Question on badge etiquette

[Ratbert]

Well- “They belong to the plane ………… So anything done or given to the plane is the planes, not the pilots”……… “The emphasis here is on aircraft, if a pilot ejects from an aircraft and it is a hull loss then the new aircraft he operates would not have the victory markings”

That's not comparable since, from what I understand, a pilot isn't assigned a specific plane. Those planes are constantly being rotated through maintenance, so it's random on which plane a given pilot gets at any point in time.

You're fine with the person that subsequently buys your Wrangler taking credit for the badges you earned while they cruise the mall parking lot?

The experiences and memories are mine, not the person's that subsequently buys my Jeep.

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[2nd 392]

That's not comparable since, from what I understand, a pilot isn't assigned a specific plane. Those planes are constantly being rotated through maintenance, so it's random on which plane a given pilot gets at any point in time.

You're fine with the person that subsequently buys your Wrangler taking credit for the badges you earned while they cruise the mall parking lot?

The experiences and memories are mine, not the person's that subsequently buys my Jeep.

I agree- There’s a saying, actually: maintenance owns the planes, pilots just borrow them.
I wouldn’t leave them if sold, or put them on a new one. My response was too and in agreement with

Trail badges are earned as a team. Your Jeep didn't do it without you, and you didn't do it without that Jeep.

Having said that, your Jeep doesn't care FVcH all about those adhesive badges. It has no memory of them. YOU do.

“My opinion is to keep them for yourself. Personally, I wouldn't re-mount them to a Jeep I didn't earn them in, but I would have ZERO qualms with displaying them from a rear view mirror, or attached to a banner hanging from a seat, or sleeved over a sun visor, or...well, you get the point.”

 

[Heimkehr]

That's not comparable since, from what I understand, a pilot isn't assigned a specific plane.

USAF vet here.

Pilots are indeed assigned their own planes, fighter pilots in particular. That's why their names, and sometimes also the crew chief's name, are painted on the fuselage of a tactical airframe, just under the canopy.

While it is a Hollywood production, what we see in this photo is otherwise wholly accurate.

 

[Ratbert]

USAF vet here.

Pilots are indeed assigned their own planes, fighter pilots in particular. That's why their names, and sometimes also the crew chief's name, are painted on the fuselage of a tactical airframe, just under the canopy.

While it is a Hollywood production, what we see in this photo is otherwise wholly accurate.

My mistake. Apparently they typically stay with the plane.

Do the markings follow the pilot when a plane is no longer functional?

 

[Heimkehr]

My mistake. Apparently they typically stay with the plane.

Do the markings follow the pilot when a plane is no longer functional?

Depends on disposition.

If sent to a museum, and there's a compelling backstory, maybe.

If sent to the 309th AMARG for long-term preservation/storage, usually not. That makes sense, relative to that particular mission brief.

 

[21JLURDG]

USAF vet here.
Pilots are indeed assigned their own planes, fighter pilots in particular.

Part of the story. While "some" pilots will get assigned a particular aircraft, they don't necessarily fly that aircraft only. Nor are they the only ones to fly that particular aircraft. The tradition remains from the old days were aircraft rarely able to fly more than one sortie per day. Today, there are many more pilots than aircraft as these expensive machines are expected to fly multiple sorties per 24 hr. period.

I don't know how it works when a pilot with "kills" transfer aircraft type. It would not be uncommon for a F-15 pilot with a MiG kill in Desert Storm to fly AETC T-38s, then go to ACC F-22s. Does he still get that same MiG silhouette in the F-22?

I personally believe the trail badge goes with the driver and not the vehicle. It is my memory and pride--not the vehicle. Right now I have decals reflecting my experiences in a Nissan, Dodge, and two Jeeps. I have accomplished trails in the Nissan that many wouldn't attempt in a Rubicon JL. And there are some trails that I accomplished in my JL that I could never do in that Nissan.

 

[Poseidon20]

Trail badges are earned as a team. Your Jeep didn't do it without you, and you didn't do it without that Jeep.

Having said that, your Jeep doesn't care FVcH all about those adhesive badges. It has no memory of them. YOU do.

My opinion is to keep them for yourself. Personally, I wouldn't re-mount them to a Jeep I didn't earn them in, but I would have ZERO qualms with displaying them from a rear view mirror, or attached to a banner hanging from a seat, or sleeved over a sun visor, or...well, you get the point.

I feel like this is the best answer and what my wife and I decided when we sell current Jeep and get another one in the future. It's a partnership, a team. Driver and machine. Earned together. When we sell this Jeep we'll take the badges. When we get the new Jeep, we won't display these badges on the Jeep, that will be for the new ones, but we will display them somewhere.

 

[Vicrider]

They go with the driver. The BOH app has a leader board, noting the driver not the Vin #. You enter your vin# on the app I believe is to make sure you are a jeep owner.

 

[YGBSM392]

My aircraft was hull 232. It had my back-seater and crew chiefs name on it along with mine. BDA or "kills" were painted on the plane rather quickly and only stayed on the aircraft during that combat deployment. When one of our aircraft was not mission ready we would fly another aircraft under a crew rotation. No one liked crew rotations. Spiveys plane always smelled like foot and ass. Burners smelled like whatever god-awful sub sandwich he was eating before launch. Sometimes we'd be on a ready aircraft rotation. Then we'd fly whatever had stores and was ready to go. Like alert or lance escort. I badged my Jeep accordingly. YGBSM is the Wild Weasels unofficial motto.

 

[Trails]

Just my opinion, but I think the badges go with the person, and not the Jeep. Michael Jordan's trophies don't go with his Nikes, Ted Williams' batting titles and MVP awards don't go with his bat, Wayne Gretzky's awards don't go with his skates or hockey stick, and Tom Brady's Super Bowl rings and trophies don't with his (slighty deflated) footballs. Reasonable people can disagree here, but that's my 2 cents.

 

[jadmt]

two more for the drawer....not even sure why I keep them..

 

[Ratbert]

two more for the drawer....not even sure why I keep them..

Welcome to America, where more is better!

I have a similar box. Eventually I'll put them on the Jeep?

 

[Zandcwhite]

Just my opinion, but I think the badges go with the person, and not the Jeep. Michael Jordan's trophies don't go with his Nikes, Ted Williams' batting titles and MVP awards don't go with his bat, Wayne Gretzky's awards don't go with his skates or hockey stick, and Tom Brady's Super Bowl rings and trophies don't with his (slighty deflated) footballs. Reasonable people can disagree here, but that's my 2 cents.

The thing I don't like about those analogies is the fact that everyone else using the same equipment couldn't do what those players did. Conversely anyone with a built jeep can run any of the BOH trails. A bone stock Jeep can do most of them. Comparing a free participation trophy given out by the thousands is silly. And those championsh rings all have the team logo on them because even Brady or Jordan couldn't do it alone.

 

[jadmt]

Welcome to America, where more is better!

I have a similar box. Eventually I'll put them on the Jeep?

I never will put them on mine. I actually only have two that I care about the rubicon and the dusy.

 

[yokramer]

Welcome to America, where more is better!

I have a similar box. Eventually I'll put them on the Jeep?

Ive been looking at picking up one of those spacers that help align them but then I still dont know if I want them on the jeep or not lol

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