AFA, AFSA and VFW Ribbons

DC · January 18, 2009, 10:29:29 PM

I know this topic has been discussed before, but I have yet to see this in any of the discussions.

Neither Vanguard or the Hock Shop carry the AFA, AFSA and VFW award ribbons. Why?

I know that replacements can be ordered directly through the awarding organizations, but I don't understand why CAP's official supplier cannot make and stock them, and make the lives of the recipients of those awards just that much easier..

Hawk200 · January 18, 2009, 10:47:43 PM

Vanguard might not be producing them, and the Hock is probably not going to carry such uncommon awards. Just because CAP members can be awarded those items does not mean that Vanguard or The Hock are required to stock it.

Vanguard only has to produce the ribbons that are awarded by CAP. The Hock may carry the CAP ribbons because they cater almost exclusively to CAP. Rare awards not given by CAP aren't really cost effective for them, and therefore are impractical.

BuckeyeDEJ · January 18, 2009, 11:01:05 PM

But there has to be a vendor somewhere.....

IceNine · January 18, 2009, 11:10:28 PM

Those ribbons come exclusively from the sponsoring organization.

To get replacement ribbons you have to contact the exact same person that issued the award in the first place.

ThorntonOL · January 18, 2009, 11:15:19 PM

Why would you lose them in the first place? Unless the ribbon fell apart or got eaten by the dog (probably will only happen to you once) you really are not providing enough need for the ribbon (it's a special award not something everyone can get) that it's not worth it for Hock or Vanguard to even go through the effort of stocking, really the only people who should offer it are the ones who awarded it, then no one should get into trouble for having ribbons on they shouldn't have.

Hawk200 · January 18, 2009, 11:16:54 PM

Quote from: BuckeyeDEJ on January 18, 2009, 11:01:05 PM
But there has to be a vendor somewhere.....

Not necessarily. The organizations that award those decorations may not permit their general sale. They may be limited to purchase by only the organization that awards them. It is possible that the manufacturer might sell to someone who is a verified recipient of the award, but there is no guarantee.

The awarding organizations may wish to keep the award out of any hands that weren't awarded them. They can easily control that by requiring replacements or additional awards be obtained from them only.

On a separate note, the awarding organizations may have wanted the manufacturer to reference a list of recipients before selling to anyone. The company may have said, "You only want certain listed people to buy? Fine. We'll sell you batches of X number of the award, and you can sell them from there. Keep your lists." I'd do the same thing if I ran such a company. Why should my salespeople be looking stuff up in the first place?

caprr275 · January 19, 2009, 12:15:26 AM

Vanguard is in the process of producing them. They should be available soon. I believe the VFW ribbons are available now however the website is not updated

DC · January 19, 2009, 06:43:40 PM

Quote from: ThorntonOL on January 18, 2009, 11:15:19 PM
Why would you lose them in the first place? Unless the ribbon fell apart or got eaten by the dog (probably will only happen to you once) you really are not providing enough need for the ribbon (it's a special award not something everyone can get) that it's not worth it for Hock or Vanguard to even go through the effort of stocking, really the only people who should offer it are the ones who awarded it, then no one should get into trouble for having ribbons on they shouldn't have.

After prolonged wear ribbons get dirty, fray, and generally need to be replaced every once and a while.

There is also the issue of needing several for different ribbon racks, such as when wearing Service Dress, with ribbons on your shirt and Service Coat...

I might also point out, they are available on Ultrathin racks...

As for there being a limited prospective clientele, I am reasonably sure there are more cadets with those awards than there are MOV recipients, and that is available from the Hock Shop, and probably Vanguard...

DC · February 07, 2009, 09:25:52 PM

Just an update, Vanguard now carries the AFA, AFSA and VFW ribbons..

caprr275 · February 08, 2009, 06:13:20 AM

see my post from the 18th

GoofyOne · February 18, 2009, 11:47:47 PM

I just got my order from Vanguard which included a VFW NCO, VFW Officer, AFA and AFSA ribbon.

They did really good except the AFSA. The blue is a royal blue when it should be a navy blue. The AFA is pricey at $2.25 each. The best news is that they are all set to fit on our regular ribbon racks and do not need to be remounted.