Why aren't there (more) decorations with horizontal stripes?

[lordmonar]

Back in the day....the USAF's Promotion Fitness Exam Study Guid show the Armed Forces Expiditonary Medal backwards.....this last 2-3 printings.  I only discovered it when I baught my first mess dress and noticed the hanging medal had the red/whit/blue stripes the other way around.

Also you see the Kuwaiti Liberation medal and Kosovo War Medal put on backwards from time to time.

As for Horzontal stripes....personally I think they don't look that good....and would steer away from them if I had any say in the matter.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

Seems to me that the horizontally striped ribbons do NOT translate into medals, so this isn't a problem. Remember, unlike in CAP, in the Real Military, not every ribbon has a medal or miniature medal corresponding to it. Unit citations and ribbons called "ribbons" don't, so they can go horizontal all day and it means nothing. Now, if it was a DSM or a DFC or a MOH, don't think for a second they'd go horizontal. They have long stretches of those colors to make, too!

[SarDragon]

Don't want to be a master of the obvious, but the ribbons with the horizontal stripes, Army Reserve Overseas Training and N/MC Presidential Unit Citation are just that. They are ribbons that have no corresponding medal. As LGM.... said, you can make a ribbon from a vertical ribbon easier than a horizontal one.

Dave, did they weave the propellers, etc. on the ribbon or just print them on the cloth? I haven't looked at mine in a while.

Absolutely woven in. I still have all my olde cartoon ribbons, and the weaving is obvious when you look at the backs.

[ol'fido]

Wish I could find mine.

[Brad]

One of my state awards is the Kentucky Recruiting Ribbon, aka the Blue Falcon Ribbon, made of horizontal stripes. Unlike the ARCOTR which cant be put on incorrectly, this one is red white and blue and is almost always worn incorrectly upside down. I think its strange that the ribbon is worn blue/white/red instead of red/white/blue.

I'm wanting to say it's a heraldry thing, but the darker color is usually worn up or pointing to the right when compared to the lighter color on asymmetric ribbons. Case in point the Leadership Award, Membership Award, the Air Force Kosovo War Medal, the NJROTC Physical Training Ribbon, etc. etc. One notable exception being the GRW award, which is just a flipover of the old National Commander Citation. Guess they were too lazy to design a new one.

As to the original question of why there aren't more horizontal ribbons, the thought of medal drapes is what popped into my head almost instantly. Considering that CAP has miniature medals for every ribbon, imagine how much more expensive they would be due to the extra steps needed to make it, owing to the folding of the fabric and such. Plus think how awful it would look when worn...

[MSG Mac]

One of my state awards is the Kentucky Recruiting Ribbon, aka the Blue Falcon Ribbon, made of horizontal stripes. Unlike the ARCOTR which cant be put on incorrectly, this one is red white and blue and is almost always worn incorrectly upside down. I think its strange that the ribbon is worn blue/white/red instead of red/white/blue.

In Heraldry blue is the "senior" color

[ol'fido]

What is the "cadet" color.

[Brad]

What is the "cadet" color.

:-P

[SarDragon]

Well, I just dissected a Navy PUC. It is woven with the stripes vertical, to a narrower width than a regular ribbon. It's cut to the correct size, and assembled on the bar.

[Texas Raiders]

It's easy.  Horizontal stripes make you look fat, while vertical stripes make you look taller!