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MightyJoe36 posted:I once saw a dude in the airport with an Army Excellence In Competition Badge on his dress greens. I have both the pistol and rifle bronze from doing national guard competitions. I imagine they're far more common in the guard than any other component because most states hold TAG matches that award them for top 10% placement on the EIC rifle and pistol matches. We have an entire program that feeds from the large in-state-only matches to regional matches with other states into the Winston P. Wilson guard nationals held every year in Arkansas (*where the all-guard team shows up and kicks everyone's rear end except California who last time sent a guard SF team that cleaned house). The national guard has a pretty interesting shooting component, generally our teams beat active duty every year for all sniper and machine gun competitions, and our all-guard team takes first in most everything international. The real rarity are the distinguished badges. You only need 1 point to get bronze in the army, but 20 for silver and 30 for distinguished. Once you "leg" at a state match you have to go higher so it gets logistically more complicated and opportunities are rarer. A first-place finish in one of those matches at the national level awards 10 points. Basically if you're not placing in the top 10% on these matches at the yearly national event you're probably never going to get enough points for distinguished. There are less double-distinguished (rifle and pistol) holders than there are MoH recipients. The other fun part is being in the guard I have them on my uniform but my uniform itself hasn't fit since I enlisted and I haven't updated the rank for two promotions because I can't even button it.
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Jun 28, 2021 14:11
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Huh, I didn't even know EIC existed. I only found out about the president's hundred tab because I was on benning and saw some people rocking them on main post. Found out the army marksmanship unit is stationed there. Had a crack at the president's hundred for pistol. If it were at another post I might've had a vague sliver of a chance of picking it up, but all the army marksmanship unit guys come out and then you're up against literal olympians and I got the pants flogged off me. With a score that would've got me close at another post, I think I ended up 160th-ish.
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Jun 28, 2021 16:40
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I shoot with the Marine Corps marksmanship all of the time, and eventually the talk gets to badges and EIC competitions and all that. Recently the Corps put out new guidance which grants EIC points for Marines doing "action shooting" competitions, such as USPSA and 3gun and such. I shoot that stuff all of the time, and deep down there was a small part of me that considered going back in as a reservist in order to get one of those fancy distinguished badges. But then I realize: lol, gently caress that, be fat and do crimes
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Jun 28, 2021 17:05
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You can get the president's hundred tab if you're a civilian, so you can always try that out. It's what makes it so hard to get, military and civilian lumped into the same category.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:18
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not caring here posted:Huh, I didn't even know EIC existed. I only found out about the president's hundred tab because I was on benning and saw some people rocking them on main post. Found out the army marksmanship unit is stationed there. President's 100 is always like that. No matter where it's held the same tab-holders will always come out of the woodwork to shoot it and take up most of the positions that would have been awarded it. Our regular state team does the same thing in-state with our governor's 20 tabs without trying to; when we have 10-12 shooters rotating depending on availability and only have 10 slots for rifle scores and 10 slots for pistol scores we basically push anyone else out of getting it. Especially because our state match is the one we basically all show up to because we can do it in a SUTA status and take newbies from our units to have fun and learn stuff at it.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:25
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spacetoaster posted:I always thought the Antarctic Service Medal with the wintering over device was the rarest medal to get. Second rarest, after the Astronaut Badge, iirc
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Jun 28, 2021 20:21
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Cage Kicker posted:Second rarest, after the Astronaut Badge, iirc Easiest way to get an astronaut badge in the Army is to park your rear end on top of a manhole cover during an underground nuclear test, and there hasn't been one of those since 1992.
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Jun 28, 2021 23:14
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When i was up for re-up, they told me any duty station. The CSM got irrationally angry when I asked for Antarctica.
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Jun 28, 2021 23:29
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bulletsponge13 posted:When i was up for re-up, they told me any duty station. I would assume the only people who get antarctica service ribbons are like, scientists in the military? Like they're not gonna send a company of the 10th mountain there. Oh and I guess the pilots flying in and out of Antarctica. It would be pretty awesome/hilarious to see some dude PCS'ing into your unit as a 92G rocking that on his service uniform along with only an AAM and army service ribbon.
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Jun 29, 2021 00:25
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Nice and hot piss posted:I would assume the only people who get antarctica service ribbons are like, scientists in the military? Like they're not gonna send a company of the 10th mountain there. Oh and I guess the pilots flying in and out of Antarctica. There's a couple of spots for MP's there.
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Jun 29, 2021 00:33
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Is there no oil for us to install democracy on top of?
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Jun 29, 2021 00:37
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boop the snoot posted:Is there no oil for us to install democracy on top of? Yes. There's oil, coal, and minerals. And several countries are arguing over claims. Perhaps there'll be an arctic campaign medal at some point.
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Jun 29, 2021 00:54
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spacetoaster posted:Yes. There's oil, coal, and minerals. And several countries are arguing over claims. insert empire strikes back memes galore
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Jun 29, 2021 00:59
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spacetoaster posted:Yes. There's oil, coal, and minerals. And several countries are arguing over claims. Isnt global warming going to make Antarctica habitable?
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Jun 29, 2021 01:04
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Nice and hot piss posted:I would assume the only people who get antarctica service ribbons are like, scientists in the military? Like they're not gonna send a company of the 10th mountain there. Oh and I guess the pilots flying in and out of Antarctica. Don't tell me any duty station when you don't mean it. Similarly, I asked for ridiculous schools.
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Jun 29, 2021 01:12
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Flikken posted:Isnt global warming going to make Antarctica habitable? Probably not within a hundred years (or more). The arctic is loving cold enough to kill you during the "warm" season.
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Jun 29, 2021 01:50
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spacetoaster posted:Probably not within a hundred years (or more). The arctic is loving cold enough to kill you during the "warm" season. I can’t tell if you’re doing this on purpose or not
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Jun 29, 2021 03:34
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Internet Wizard posted:I can’t tell if you’re doing this on purpose or not I post on purpose every day. Is Antarctica warmer than I thought or something (I thought it averaged 14 degrees)? Don't keep us in suspense.
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Jun 29, 2021 15:40
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I've heard the first night in Antarctica for a new rotation they have a marathon of The Thing and The Shining.
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Jun 29, 2021 17:26
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PeterCat posted:I've heard the first night in Antarctica for a new rotation they have a marathon of The Thing and The Shining. I had a teacher who wintered over as a Fire Fighter. He said as soon as the last plane left and was out of range to return, they put on The Thing. Not sure about The Shining, though. Sounds correct, though.
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Jun 29, 2021 17:31
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PeterCat posted:I've heard the first night in Antarctica for a new rotation they have a marathon of The Thing and The Shining. How many people are on the rotation? Wikipedia says 4,000 people. But that's spread out around different islands and stations.
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Jun 29, 2021 20:13
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spacetoaster posted:How many people are on the rotation? IDK, I'm just repeating a story I heard. Before I was married I'd have been interested in doing a tour flying down there, if only to say that I did it.
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Jun 29, 2021 20:39
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They mostly pull back to the primary station for each country during the winter, most of the smaller ones are summer only from what I've seen in documentaries and whatnot. Other things docs have taught me: the US only has one ice breaker that can handle Antarctica, and it's a USCG ship that was built like 50 years ago and is constantly breaking down while attempting to clear the pathway for the container ships to resupply.
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Jun 29, 2021 22:37
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bulletsponge13 posted:I had a teacher who wintered over as a Fire Fighter. I should put "Watch The Thing in Antarctica" on my bucket list.
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Jun 30, 2021 22:44
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He said he was offered another winter, but turned it down because it sucked. I think he described it as "constant boring terror". It's dangerous, but in a subtle, constant way that just becomes a weight. His body language and manner reminded me of talking to dudes who deployed and did the footwork in theater.
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Jul 1, 2021 03:02
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Wintering over always seemed to me like all the worst parts of going to space, but still being on earth.
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Jul 1, 2021 16:12
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A Bad Poster posted:Wintering over always seemed to me like all the worst parts of going to space, but still being on earth. Having just done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for a whole year, I think I could do 6 months in Antarctica. At least I wouldn't be surrounded by people that believe that that pervasive danger isn't real.
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Jul 2, 2021 03:01
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spacetoaster posted:This would be hilarious. gently caress that, go huge. Legion of Merit.
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Jul 4, 2021 19:06
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A.o.D. posted:Having just done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for a whole year, I think I could do 6 months in Antarctica. At least I wouldn't be surrounded by people that believe that that pervasive danger isn't real. Scene: Antarctica base camp dining hall. obese individual, walks in and spots you wearing a heavy jacket. Um excuse me but coats were invented by the government to weigh us down during the winter so we wouldn't overthrow them during bleak times. How many people have actually died from "hypothermia?" Like a few each year out of millions, and they all probably had pre-existing conditions.
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Jul 4, 2021 22:43
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Nice and hot piss posted:Scene: Antarctica base camp dining hall. later: That same individual, outside in the months-long dark, his extremities severely frostbitten, fumbles with removing his clothing. They are minutes away from death by hypothermia. "See? If frostbite is so real, why am I hot right now?"
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Jul 6, 2021 13:39
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Cage Kicker posted:Second rarest, after the Astronaut Badge, iirc the rarest is the special MOH they gave to four chaplains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Chaplains%27_Medal
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Jul 7, 2021 19:34
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PookBear posted:the rarest is the special MOH they gave to four chaplains I'm kind of irritated at just finding out that most of the religious awards the military has are Christianity based, but I'm not surprised. Edit: I'm also of the opinion that there is no place in the military for any official religious presence, so those may be connected thoughts. All chaplains should be replaced with battlefield therapists and psychologists.
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Jul 7, 2021 23:21
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PookBear posted:the rarest is the special MOH they gave to four chaplains That was cool but it was a special medal awarded by an act of Congress, that's cheating lol
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Jul 8, 2021 00:30
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To be honest I'm surprised there have been as many army astronauts as there are. There are presently three at NASA (one of which doesn't have his astronaut badge yet) and like another nine or ten who have since left the space program.
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Jul 8, 2021 00:43
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I have a background in street racing so I’m qualified to be an astronaut.
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Jul 8, 2021 00:47
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There is that Former SEAL/Medical Doctor/Harvard Med Grad in the Astronaut pipeline, but I don't know if he was Navy when he started. Doesn't the Army have a bit of a cheat code enabled because we count former Air Corps dudes, or am I an rear end in a top hat making poo poo up again?
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Jul 8, 2021 01:53
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bulletsponge13 posted:There is that Former SEAL/Medical Doctor/Harvard Med Grad in the Astronaut pipeline, but I don't know if he was Navy when he started. No, none of the former AAF dudes ever wore the astronaut badge (also I think only Deke Slayton served in the AAF and he was a civilian by the time he flew into space). The army astronaut badge wasn't created until 1983 (presumably coinciding with the crew selection of the first army astronaut who flew in early 1984).
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Jul 8, 2021 02:00
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A Bad Poster posted:I'm kind of irritated at just finding out that most of the religious awards the military has are Christianity based, but I'm not surprised. I gotta disagree on the no chaplains bit. 100% agree that therapists and psychologists should be integrated down to at least the Battalion/Squadron level. I also think chaplains should be too. There’s plenty of religious faithful folks in the service even if they don’t always act like it. Chaplains being available to the people who get something out of religions and their leaders is a good thing. Keeping them and the mental health folks out of the Chain of Command but laterally attached to leadership seems the most effective model. When I had a psychotic break my rabbi who was a chaplain helped take care of my wife and shield me from my leadership while I was in the nut house. A psychologist or social worker could have done this, but he also helped integrate me into a previously unknown to me Jewish community in a nearby city. After I got better he made sure I spent every holiday with our community or at the chapel, and it helped to make me feel like I belonged and wasn’t just a broken piece of poo poo. Again, I recognize chaplains aren’t a cure all or a good fit for every service member.. but they do work for some, and it’s generally been positive in my experience. I’ve heard horror stories on the same topic, so I also recognize they can be a bad thing with bad people. But that’s all things military, not just our chaplains.
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Jul 8, 2021 04:04
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As long as Chaplains are a net good they should stick around. I say that as an atheist, and knowing that everyone has a story about that one weirdo Chaplains Assistant in their unit who was a furry or something.
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Jul 8, 2021 04:30
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I don't think they're unnecessary, I just don't think they should be a military component. Have them be DoD civilians or something.
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Jul 8, 2021 04:37
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