You thought getting promoted in CAP cost a bundle at Vanguard?

[NIN]

These dudes, man.... They're into Vanguard for some LARGE...

[a2capt]

Chainmail heck. Medalmail. That'll protect 'em!

[SarDragon]

NorKs. Whatcha expect?

[Майор Хаткевич]

There are a lot of WW2 Soviet vets who look similar. That's what happens when every 5 years there's a commemorative medal for WW2.

[ColonelJack]

Are those North Korean guys actually wearing medals ... ON THEIR PANTS???

OMG.



Jack

[wuzafuzz]

Teenage girls would probably say those dudes are "bedazzled."

Personally I'm imagining Glen Campbell singing "Like a Rhinestone General..."

[Extremepredjudice]

Are those North Korean guys actually wearing medals ... ON THEIR PANTS???

OMG.



Jack

I've seen a jrotc dictators with medals on their plants

[spacecommand]

They difference is they (the individual) probably didn't have to actually buy their medals. 

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

There are a lot of WW2 Soviet vets who look similar. That's what happens when every 5 years there's a commemorative medal for WW2.

Eventually, though, just as here, the UK/Commonwealth, etc., there won't be any more of those who fought in the rubble of Stalingrad...fewer and fewer every year.

I do like the shade of blue in this старый русский воин uniform, though.

But those North Koreans?  Five'll get ya ten that each one of those gongs was awarded for writing yet another platitude on how great whatever Kim was running the Democratic (cough) People's (yak) Republic (ha-ha) of Korea at the time was.

Fruit salad up the wazoo seemed to be the order of the day for those Commies, as evidenced by this East German general's uniform:



This blouse only has a pocket on one side so as to accommodate all the Orders of Lenin, Stalin, Marx, Honecker, Khrushchev and Smirnoff on the other side...

[Bobble]

The OP's picture has been photoshopped.  Do a little web-searching and you'll find the original pic.  Yeah, they're still wearing a lot of medals in the untouched version, but that isn't all that unusual in regimes that struggle to maintain legitimacy.

[Luis R. Ramos]

http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/587431/587431,1289409102,2/stock-photo-riga-latvia-may-russian-veteran-of-world-war-ii-on-the-parade-may-in-riga-latvia-64806844.jpg

[Darn, tried to copy the photo here but was not successful, it was the photo of the officer]

For some reason this Soviet general officer reminds me of Leslie Nielsen, of one of those movies in which he impersonates a police detective and he is in one of his covers... Was that Police Story?

Flyer

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/587431/587431,1289409102,2/stock-photo-riga-latvia-may-russian-veteran-of-world-war-ii-on-the-parade-may-in-riga-latvia-64806844.jpg

For some reason this Soviet general officer reminds me of Leslie Nielsen, of one of those movies in which he impersonates a police detective and he is in one of his covers... Was that Police story?

Flyer

The Naked Gun and Police Squad.

He played Lt. Frank Drebin, alongside a very fetching Priscilla Presley.

Those movies were hilarious.

Leslie himself was an Air Gunner in the RCAF during WWII.  His brother, Erik, was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada.

[Devil Doc]

I wonder if a Person in the US Military has ever had that many Ribbons/Medals and acctually worn all of them? Were would they go, cant you only go so far up left side?

[Cool Mace]

I wonder if a Person in the US Military has ever had that many Ribbons/Medals and acctually worn all of them? Were would they go, cant you only go so far up left side?

That's how it's supposed to be. But I'll let you tell an E-9 or a Gen that they are out of regs by wearing all of their medals. 

[Devil Doc]

I can now, im not in the Military anymore im a Civilian

[MSG Mac]

The Russians and several other nations of that genre wear a lot of ribbons and medals because they don't use clusters or stars to designate multiple awards of the same decoration or medal.

[NIN]

The OP's picture has been photoshopped.  Do a little web-searching and you'll find the original pic.  Yeah, they're still wearing a lot of medals in the untouched version, but that isn't all that unusual in regimes that struggle to maintain legitimacy.

On a much closer look, you are totally right. I got a little rooked.

I've never seen an KPA officer with that much bling, let alone several.

[Майор Хаткевич]

The Russians and several other nations of that genre wear a lot of ribbons and medals because they don't use clusters or stars to designate multiple awards of the same decoration or medal.

That is certainly a part of it, but again, in terms of the WW2 vets, there are commemorative medals every 5 years, and as we are now 70 years out from the war...that's a lot of bling to add. On top of that, in Soviet culture there were all sort of pins and badges and medals one could earn as a worker, so that also went up on the uniforms...

[johnnyb47]

Still not bad though. I count at least 37 pieces of flair.

[JeffDG]

Leslie himself was an Air Gunner in the RCAF during WWII.  His brother, Erik, was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada.

The press referred to Erik as "Old Velcro Lips" because he never leaked anything...

[Flying Pig]

I would be very interested in sitting in on a leadership class taught by one of these generals.  I bet it would be quite eye opening.  I guess when you live in a vacuum, its pretty easy to think you are bad to the bone. 

Anyone ever work with the ROK Marines in South Korea? I went to Mountain Warfare school there.  Lets just say getting back handed like a hooker seemed to be rather common from your superiors.   We were instructed not to stare or make comments when it happened.  I cant imagine how the NK military leaders interact with the troops.

[LGM30GMCC]

Another thing to consider is some of those guys have probably been on active duty for 60 something years. At least one of those badges has got to be 'I haven't screwed up enough to be executed lifetime service award'

[NIN]

Anyone ever work with the ROK Marines in South Korea? I went to Mountain Warfare school there.  Lets just say getting back handed like a hooker seemed to be rather common from your superiors.   We were instructed not to stare or make comments when it happened. 

I have. They're bad motor-scooters.

Want to be a squad leader in the ROK military? Beat up your squad leader and the job is yours.

Feel that your platoon sergeant is a tool?  A little Tae Kwon Leep-style "Boot-to-the-Head" and you're the guy in the big chair.

Short version of long story: I had to huck a ROKA 2LT off my aircraft in a PZ cuz he wouldn't holster his weapon. He told his CO that he was doing nothing wrong. When I explained the situation (to his BnCdr and the KATUSA who was translating), the BnCdr hauled off and started beating the crap out of the LT, and grabbed him and off they went back to their CP with the LTC kicking the ever loving daylights out of the LT.

Yeah, I'll pass on that mode of "leadership."

[MSG Mac]

All those guys in the front are Field Marshals. But now we know what Kim#3 is spending the money on, when his people are starving.

[Flying Pig]

Anyone ever work with the ROK Marines in South Korea? I went to Mountain Warfare school there.  Lets just say getting back handed like a hooker seemed to be rather common from your superiors.   We were instructed not to stare or make comments when it happened. 

I have. They're bad motor-scooters.

Want to be a squad leader in the ROK military? Beat up your squad leader and the job is yours.

Feel that your platoon sergeant is a tool?  A little Tae Kwon Leep-style "Boot-to-the-Head" and you're the guy in the big chair.

Short version of long story: I had to huck a ROKA 2LT off my aircraft in a PZ cuz he wouldn't holster his weapon. He told his CO that he was doing nothing wrong. When I explained the situation (to his BnCdr and the KATUSA who was translating), the BnCdr hauled off and started beating the crap out of the LT, and grabbed him and off they went back to their CP with the LTC kicking the ever loving daylights out of the LT.

Yeah, I'll pass on that mode of "leadership."

I had a good talk with a ROK Marine while over there.  During the training we interacted with our ROK counterparts.  I was a heavy machine gun section leader and was a Sgt/E5.  So we interacted with their machine gun sections.  Interesting their perspective on US Marines.  Their view was that we were so unbelievably disciplined, that all a Marine NCO had to do was tell us to do something, and it got done.  Nobody fought, nobody was yelled at.  They believed that any "soldier" who was that disciplined was to be feared.  They were told by their commanders that if a US Marine commander ordered us to kill one of our immediate family members, that we had to do it without question. 

We looked at them as "hard" because their commanders beat them up and they took it.  They looked at us as deadly war machines because our commanders only had to speak and we responded simply with a "Aye Aye Sir".  To them, a commander with the ability to control killers just by speaking was something they were completely unable to compute. 

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

The ROK troops sound like Klingons...their advancement through ranks, anyway.

Of course, we know what Kim spends his money on...as did his father...as did his grandfather.

In North Korea, it's not "let them eat cake," it's "let them eat dirt, bugs or whatever else they find."

My ex-brother-in-law did a tour on a "listening post" perched over the DMZ with the Army back in the '80s.  He wouldn't say much except that it was the most frightening thing he'd ever done in his military career...including monitoring the border between West and East Germany and Czechoslovakia.

One of my favourite sayings: "Communism...not my idea of a good time."

The DPRK military's hardware is mostly old, clapped-out Soviet/Chinese stuff...however, they have a lot of it.

I think the most modern aircraft they have are some very early-series MiG-29's that are kept to defend Pyongyang itself...and they'd be Falcon Chow for USAF and ROKAF F-16's.

[TCMajor]

Cyborg,

You are so right with "they have a lot!"  We, in the "West" seem so forget that we won World War 1 and 2 not with good tactics, but with un-stoppable numbers.  Even our own Civil War was only won with overwhelming numbers on the side of the North.  We just threw so much stuff at our enmies that they simply ran out of their own stuff.  The North Koreans are a force to be reckoned with.  We most likely will prevail in the end, but our cost will be very high indeed.  We have to know and understand our possible enemies. 

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

We have "commemorative medals" too...but they're not allowed to be worn on military uniform.

http://www.militaryvetspx.com/come.html

However...one could always build a ribbon rack/miniature medals group, wear it on the "blazer," run that up the flagpole and see what happens...


I can count several I'd be "eligible" for. :angel:

[ColonelJack]

...still can't believe I fell for such a (now) obvious Photoshop job...

The badges on the sleeves should've given it away.  Great work!!!

As for the commemorative medals ... I suppose one could build a rack that would make any banana republic dictator envious!

Jack

[Private Investigator]

Anyone ever work with the ROK Marines in South Korea? I went to Mountain Warfare school there.  Lets just say getting back handed like a hooker seemed to be rather common from your superiors.   We were instructed not to stare or make comments when it happened. 

I have. They're bad motor-scooters.

Want to be a squad leader in the ROK military? Beat up your squad leader and the job is yours.

Feel that your platoon sergeant is a tool?  A little Tae Kwon Leep-style "Boot-to-the-Head" and you're the guy in the big chair.

Short version of long story: I had to huck a ROKA 2LT off my aircraft in a PZ cuz he wouldn't holster his weapon. He told his CO that he was doing nothing wrong. When I explained the situation (to his BnCdr and the KATUSA who was translating), the BnCdr hauled off and started beating the crap out of the LT, and grabbed him and off they went back to their CP with the LTC kicking the ever loving daylights out of the LT.

Yeah, I'll pass on that mode of "leadership."

I had a good talk with a ROK Marine while over there.  During the training we interacted with our ROK counterparts.  I was a heavy machine gun section leader and was a Sgt/E5.  So we interacted with their machine gun sections.  Interesting their perspective on US Marines.  Their view was that we were so unbelievably disciplined, that all a Marine NCO had to do was tell us to do something, and it got done.  Nobody fought, nobody was yelled at.  They believed that any "soldier" who was that disciplined was to be feared.  They were told by their commanders that if a US Marine commander ordered us to kill one of our immediate family members, that we had to do it without question. 

We looked at them as "hard" because their commanders beat them up and they took it.  They looked at us as deadly war machines because our commanders only had to speak and we responded simply with a "Aye Aye Sir".  To them, a commander with the ability to control killers just by speaking was something they were completely unable to compute.

I was a Corporal in the Marines when I was there. I loved the country and the people. In 1978 the ROKs on guard duty had M-1 Carbines which I thought was cool.

[Rick-DEL]

We used to "play" against them (and with them) during Team Spirit held at Osan AB. Good times !

[ColonelJack]

Maybe Curly should shop where those North Koreans shop...

Jack

[Stonewall]

I wonder if a Person in the US Military has ever had that many Ribbons/Medals and acctually worn all of them? Were would they go, cant you only go so far up left side?

This is Colonel Joseph F. Hunt.  He was my regimental commander in the Army in the early 90s.  He had so many medals that they had to move his pocket to get them all on.



In addition to being a Vietnam Veteran (LRRP type), he was Commander of 3rd Ranger BN during the airborne assualt into Panama in 1989.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

^^Crikey, mate, look at all them gongs!

Straight off I see a Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal...

Not being conversant with all the Army's collar brass, what is the Colonel wearing?  It's not Infantry cross-muskets, is it?

Of course, my dad, having been Infantry himself, would have said "the most important thing that Colonel is wearing is the blue Infantry shoulder cord and CIB!"

[NIN]

Holy schmokes, that Colonel has a metric ton of been-there, done-that. 

IIRC, the Old Guard wears the crossed rifles with their regiment on it ("3").

Normally, the insignia is the crossed muskets:


Per AR 670-1, para 28-10a, Regimental Collar Insignia, those branches with regimental affiliations (Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery, Aviation, Engineer, etc) can wear their branch insignia with the regimental number on it.  This is a Cav insignia:


In my experience, it is not often done unless there is a strong regimental identity (ie. I was in the 501st Aviation Regiment. We wore the "Warding Eye" Regimental crest, but not the aviation branch insignia with "501" on it,  since we never actually saw that insignia).  The Old Guard has a much stronger "regimental" identity than other regiments, since it is a "stand alone regiment".

ETA: Here's 3rd Infantry regimental insignia, circa the Great War:

[Thrashed]

 Too much stuff looks bad. There's no reason to over-do it; even if you have earned it. They could wear half their medals and still have too much. A real hero doesn't even care about them.

[NIN]

Too much stuff looks bad. There's no reason to over-do it; even if you have earned it. They could wear half their medals and still have too much. A real hero doesn't even care about them.

Well, remember this is the Old Guard: Pomp and circumstance is what it's all about.  Matter of fact, there is a quote from one of my favorite films of all time about this:

"Why Madam,we are the Old Guard. We are the Nation's Toy Soldiers. We march with rifles that cannot shoot. We fix bayonets that cannot stick. We are the Kabuki theater of the profession of arms.Jesters in the court of Mars, God of War, do-da, do-da." 

God I love James Earl Jones.  He nailed that part.

[Stonewall]

Not being conversant with all the Army's collar brass, what is the Colonel wearing?  It's not Infantry cross-muskets, is it?

What NIN posted, even the enlisted wore the regimental crossed rifles with a 3 centered where the rifles crossed.

Well, remember this is the Old Guard: Pomp and circumstance is what it's all about.  Matter of fact, there is a quote from one of my favorite films of all time about this:

"Why Madam,we are the Old Guard. We are the Nation's Toy Soldiers. We march with rifles that cannot shoot. We fix bayonets that cannot stick. We are the Kabuki theater of the profession of arms.Jesters in the court of Mars, God of War, do-da, do-da." 

God I love James Earl Jones.  He nailed that part.

Actually, the M14 rifles did/do shoot.  Quite fun to shoot, too.

Colonel Hunt was a BAMF.  A soldier's soldier.  You'd be working on your car on the weekend and he'd pull up with his tool box and lend a hand.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

What NIN posted, even the enlisted wore the regimental crossed rifles with a 3 centered where the rifles crossed.

On disks, with the light blue Infantry backing, yes?  My dad was quite proud that his "U.S." and "cross-guns" (as he called them) had the blue backing.

Actually, the M14 rifles did/do shoot.  Quite fun to shoot, too.

Dad said that the M14 was coming in just as he was getting out and he wished he would have got a chance to fire one...especially after getting "M-1 thumb" and "trying to keep that stupid 'grease gun' from tracking up when you fired it!"

Some countries still use them.  The Australian SAS (Aussie BAMF's) has used them in A'stan.  Border Patrol and U.S. Park Rangers use them too.

Colonel Hunt was a BAMF.  A soldier's soldier.

He certainly looks it.  Is he still living?

[ColonelJack]

Dad said that the M14 was coming in just as he was getting out and he wished he would have got a chance to fire one...especially after getting "M-1 thumb" and "trying to keep that stupid 'grease gun' from tracking up when you fired it!"

Some countries still use them.  The Australian SAS (Aussie BAMF's) has used them in A'stan.  Border Patrol and U.S. Park Rangers use them too.

We used them in ROTC in high school back in '73-'75.  I still remember the manual of arms for the M-14.

Jack

[FlyTiger77]

...We wore the "Warding Eye" Regimental crest...

I still wear that as my regimental crest. Not the most attractive piece of heraldry, but it works.

[Stonewall]

On disks, with the light blue Infantry backing, yes?  My dad was quite proud that his "U.S." and "cross-guns" (as he called them) had the blue backing.

See attached picture.

Colonel Hunt was a BAMF.  A soldier's soldier.

He certainly looks it.  Is he still living?

I'm sure he is.  Soldiers like him don't really ever die.  He should be in his 70s though.

[NIN]

...We wore the "Warding Eye" Regimental crest...

I still wear that as my regimental crest. Not the most attractive piece of heraldry, but it works.

Regimental affiliation is not something that was well understood in the USAC, but those of us who are regimentally affiliated are CRAZY about it >

We're positively regiMENTAL.

[PaulR]

Actually, most Soviets did not have more than a couple of medals.  Those photos are of veterans/retirees/pensioners, who are allowed to wear whatever they want as far as commemorative medals.   As far as I am concerned, after everything they dealt with in WW2, I feel that these are not even enough.  These days, the typical Russian may have an Achievement Award and Long Service medals after an entire career.

For example, the ArtilleryWarrant  Officer in the top photo below has only five legit awards.  The rest are all unofficial medals and pins. 

The old timer on the bottom photo, to the left, has two official awards that I can see.  The rest are all unofficial commemoratives.  The young paratrooper and Afghan vet on the right is actually highly decorated, with four official medals(Bravery Medal, Combat Merit Medal, and two Campaign medals).

I think that those N. Korean(?) officers are ridiculous looking, especially since they have not been in any combat in over 60 years. 


quote author=usafaux2004 link=topic=16807.msg302770#msg302770 date=1358489568]
There are a lot of WW2 Soviet vets who look similar. That's what happens when every 5 years there's a commemorative medal for WW2.




[/quote]

[Майор Хаткевич]

Every May the Russian government makes commemorative stuff. Most vets get it. Don't disagree with it, but eventually it looks....funny.