateSide Assignment Patch, etc.

Amen. (except for the crossed sabers part, then its "I'm sorry." <GRIN>)

[lordmonar]

As NIN said.

If you are an USAF type and assigned to/embedded with/working with Army Types...it helps to build team work if the Army can "read" your uniform....so ranger tabs and combat unit patch, et al makes sense.

But when you are back with MA blue.....Joe Airman can't "read" army so it is just useless white noise.

Like I said before......It is not a dig on the army that they do things their way.  I just get all worked up when some Army Types get on the USAF....and CAP for the number of ribbons and badges we have on our blues...when they are way worse.

I also point out when some CTer rants about "why do we need so much bling"....that proffessional organisations from the local police department all the way up to the military services use bling to help build unit cohesion, personal pride, and professionalism.....so it ain't all bad.....and if used in moderation and within regulations.....it is all good!

[PHall]

Please allow me to wax poetic about how much tougher things were in the "Old Army"

<mutter>corframs as initial issue. What is the world coming to? &#*% kids these days...</mutter>

When I was in the police academy we had a young kid (turned 21 just before graduation) who was a Marine reservist. Imagine my surprise and utter disappointment whenever I found out he had no idea how to shine boots. He was issued corframs and rough side boots. Never had to shine boots on the Island.

Welcome to the 21st Century Marine Corps!

[CAP_Marine]

Please allow me to wax poetic about how much tougher things were in the "Old Army"

<mutter>corframs as initial issue. What is the world coming to? &#*% kids these days...</mutter>

When I was in the police academy we had a young kid (turned 21 just before graduation) who was a Marine reservist. Imagine my surprise and utter disappointment whenever I found out he had no idea how to shine boots. He was issued corframs and rough side boots. Never had to shine boots on the Island.

Welcome to the 21st Century Marine Corps!

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit... Hopefully they are doing something productive with all that saved time during boot camp. My hope is that they have more time to spend in the pit, or perhaps on island hopping campaigns.

[NIN]

Ask Kieloch. He just got back from his all-expenses tour of the Carolinas courtesy of Uncomplicated Stuff Made Complicated. He was in one of the first series to qualify using optics instead of iron sights. Blasphemy.

[SARDOC]

He was in one of the first series to qualify using optics instead of iron sights. Blasphemy.

Really!?!   Sacrilege and Heresy...bordering on treason.

[PHall]

It's called "progress" gents. Deal with it!

[titanII]

It's called "progress" gents. Deal with it!

Although I feel like recruits should be trained with iron sights... you know, in case the batteries die in their optics, or the glass breaks, or something stupid like that.
Not that my opinion will have ANY influence on the matter at all 

[SarDragon]

I'm not familiar with the new sights, but it seems to me that good shooting with any hand held weapon comes down to the same three things: Sight alignment, trigger control, and breathing. One someone becomes competent on one sighting system, it doesn't take much to learn a new one.

[Al Sayre]

^^

Agree, but the time to become competent is not when your optics break and people are shooting at you...

[Major Lord]

Well, for us presbyopic old guys, a red dot sight makes target acquisition a lot easier than trying to focus on that furry looking front sight....I actually found that switching to a red dot sight ( A Docter brand ) took quite a bit of retraining of my mind and muscle memory before it became a matter of unconscious action. I would think it would be easier to train new riflemen with a red dot sight, since the target and reticule stay in the same focal plane. Us old guys also don't have to put on our 1.75 diopter reading glasses to see the front sight and take away our target image, a real positive! After mostly retiring from being a full time hired thug, I sold my Strayer Voight Infinity and bought a Glock 23, and had the slide cut for the low profile Docter sight "melt" job. After unlearning the front sight mode, my speed and accuracy increased pretty dramatically with the red dot sight. How far back should we go for tradition? Make all military recruits learn the "basics" with a single shot muzzle loader? ( I am sure it would make one a lot less likely to "spray and pray"!) Unfortunately, Haji is not the Redcoats, and has AK's instead of Flintlocks. Our military needs the best they can get.

Major Lord
FYI, many red dot sights and some rifles have a back up capacity for iron sights in case your optics get damaged, lose batteries, etc.