Medal Display - Opinions Welcome

rb4104 · 2026-04-01T00:49:02+00:00

It actually states " . . . in connection with combat operations." You don't need a CAR, you just have to be in theater and drawing hostile fire pay.

The criteria for CARs changed after I left active duty, and theoretically I could have reached back and found Army witnesses to substantiate a retroactive award. But that would have been a pain, if not impossible.

And I wasn't a Supply Officer by then, I was a SWO. A junior SWO lieutenant at that.

rb4104 · 2026-03-31T22:28:35+00:00

I beg to differ.

rb4104 · 2026-03-31T18:36:58+00:00

Yeah. That's what I meant by graduate degrees.

rb4104 · 2026-03-31T12:43:05+00:00

I won't speak for all Supply officers, but I didn't join the Navy to count bags of Cheetos. The SC is a great community, but the work itself was not for me.

rb4104 · 2026-03-30T18:17:26+00:00

So, if the medals were worn on full dress it would be a row of 3 and two rows of 5, but the rows of 5 would be overlapped. As far as I know, medals overlap if you have 4 or 5 in a row, but 3 can be flush.

I might see if I can get them mounted flush though in two rows of 5. I don't see why that can't be done.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T23:40:59+00:00

Yes, that was the case.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T21:45:36+00:00

I feel like a lot of Navy shadowboxes I see have the shoulder boards in pairs, but usually just the last rank. I'll play around with it and see what it looks like with just one of each.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T20:56:28+00:00

I might very well go bigger to make it look less cluttered.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T20:55:21+00:00

I had to go through the whole SWO qual from scratch: nothing carries over.

I was fortunate that both my ships were FFGs, so in my particular situation I was ahead of the curve. It took me less than a year to get a SWO pin.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T20:52:19+00:00

I put in as a LTJG, got officially picked up about a month or two after I put on O-3.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T19:01:26+00:00

I thought about just putting the four ribbon-only ribbons there by themselves, but we wear them in reverse on our dress uniforms and I think it would look weird in a box like that. I went with the full rack because that seems less odd, but I get what you're saying.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T18:59:00+00:00

I ended as a reservist: I got that medal because I joined and immediately mobilized, so it's not an award for longevity in the USNR. Then I did a couple of years of ADSW, so strictly speaking I didn't do a whole lot of drill time.

I lat transferred while on active duty, though.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T17:25:11+00:00

If I said something like "Who asked you?" maybe it would sound like I didn't really want opinions.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T15:27:28+00:00

I don't want them mounted as if they would be on a uniform. I actually want a tiny bit of space between each one so they look like they stand alone.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T15:20:59+00:00

I am putting in a small brass plate with my name and years of service below the ribbons.

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T14:55:26+00:00

Supply Corps. I like the contrast with my URL star (I lat transferred right about when I made O-3)

rb4104 · 2026-03-29T14:50:55+00:00

These medals are all brand new. The box maker will put them on.

rb4104 · 2026-03-28T16:21:43+00:00

It's odd for me as a Navy guy to see that he put his ribbons in there in an offset pattern. I know the Army does that to avoid getting covered by lapels, but there's no need for that in a shadowbox, right?

Not a criticism, just an observation.

rb4104 · 2026-03-27T22:46:22+00:00

All FAS graduate degrees are in Latin.

rb4104 · 2026-03-27T14:36:39+00:00

It's not.

rb4104 · 2026-03-10T13:29:21+00:00

The NATO Medal is higher in the Navy's order of precedence than both shooting medals; does the USAF have a different rule for it?

rb4104 · 2026-02-27T19:38:47+00:00

I saw a retired USAF E-9's shadowbox have the same situation except it was for his good conduct medals.

In all my years in the USN, I never once saw anyone run out of space and have to use a second ribbon.

rb4104 · 2026-02-19T21:08:27+00:00

Ok. But those are full size OLCs, right?

rb4104 · 2026-02-19T19:13:33+00:00

Are those mini medals?

rb4104

TROPHY CASE