This is my final ribbon rack from my Air Force days.

Those who read ribbons could tell you some interesting things about my career, but they might not be able to recognize or tell you what isn’t there or why. I’m not sure I even should (but what does it matter at this point?). You’re looking at the rack as you would see it on my uniform. The least significant ribbon is on the lower right, and you “read” from bottom right to left, and so on up each row until you reach the top left, which has the most significant ribbon. You’ll notice three different “devices” on my ribbons. The bronze oak cluster illustrates a subsequent award of the ribbon. The silver oak leaf cluster represents five awards of the ribbon. So the ribbon with the silver and bronze oak leaf cluster? Seven awards of that one. There’s also a bronze star on my National Defense Service Ribbon because I served during Operation Iraqi Freedom and during the Global War on Terror (GWOT).

Back to the rack. First, you’ll notice the Air Force Training Ribbon, which I always thought was redundant, because it seemed like if I was in the service, I must have completed at least some kind of training to get me there. In my case, twice. I spent six weeks in Basic Military Training during the Summer of 1980, and I went back for the 12 week refresher course in the Summer of 1992 (also known as Officer Training School–OTS).  Next comes the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon. I earned that while qualifying with the M-16 before my short tour to Iceland. I swear I did not earn this ribbon. The Red Hat marking my target, for reasons I was not privy to, said I earned it. Okay. If you say so. Finishing out the bottom row is the USAF NCO PME Graduate Ribbon (Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Military Education). This was for NCO Leadership School in South Carolina, completed the week before Hurricane Hugo hit. I earned the John Levitow Award (top graduate for the class) for this, which, apparently, is a big deal, although nobody in my unit seemed to care.

On the next row, we have the Air Force Longevity Award. This is for people who just won’t leave. If you read the devices, you’ll see I served at least 28 years but not more than 32 (28 years is correct — 28 years and three days to more precise). Next, you’ll note the Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon. I earned that for my summer vacation in Bahrain in 2004. One of my favorite ribbons, the Air Force Overseas Ribbon (Short), commemorates my year in Iceland from 87-88 finishes that row.

On the third row, we have more fruit salad from my Bahrain vacation — the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Completing the row, is the fore-mentioned National Defense Service Medal with bronze star (not THE bronze star, mind you, just a device indicating I served during two periods when the award was active).

The fourth row is for more routine things. The row begins with the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, awarded to enlisted personnel every three years unless they mess up. I was enlisted for 12 years. I’ll let you do the math. I’ll note I had a chance to expunge that from my record when I was in OTS and they were preparing my enlisted discharge DD 214, and the clerk wanted to put another one on the form, but I have enough character that I couldn’t let that happen. The next two, with clusters, are for being assigned to units that earned the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.

The fifth and sixth rows include individual awards. The Air Force Achievement Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal. Typically, airmen earn one of these type at the end of each assignment and at the end of each deployment. There’s no guarantee of this, and a special deed during an assignment can earn you an award for that deed. I had nine assignments in the Air Force and two deployments, so you can see I had two assignments where I didn’t earn an award — my first two to be specific. My supervisor kept asking if I got mine after my first assignment, so I know he submitted, but it was turned down. The second one didn’t even submit. I know why, and it was related to the Good Conduct Medal I didn’t earn. Civilians wouldn’t understand, but military people know how terrible it is when you can’t maintain your weight within allowable limits. Many miracles took place to allow me to serve on Active Duty for 28 years.

And there you have it. My career in a nutshell, or on a ribbon rack.