Generally speaking, most of this stuff is purchased through civilian stores just off post catering to military needs. No paperwork required to buy, but you’d be better off dead than to get caught wearing awards you didn’t earn. And yes, there are ceremonies and other formal occasions where one needs to wear a dress uniform with all your ribbons and awards on them.
Wearing medals or badges you didn’t earn is super cringy, and you’re basically just shitting on everyone who actually did earn them. I’m not trying to take away this guys service, but as an actual recipient of a CIB, I feel like his lying is a direct slap in the face.
I have a circular path through my house that I’ll walk aimlessly whenever on the phone. On days without many phone calls, I’ll end up having a much much lower step count.
Edit: fixed a word
Yeah, but we used to call the guys that just went and bought shit they didn’t earn PX Rangers. Anyone could go buy any badge or medal they wanted, but that doesn’t mean they earned the right to wear it or that they have the documents proving they were awarded it… and I don’t know about you, but I got presented with a certificate and a physical medal for every medal I earned, badges we had to buy but only after they were earned.
I’m guessing the whole unit got put in for them, and he was part of the unit, just not in an MOS (military occupational specialty) qualified to earn this particular combat badge. Someone didn’t look close enough and just rubber stamped it. Basically, it just slipped through the cracks… but he knows as he knew then he wasn’t in an MOS that could receive this award.
The Combat Infantry Badge, as the article mentions, is only awarded to infantry and special forces soldiers that have seen combat as typically these units were the only ones that saw action. With Afghanistan and Iraq, we saw a new form of conflict where there wasn’t a specified frontline to the fighting and support rolls (such as the one he was in) often found themselves under fire. There was some push to award all soldiers that saw combat a CIB regardless of what job they held. The Army decided against doing this, but they did eventually create the Combat Action Badge (CAB) in 2005, which is similar to a CIB in that the recipient must be engaged in combat to earn it, but it is awarded to any MOS. He likely would have qualified for the CAB through his service, but I’m guessing it just wasn’t a thing when he served.
I’ll take it one step further and say potato salad CAN be downright delicious when made well… I have also had potato salad so bad that it caused me to have an existential crisis about how I ended up where I was, eating what I was, and I had to pause to reconsider my life’s choices.
TIL hard boiled eggs can explode in a microwave and that the explosion can be as loud as 133 decibels. For reference sake, a gunshot is about 155 decibels depending on caliber, so that’s one loud ass egg.
Well, yeah, he only suffered a scratch.
Ok, but why does this picture make me think he just wants to rub his nipples?
Top right is accepting of all fetishists. Hell, we probably invented a few you haven’t even heard of yet.
If the GOP wants to bring morals back, all they have to do is stop being so amoral.
My favorite is when you point out all the shit from their Bible, they don’t follow, and they hit you with “oh that’s from the old testament, and Jesus did away with all of that.”
I’m also always amused at the concept of a perfect infallible being not getting it right the first time and having to push out the revised new testament.
Oh, continuing down that line of thinking leads to far worse then “kinda fucked up.” If the judeo christian deity exists and is accurately described by their books than it is a total monster not worthy of praise or devotion…
What I understand about the judeo christian god is that they are believed to have created everything that has ever been or will ever be. They have total knowledge of everything past present and future, and they “knew me” prior to them creating me, knew what kind of person I would be, and knew without doubt that I wouldn’t believe in or worship them… so they created me with full knowledge that I’ll spend eternity being tortured in hell. What kind of benevolent deity brings a creature into existence just so they can be tortured? If that’s not full blown fucked up, then I don’t know what is.
When you’re brainwashed from birth, it’s difficult to recognize you’ve been brainwashed.
I don’t think the world is ready to deal with the type of power one would wield after being deputized by a pillow salesman.
How many rounds did he fire before losing his hearing entirely?
I ask because I have fired thousands of rounds, probably even tens of thousands of rounds through AR platforms without wearing hearing protection (while in service), and I only have mild hearing damage.
The amount this woman fails to grasp, morally or otherwise, is truly astounding. I still blame her for Trump’s win, and wished they’d both just fuck off already.
Well, who doesn’t enjoy a good chin scritch now and again.
Funnily enough, that’s exactly how I stopped smoking. I smoked for around 17 years and had been trying to quit for nearly 15 of them. I did everything from pills to nicotine substitutions, hypnosis, and even that laser therapy. It would work for a time, but eventually, within a month or two, I’d be back to smoking.
Then, one day, I was in a really foul mood and just didn’t want to deal with people. I ran out of cigarettes right at the end of the evening before bed and figured I’d buy some in the morning. Woke up in a worse mood the next day and decided to just stay home and ride it out. It is best for me to avoid people when I get like that, so that’s what I did. The following day, I woke up in a better mood and was about to head to the corner store for a pack when I realized I’d already gone near 36 hours without one, so thought why not wait an hour. An hour passed, and decided to wait another hour, and then another, and another. Before I knew it, I was heading back to bed for my second full day being cigaretteless.
At that point, I decided to continue my smoke-free streak and just quit. It’s been nearly 6 years since my last cigarette, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.
Context: I’m a disabled veteran with severe PTSD, anxiety, depression, and mood disorders caused by TBI’s. I have days where everything seems to act up all at once, and I’ll self isolate because it’s just safer for everyone if I’m alone during those times. Furthermore, I started smoking while in combat to help take the “edge” off, and as such, the nicotine addiction was extremely difficult for me to get beyond because it got wrapped up in my PTSD and anxiety issues.
Basically, what I learned from my many years of trying to quit is no matter how you “try” if you don’t truly want to quit, you won’t succeed. You have to want to quit more than you want that next cigarette.
Good luck to anyone out there still struggling to break a nicotine addiction. Stay strong. You can do it.
Fellow vet, hoped to be done fighting, but this country is devolving into madness, and I’m prepared to fight for the constitution. I took an oath, as all that served did, to defend this country from all enemies, foreign or domestic, and I took that oath to heart. Hope for the best, prepared for the worst.