Specialty Track Badges - Your Opinions

[Pylon]

I'm curious as to what everybody's opinions are on the specialty track badges, particularly the newer ones which are only a few years old now.

First off, what do you think of CAP's decision to make the set of badges for on-the-pocket wear (like the old CAP ES, Comm, and Safety badges) instead of over-pocket, over-ribbons (like the USAF qualification badges)?

Secondly, what do you think of the designs?  (Do you think they look professional for military uniform wear or a bit "childish" or crude in their coloring and designs?

I'll reserve my opinions for a bit.   

[Major_Chuck]

Too cartoonish in my opinion.  I would have gone with a specialty badge design similiar to the Air Force (over the ribbon) versus on the pocket.

[MIKE]

I don't really like any of the newest specialty track badges... But I don't rate any of them either.  The older ones aren't as bad (I wear CP and COMM.), but they aren't great either.  I would prefer AF style above the pocket badges that would be worn on all uniforms instead of just service uniforms and the aviator shirt combo.

[arajca]

The newer ones - excluding CP and AE - look like someone had a lttle too much time and one of those 100 gazillion piece clip art packages, and the grey background on most doesn't make alot of sense to me. Blue would be a much better background. Personally, I think wearing the specialty track badge on the pocket makes sense - it keeps with the tradition set with the Comm and ES badges.

The AF badges are based on professional skills and training. The specialty insignia CAP wears above the ribbons/pocket are similarly based - medical, legal, GT, aeronautical.

As an aside, I have earned the tech ratings for CP, Comm, and Admin. I also am an EMT-B. Because I wear the aviator shirt, I can wear only one badge - I don't have an aeronautical rating. Usually I wear the CP badge because I am the CDC for my squadron.

[pixelwonk]

...Blue would be a much better background. Personally, I think wearing the specialty track badge on the pocket makes sense - it keeps with the tradition set with the Comm and ES badges.

The AF badges are based on professional skills and training. The specialty insignia CAP wears above the ribbons/pocket are similarly based - medical, legal, GT, aeronautical.

I think ARajca hit the nail squarely on the head here.
Perhaps if the grey backgrounds were blue they might look better... along with some muting of the rainbow of fruity flavors colors

Something like this...

instead of this... 

I ruthlessly photoshopped the Professional development senior badge, just for an example.  All in all, I think every greyish colored badge should be turned blue.  After all, the PAO badge is the "oldest of the newest" and I think that one looks pretty good.  Good enough for govt. work at least   

And what's the dealio with Alladin's lamp for the PDO track anyway? 
Rub the lamp... Rub the lamp... Rub the lamp... and the PDO Genie will grant your promotion!

[Major_Chuck]

Same thing.  Master in Logistics, Senior in Communications, Technician in Safety and EMT-B.

On the Aviator uniform I wear the Logistics badge while on my blue service coat I've got the LG and Safety badges reflective of my two positions.

[Major_Chuck]

That brings out the SAR Genie.  One blink and you've got all your mission forms completed and filed.

...Blue would be a much better background. Personally, I think wearing the specialty track badge on the pocket makes sense - it keeps with the tradition set with the Comm and ES badges.

The AF badges are based on professional skills and training. The specialty insignia CAP wears above the ribbons/pocket are similarly based - medical, legal, GT, aeronautical.

I think ARajca hit the nail squarely on the head here.
Perhaps if the grey backgrounds were blue they might look better... along with some muting of the rainbow of fruity flavors colors

Something like this...

instead of this... 

I ruthlessly photoshopped the Professional development senior badge, just for an example.  All in all, I think every greyish colored badge should be turned blue.  After all, the PAO badge is the "oldest of the newest" and I think that one looks pretty good.  Good enough for govt. work at least   

And what's the dealio with Alladin's lamp for the PDO track anyway? 
Rub the lamp... Rub the lamp... Rub the lamp... and the PDO Genie will grant your promotion!

[Pylon]

I think ARajca hit the nail squarely on the head here.
Perhaps if the grey backgrounds were blue they might look better... along with some muting of the rainbow of fruity flavors colors

Something like this...

instead of this... 

I ruthlessly photoshopped the Professional development senior badge, just for an example.  All in all, I think every greyish colored badge should be turned blue.  After all, the PAO badge is the "oldest of the newest" and I think that one looks pretty good.  Good enough for govt. work at least   

And what's the dealio with Alladin's lamp for the PDO track anyway? 
Rub the lamp... Rub the lamp... Rub the lamp... and the PDO Genie will grant your promotion!

That's great!  Tedd, your photoshopped examples look excellent.  Too bad they didn't have you designing the badges.

Though removing those fruity flavors cartoon-ish colors and giving the badges a nice blue background would make the current set of badges look better and more professional, my opinion is that they should have originally gone with over-the-ribbons style badges instead.  I guess we can't have everything.  But we could push for the background and color change, maybe. 

[MIKE]

We can ditch the trio of three bladed props too IMO. 

[arajca]

We can ditch the trio of three bladed props too IMO. 

I agree, but if you check all the badges, the CAP emblem appears on each in some way, shape, or form - excluding MLO. For most, it is those three props.

In reality, there is probably very little chance of getting them changed, but we'll never know unless someone tries.

[pixelwonk]

Thanks for the compliment Michael.  I certainly don't want to design a whole bunch of new ones, just visually suggest a way to make the current ones more esthetically pleasing. 
Kind of like BASF... "We don't make the badges... we make them look better" 

Although I have high regard for the traditional "above the pocket" badges, I don't mind this type of badge, nor even some of the designs they came up with.  It evens the uniform out a bit.  Heck, if we added specialty track badges over the tape or pocket, those wearing wings and GTM, EMT, Chaplain, etc... type badges would be all the way up to our shoulders in badge bling.

Personally, I would never let my uniform look like that.  I can't see wearing more than two up there.  And that's without ribbons, which I never can bring myself to wear on the shirt.

[arajca]

I think that if they just changed the background color to blue - as shown in tedda's work - the badges would look far superior to the grey background. Even if they left the other colors alone.

[arajca]

If anyone wants an Excel spreadsheet with all the basic badges shown, email me. The badges are graphics not photos.

[Horn229]

First off, what do you think of CAP's decision to make the set of badges for on-the-pocket wear (like the old CAP ES, Comm, and Safety badges) instead of over-pocket, over-ribbons (like the USAF qualification badges)?

Well, according to the reg you can wear it above the nameplate...

This is for the new style Service Uniform Jacket, both Senior and Cadet, page 8 for Senior Members and 9 for Cadets.

5. CAP Specialty Badges: Worn centered 1 1/2 inches below top of welt pocket and/or on right side centered between arm
seam and lapel with bottom edge of badge parallel to top of welt pocket.

but now we have the Nameplate where the badge would go, so they need to clarify that now. 


And now for the S/S dress blues shirt. (page 16/17)

6. CAP Specialty Badges: Worn centered below the pocket flap on the left breast pocket and/or on right pocket between
left and right edges and bottom of flap and pocket.

So there it says for the shirt it can be worn on either pocket.

Now skipping ahead like 60 pages to page 78, item 7.

Men: Centered below the pocket flap on the left breast pocket of the service coat or shirt when worn as an outergarment. May also be worn above right breast pocket.

So there is says that it can be worn on the left pocket or above the right pocket. I'm going to assume it meant above the nameplate too.

[MIKE]

Above the nameplate and above the left pocket/ribbons is two entirely different things (If you are a guy.)... We're talking about changing the specialty badges so they could/would be worn above the left pocket/ribbons instead of on the pockets or above the nameplates.

This would mean that almost everyone would have at least one specialty badge worn above the left pocket on the aviator shirt, BFU, BDU, service uniforms and possibly the ASNP much like is done in the USAF.... This would also mean that you could wear a maximum of two specialty insignia/specialty badges above the pocket and probably wouldn't wear additional specialty badges on the pockets.

[Horn229]

woops, my mistake. I thought it just said over the pocket, I missed the over the ribbons part.

[Eagle400]

*bump*

I think all of the specialty badges in CAP should have both an embroidered version and a metal version.  Having all specialty badges embroidered would look great and would be a good morale booster.

After all, if the Air Force has all of their specialty badges embroidered, why can't its auxiliary?     

[jimmydeanno]

And what's the dealio with Alladin's lamp for the PDO track anyway? 
Rub the lamp... Rub the lamp... Rub the lamp... and the PDO Genie will grant your promotion!

The lamp is historically recognized as a symbol of knowledge, education and direction.  Using the torch sybolizes the PDOs responsibility to educate and 'guide' those he serves.