Mini Medal or Madness?

[James Shaw]

How many mini medals do you wear on your Mess Dress if you have one. Do you mix your AD / RES / CAP medals to the mix or CAP alone on the uniform. Initially I wore all of mine. When I got to 3 CAP rows I stopped wearing my RM ribbons and went to CAP only. I went to a REG Conf a few years ago and the guest speaker was a retired MGen who is a current member of CAP. He had around 40 minis on his uniform including his RM and CAP. They went from the bottom of his uniform almost to the top. It looked kinda nice and kinda overwhelming.

Thoughts?

Pride or Pretentious?

[cnitas]

Well, as a MG, he would be expected to have more 'bling' than anyone else, so I would say he is trying to live up to the expecation.

If you are a CAP Capt, and you have 40 minis, you may want to cut back a little.

[Gunner C]

Wear how many you're confortable with tempered by how many you can afford.  Those suckers aren't cheap.

If you've earned them, wear them.  If you're embarrassed by them, then don't.

GC

[lordmonar]

Well, as a MG, he would be expected to have more 'bling' than anyone else, so I would say he is trying to live up to the expecation.

If you are a CAP Capt, and you have 40 minis, you may want to cut back a little.

I disagree....if you earned them and are wearing the properly.....do so with pride and gusto!

[ddelaney103]

Well, as a MG, he would be expected to have more 'bling' than anyone else, so I would say he is trying to live up to the expecation.

If you are a CAP Capt, and you have 40 minis, you may want to cut back a little.

I disagree....if you earned them and are wearing the properly.....do so with pride and gusto!

You can't wear 40 medals properly - you start to overbalance and pull to the side, not to mention the possibility of capsizing.

[baronet68]

I typically wear just my favorite five CAP awards, Commanders Comm, Lifesaving, Unit Citation, Earhart, and IACE.

[RogueLeader]

You can't wear 40 medals properly - you start to overbalance and pull to the side, not to mention the possibility of capsizing.

You could add extra weight to the opposite side to keep on an even keel, but you might sink evenly. . . . would make for an interesting CAPF 79: Fell over due to the wearing of Mini-Metals, causing him to hit his head on the bar. . . .

[lordmonar]

Well, as a MG, he would be expected to have more 'bling' than anyone else, so I would say he is trying to live up to the expecation.

If you are a CAP Capt, and you have 40 minis, you may want to cut back a little.

I disagree....if you earned them and are wearing the properly.....do so with pride and gusto!

You can't wear 40 medals properly - you start to overbalance and pull to the side, not to mention the possibility of capsizing.

Yea...but you're [darn] near bulletproof on that side!

[SJFedor]

Well, as a MG, he would be expected to have more 'bling' than anyone else, so I would say he is trying to live up to the expecation.

If you are a CAP Capt, and you have 40 minis, you may want to cut back a little.

I disagree....if you earned them and are wearing the properly.....do so with pride and gusto!

You can't wear 40 medals properly - you start to overbalance and pull to the side, not to mention the possibility of capsizing.

Yea...but you're [darn] near bulletproof on that side!

True, but kevlar would probably be cheaper then 40 mini-medals.

[Dragoon]

I stopped at 20 - and honestly it looks a little big flakey.  So I pick and choose which medals to wear.  Honestly, if they aren't on the top row, it's hard to tell what they are anyway.

It would look much better if I had them mounted 6 or 7 to a row with overlapping, but that costs big bucks, and you have to pay almost the same amount every time you add one (and the way CAP hands 'em out, that could be an annual expenditure).

At the other extreme, a friend of mine joined and bought mess dress immediately for the board.  It was kind of funny to see only a single mini-medal on that suit.  And since there is only one pin on the back of single holder, he could twirl it like a stripper's tassel!

[ddelaney103]

I wear about 24, though I cheat on a few things.

I wear my medals in two racks: the military ones above whatever CAP ones fit.  I have to pick the CAP ones in multiples of 4 so it looks like one continuous display.

This does mean I'm wearing two "illegal" state medals on the bottom of my military rack, but I'm leery of fiddling with them all the time.

[cnitas]

This does mean I'm wearing two "illegal" state medals on the bottom of my military rack...

I knew you were trouble 

[James Shaw]

I mainly wear the CAP ones only. I have 17 all together with the odd man on the top. I used to wear the AD/RES ones as well but that was too many to buy.

I have seen many 25 year vets with 200 S&R missions wear multiple minis of the same. Kind of strange at first but if you earn them wear them.

[JohnKachenmeister]

I think CAP members with awards from the RM should make a point of wearing them.  It adds to our credibility when dealing with RM types.

Back in the day when I still fit in a mess dress I wore only my RM medals, plus my wings.

[mikeylikey]

^ Agreed!  Wear all, some or none, plus your CAP ones.  Good thinking!

[JohnKachenmeister]

You can't wear 40 medals properly - you start to overbalance and pull to the side, not to mention the possibility of capsizing.

You could add extra weight to the opposite side to keep on an even keel, but you might sink evenly. . . . would make for an interesting CAPF 79: Fell over due to the wearing of Mini-Metals, causing him to hit his head on the bar. . . .

Its too bad that Jose Carrales got cold feet and quit drawing for the "Smilin' Kack" comic strip.  I could work that into the story line!

[Major Carrales]

You can't wear 40 medals properly - you start to overbalance and pull to the side, not to mention the possibility of capsizing.

You could add extra weight to the opposite side to keep on an even keel, but you might sink evenly. . . . would make for an interesting CAPF 79: Fell over due to the wearing of Mini-Metals, causing him to hit his head on the bar. . . .

Its too bad that Jose Carrales got cold feet and quit drawing for the "Smilin' Kack" comic strip.  I could work that into the story line!

Naw, I just got busy with school, work and he new baby.  Smilin' Kach will return.

[PaulR]

How many mini medals do you wear on your Mess Dress if you have one. Do you mix your AD / RES / CAP medals to the mix or CAP alone on the uniform. Initially I wore all of mine. When I got to 3 CAP rows I stopped wearing my RM ribbons and went to CAP only. I went to a REG Conf a few years ago and the guest speaker was a retired MGen who is a current member of CAP. He had around 40 minis on his uniform including his RM and CAP. They went from the bottom of his uniform almost to the top. It looked kinda nice and kinda overwhelming.

Thoughts?

Pride or Pretentious?

It is not about pride or pretension.  If you were awarded them, wear them- whether you have one or 50. 

[afgeo4]

I think CAP members with awards from the RM should make a point of wearing them.  It adds to our credibility when dealing with RM types.

Back in the day when I still fit in a mess dress I wore only my RM medals, plus my wings.

I've never met someone in the "RM" who judged people on chest salads.

I think any man who's worth considering will judge you on your merits and words, not what decorations you wear.

In fact, I've found that the most experienced and awarded officers rarely wear their bling.

[NIN]

I wear all my RM minis (the ones that have 'em, that is) and then I have about another half dozen CAP medals that I wear.  I haven't gotten motivated enuff to update my rack, but when I do, I need to do it in such a manner as my military ones remain in the way they are on the top (because they're on a separate rack that I wear for dual purposes!)

But all y'all are right: CAP medals are NOT cheap, and they're one for one with the ribbons (unlike the RM, where "medals" only exist for the awards called "Medals".. Clever!)