Some counterpoints to the above, from an Air Force perspective:
We don’t have service stripes on our uniforms. Given the Air Force’s increasing love of minimalism (bye-bye, unit insignia!), sometimes I wonder if I’m lucky to even get my name and rank on the uniform.
Air Force’s version of the Army Service Ribbon (which I have also heard referred to, tongue-in-cheek, as the Gay Pride Ribbon), is the Air Force Training Ribbon, which we get for completing entry-level Air Force training. In theory, it’s possible to serve in the Air Force while earning this ribbon once, twice, or not at all. Once would be for entering via the Academy, ROTC, OTS, or Basic Military Training. Twice would be for going through Basic Military Training, then being accepted for one of the first three for officer training. None would be serving in another branch (Marines seems to be common in this category, based on my anecdotal observations) and going “green-to-blue”.
For the Korea Defense Service Medal, it is worth pointing out that they do have heightened tensions there from time to time (I can recall them shooting at each other two or three times in the last couple of years, twice while I was stationed there for 13 months), but nothing approaching a full-scale war. Typically if the Koreans get into some tension with each other, the Americans (and presumably the Chinese) stay out of it and let them hash it out for the moment until things calm down.
Also, tongue-in-cheek comment here, one would assume that a tour in Korea and the Good Conduct Medal would be mutually exclusive, based on how some American servicemembers act in Korea.:eek::rolleyes:
The GWOT-S medal… I dunno. My first tech school, I was told it was mandatory to wear it because we were somehow contributing to the fight against terrorism by being in training. At my second tech school, I was ordered to remove it from my ribbon rack. :rolleyes: Had it back on again at my first base. Who knows.
Badges: This is the Air Force, we don’t need no stinking badges. :rolleyes: Flying badges and chaplain badges are mandatory, everything else is optional depending on your boss, and even so, unless you’re a cop, a firefighter, a recruiter, or an instructor, there’s not a whole lot of badges you could wear in the Air Force anyways aside from the ones identifying your general career field (for example, I wear the same occupational badge as firefighters, bulldozer drivers, electricians, bomb squad technicians, and chemical warfare specialists (though those last two categories also have their own, second occupational badge to wear, the Chem Warfare guys’ Retort badge, and the EOD guys’ “Crabs”)
But yes, I do take a particular glee in pointing out that at least one of my military decorations was awarded to me for good behavior. 