A Man in Uniform

[neevebrody.livejournal.com]

I thought a few more shots of the Dress Blues would be appropriate today, and not unwelcome. For those in the US, Happy Memorial Day! To those who serve and protect everywhere, and to the memories of the fallen... many, many thanks.

Comments

[mella68.livejournal.com]

Very nice to look at.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

nothing better than a man in service dress.
:-)

[admiralandrea.livejournal.com]

Lovely, though sad. And definitely a good choice for today.

[gaffsie.livejournal.com]

Very appropriate.

[tavabean.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[omg-wtf-yeah.livejournal.com]

It's so weird to see ever-slouching John in formal clothes.. :)

[georgiesmith.livejournal.com]

Do you know if anyone has gone through John's ribbons to see which ones they are? I was curious (okay curious and bored) today and was trying to make them out.

The only two I could make out with any certainty were: Row 3, #2 - Distinguished Flying Cross and Row 5, #1 - Air Force Overseas Ribbon Short.

I was comparing them to the ribbons here. (http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforcemedals/l/blafmedals.htm)

[em_kellesvig]

I have John's medals sorted out. The problem is that they are out of order and some he should have are missing. As seen in these photos, they are:

Flight insignia: Master Pilot

Row 1: Purple Heart (2), Meritorious Service (2)
Row 2: Air Medal (2), USAF Commendation Medal (3), Aerial Achievement Medal (2) (last two reversed)
Row 3: USAF Achievement Medal, USAF Gallantry Unit Award, USAF Combat Readiness
Row 4: National Defense Service, Afghanistan Campaign Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Row 5: USAF Overseas Short Tour, USAF Longevity Service Ribbon, USAF Training Ribbon

Medals/Ribbons missing:

Antarctica Service Medal -- John wintered over at McMurdo; all civilians and military personnel who winterover in Antarctica are awarded this medal.

USAF Small Arms Expert Ribbon with bronze star, denoting expert status with both side arms and rifles. The ability to handle a 9mm, a P90, an M16, and a sniper rifle (Runner) would suggest John has earned this ribbon.

John was awarded the National Defense Service Medal twice -- note the bronze star. This means he served during the Gulf War and post 9/11. After the Gulf War, coalition forces were awarded two medals:

Liberation of Kuwait - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Liberation of Kuwait - Government of Kuwait

So, going by his chest candy, we can assume he's a career badass Special Ops pilot who can fly almost anything, and he's as good on the ground as he is in the air. But then, we already knew that. You may also notice the lack of a Good Conduct Medal. That's not surprising either. ;)

[omg-wtf-yeah.livejournal.com]

Wow, this is so awesome.

[em_kellesvig]

It was fun figuring it all out. But after saving Earth in the series finale, he should have a Silver Star at the very least. (And a couple more Purple Hearts, too!)

[omg-wtf-yeah.livejournal.com]

It's kind of funny. Seems like they should make new ones up like a medal for "Serving Intergalactically" or something. ;)

[patk.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This is very interesting. :-) And I guess it's pretty difficult since the picture is anything but clear.

Years ago somebody else (who now goes by the name of cetpar but was named differently then) tried to figure them out as well and posted the result on her LJ. She came up with largely the same result as you. IIRC the biggest difference is in the first row: the Purple Heart that she interpreted as Distinguished Flying Cross. If you're interested to compare, here's the link to the entry (it's public):

http://cetpar.livejournal.com/22638.html#cutid1

[em_kellesvig]

Thanks for the link! I went back and forth on a few of the ribbons but I think they're matched up fairly well. I put up photos here if you'd like to take a look. I'm always willing to bow to greater wisdom. :)

[patk.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't mean to say that the few differences in your and cetpar's interpretation meant that you were wrong. Just wanted to contribute to the discussion. :-) And I just *love* the entry in your LJ - how it *should* look like! YES! Thank you so much for posting this.

[rinkatur.livejournal.com]

Hey, that's awesome that you figured this out. Thanks for sharing the list!

[georgiesmith.livejournal.com]

I forgot to thank you for the chest candy info. *face palm*

Thanks so much for the list. And you're right there are some notable exceptions. When I saw the ribbon for Antarctica I have to admit that I burst out laughing. It was just such a surprise. How they missed that one for John I have no idea.

Yeah, totally not surprised at the lack of a Good Conduct Medal. I love our badass dork but... yeah, not so much a good conduct kind of guy.

[omg-wtf-yeah.livejournal.com]

Totally just found this cap on my laptop and thought it was appropriate, right?

[rogerpittman.livejournal.com]

I love that scene with him and Sumner...very telling that you only see John salute twice during the series - here, and with Samantha Carter in Season 4 when he discusses her promotion to full Colonel.

[omg-wtf-yeah.livejournal.com]

I've never really thought about it, but that's true.:)

[patk.livejournal.com]

You know, I always wondered if that salute was actually correctly performed. *g*

[omg-wtf-yeah.livejournal.com]

I'm mostly just about how cute/troubled he is when he's doing it. ;)

[rogerpittman.livejournal.com]

To this day, I can't watch this episode without thinking how SyFy (oh how I HATE that name) totally blew the impact of Carson's return in Season 4 when he appeared in the preview clip for "The Kindred, Part II".

[soryu]

Aww, I like men in uniform. But Sheppeard in uniform...nnggghhhh!

[dinabr.livejournal.com]

GORGEOUS

[soryu]

ABSOLUTELY!

[pionie.livejournal.com]

He looks gorgeous, but it amuses me to see that somehow, even in Dress blues, he still looks a little rumpled! Rodney on the other hand, looks utterly crisp. Rwar.

[dinabr.livejournal.com]

He has to be a little rumpled. Otherwise it wouldn't be Sheppard :)