What are the little pins on a military uniform???

Question

What are the pins on the front left hand side of a military uniform? It appears as if they are minature flags of different countries. If that is true what do they symbolize? Does a military officer get a pin for each country he as been to?

Answer 1

they are personal awards and decorations earned while serving. They are divided into three categories; personal, campaign, and service. Campaign medals have to do with specific actions carried out during times of war as a whole. For example, the Vietnam Campaign Medal was issued to all who went overseas to Vietnam during the Vietnam Conflict. Service medals indicate specific actions or missions undertaken. For example, Kosovo, Iraq and Afgahnistan now have their own service medals issued out to those who were in-country for missions or actions associated with the wars/conflicts. Personal awards are awards/medals/ribbons issued for personal actions. For example, the Combat Action Ribbon is issued only to personnel and units that saw direct combat during conflicts/wars. Acheivement medals are issued for doing tasks deemed above normal or in a manner that warrents merit. The big ones are the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star plus a couple others. These are given for going above and beyond the regular call of duty. Usually for something heroic adn probably nuts also. IF you want to know in detail what the awards mean, type in either Army/Marines/Navy/Air Force/Coast Guard Medals into a search engine and you usually find specifics for each award/medal.

Oh yeah, to clear this up.... THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE BASIC TRAINING RIBBON IN THE MARINE CORPS. It is called the National Defense Medal and is only issued out during times of conflict or war and is NOT issued to everyone in the military. The army and air force give you something for finishing training but the Navy and Marine Corps do not.

Answer 2

Military Pins Meaning

Answer 3

Those little pins on a military uniform are ribbons. Each service has a different set of ribbons. Although a few of the ribbons are shared among all five services: Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corp, and Coast Guard.

You get a ribbon for tasks you complete and awards you get in the military. Things like: basic training, time spent overseas, getting the Medal of Honor, Being a marksman, etc.

Here is a link to show you all the military ribbons.

http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/ribbons/index.html

Answer 4

Those little pins are often referred to as fruit salad. They are bars of ribbon that match the medals that a soldier has been awarded for personal achievement, bravery, valor, etc. (this could include: the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, just to name a few). The ribbons that are worn over the right pocket are commendations that have been awarded to the soldier's unit.

Answer 5

I'm not in the military but I think I read about it before, and it's some type of set of symbols that mean some type of specific rank and/or situation, usually some type of achievement. All those military people are able to read everything about you just by looking at all your little flags. It's very important in the military to know ranks immediately, because you might meet in the middle of a war and you need to know which commander gets to make decisions simply by looking at their pins. It's like your resume on your shirt.

Answer 6

They are awards, citations, and some are for serving in a certain campaign. Some are for doing your job honorably for a certain time, some are for going above and beyond the call of duty, some are for being apart of a unit who preformed outstanding in a war time cituation. Combat experience, some are for being a drill instructor, being apart of a humanitarian operation, that is what those little colorful pins are for, its a way to show off to others what you've done and what you've been through, for some it makes it easier to pick up girls

Answer 7

They are ribbons, service campaign ribbons, heroism ribbons, wound ribbons, commendation ribbons, air medal ribbons, national defense ribbons and so forth. Although some people keep them , there is really no use for them outside of the military.

Answer 8

it is symbolizing "ribbons of conflict", meaning whatever campaign they served in they were awarded a medal with a ribbon. That, on the uniform, is the ribbon, my friend

Answer 9

Got bored after the first 5. Too long. And the first one is printed on a claymore landmine not a rocket launcher.

Answer 10

Together they are called "fruit salad"
each pin represents a skill, or campaign (battle/war) they fought in....