When I see a military uniform I see a bunch of tiny pins above the left breast, what do those mean?

Answer 1

Skill badges, airborne, pathfinder, air assault, combat infantry (Expert Infantry) badge, Close combat badge, stuff like that.

PS. or what the guy below me says, depends on the uniform, whether its dress, or utility.

Answer 2

Well, there are two types or insignia worn over the left pocket, personal achievement pins and ribbons (medals). Personal achievement pins are things like some others have mentioned, a parachute, a diver's helmet, Air Force Wings Navy Dolphins. These pins represent becoming "qualified" in some sort of specialty. For example I was in the Navy and "Qualified in Submarines" which meant I could wear dolphins. You might think of this as a driver's license but MUCH more intense by several orders of magnitude, a course of study, practice to gain experience, and then a practical and written exam and an oral exam as well by your peers, which when successfully completed and passed, makes you qualified in that specialty. Next comes the ribbons and medals, below the special rating pins. These come in several flavors, personal meritorious awards, unit awards, and campaigns. I received several personal awards. The various ships and submarines I was on during my 21 years in the Navy received several unit awards. I never got any campaign ribbons. I almost got a Viet Nam Service ribbon, but the destroyer I was on never entered port in Viet Nam, so we didn't qualify even though we spent a month on blockade duty 50 miles offshore filling in for another destroyer who broke down and was delayed. The type of ribbon display depends on the level of dress of the uniform. A "working uniform" is just that and you can wear a specialty pin, like my dolphins, on a working uniform, but it is usually a cloth logo rather than an actual pin. A "dress" uniform uses ribbons about 1-1/4" by 3/8" with 3 to a row. A "full dress" uniform uses miniature medals. Multiple awards of the same kind are indicated by stars on the ribbon. Like with the Good Conduct medal. For each 4 years of good service, you get an award, the first is the ribbon itself, the 2nd and subsequent add a star to the ribbon, so my bar had a ribbon with 4 stars when I retired..There is a distinct order of precedence as to what is the correct order to place the ribbons on the holder. Personal awards precede unit awards in all cases and are the highest in the order. And there is a correct orientation for multi-colored ribbons. When I retired from the Navy, one of the things I received was a "shadow box" which had a USN plaque, the crossed anchors of my rating as a Chief Petty Officer with a propeller as the insignia of my specialty as a Machinist Mate, brass tags with all of the stations and vessels listed where I served, a folded flag which was raised over the White House for a period of time, and of course, my ribbon bar and dolphins. Something about the ribbons struck me a wrong but I could not exactly see what it was that was wrong with the picture I was seeing. Years later, I figured it out. One ribbon, The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), awarded to the 1st submarine I was on (twice, but I was only onboard for one), was upside down. I only figured it out when I was doing some research for a friend and looked it up at a Navy site to see which ships and subs had been awarded a PUC, and there it was, the error in my shadow box suddenly became apparent to me. No one else would ever notice, so I've left it as it was, and now look at it as an inside joke. Only people like me, who have received this particular award would ever notice the error.

Answer 3

They are a service ribbon or medal to show accomplishments and achievements. They show what a sailor, marine, soldier, airman has accomplished thus far in their career. Examples are Global War on Terrorism, National Defense, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Good Conduct medal.

Answer 4

Ribbons and medals. There are many different kinds, some of the most common are: good conduct medal, sea service ribbon, rifle qualification medal.

Answer 5

They're ribbons, medals, skill badges, and the like. You get some for certain accomplishments, and some are arbitrarily handed out.

Answer 6

They are service ribbons. They are awarded for various achievements in a given branch of service. Purple heart is an example.

Answer 7

They are service ribbons you get them for all kinds of things, next time you see a sailor, marine,soldier,or airman ask them to explain what they mean.