Academy and Officer swords

We do...

But Bullet, being the nice quiet guy that he is, didn't want to upset anyone in a lesser service.:shake:

Hehe, great response. I knew I should have joined the Air Force....but I like hair cuts.
 
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I'm not positive, but I thought the difference between a saber and a sword was the curve in the blade.

We rarely wear the sword, but mostly for fancy-schmancy things....changes of command, weddings, very formal events...........fighting for damsels in distress, and fighting ninjas. If you cut the head off of another cadet, you acquire some of their power (do not try this).

Yeah, that's why some are swords and others are sabers lol.

hahaha you'll need a katana for ninjas though!
 
Yeah, that's why some are swords and others are sabers lol.

hahaha you'll need a katana for ninjas though!

yup that is wat makes them diff. the curve in the blade. u dont need a katana to fight a ninja though...just know ull lose lol

most of all the services sword look the same from a distance anyway. are they like all made by one place?
 
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We rarely wear the sword, but mostly for fancy-schmancy things....changes of command, weddings, very formal events...........fighting for damsels in distress, and fighting ninjas. If you cut the head off of another cadet, you acquire some of their power (do not try this).

I would really like to try the decapitation-gives-you-their-power-thing sometime....just to see what happens
 
I am gonna sit on the side lines and watch this.... :) hehheehhehe


so whats better a sabre or a sword?
 
Passing Down a USN Sword

As graduates, do you receive an "Academy" sword?
Only if someone gives one to you.

Are they given or do you have to buy them yourself? ..an "officer sword"?
I recieved my uncle's sword when I graduated from Navy ROTC. He had recently retired, having spent 33 years in submarines, including pre-commissioning crew for USS Nautilus. It had his name and initials etched on the blade. I used it throughout my twenty-year career as it had been presented, although I bought a new sword knot.

And what have you done with them (if you have them)? Do you display them at your houses or keep them in a storage/from view? Just wondering.:rolleyes: they look so nice.

My wife gave me a shield-shaped wall plaque where it hung on the "I Love Me" wall in the den. When our DD was to graduate from USNA, I had my name and initials and my commisioning year and her name, initials and commissioning year etched in the blade in a similar style. Brought tears to the eyes of our normally stoic daughter.

Although the three of us were differing heights, no one ever commented on the length of the sword.
 
Only if someone gives one to you.

I recieved my uncle's sword when I graduated from Navy ROTC. He had recently retired, having spent 33 years in submarines, including pre-commissioning crew for USS Nautilus. It had his name and initials etched on the blade. I used it throughout my twenty-year career as it had been presented, although I bought a new sword knot.



My wife gave me a shield-shaped wall plaque where it hung on the "I Love Me" wall in the den. When our DD was to graduate from USNA, I had my name and initials and my commisioning year and her name, initials and commissioning year etched in the blade in a similar style. Brought tears to the eyes of our normally stoic daughter.

Although the three of us were differing heights, no one ever commented on the length of the sword.

I LOVE it!:thumb:

THAT would take center stage of my "I love me" wall!!!
 
Only if someone gives one to you.

I recieved my uncle's sword when I graduated from Navy ROTC. He had recently retired, having spent 33 years in submarines, including pre-commissioning crew for USS Nautilus. It had his name and initials etched on the blade. I used it throughout my twenty-year career as it had been presented, although I bought a new sword knot.



My wife gave me a shield-shaped wall plaque where it hung on the "I Love Me" wall in the den. When our DD was to graduate from USNA, I had my name and initials and my commisioning year and her name, initials and commissioning year etched in the blade in a similar style. Brought tears to the eyes of our normally stoic daughter.

Although the three of us were differing heights, no one ever commented on the length of the sword.


Very nice, I hope I could start some sort of family relic like that :thumb:
 
Wonderful story, but everyone needs to be honest, if they are like Bullet it is not a "I Love Me" wall, but an entire room! He has now even spilled over into our joint office (he has his study filled with the big time stuff...shadow boxes, decorated flight helmet, and of course his jets on a stick), but the little stuff is now adorning another room!

Here's a tidbit for all of you flyers...don't know what to do with the scarves and patches except for Crud...put them in a shoe box and when it comes time to retire have them made into a shadow box...it will be huge (Bullet's is @30 x 42), but it is a conversation starter. He also has the traditional shadow box with the medals which is also 30 x 42, as you can see add in a few class pictures from PME, your favorite D & D plane portrait (Our is not D &D it the Yukon Crap shoot by Dave Hume) and your room is officially filled wall to wall.

As a spouse I collected other things for my I love me room (I have the traditional Air Force Brat and Military Wifes prayer ---not the same as the Military wife poem), but I decided to collect World War II bonds of Flyers.

Our joint tradition was to always buy a map of the place we were stationed, we have one for every state and country we lived in except, VA, which is where we live now and we jokingly call it the map room.

Whatever you do make it your own tradition that will always remind you of the base. I know somebody who has purchased a new white table cloth at every base...she only brought it out for parties and had everybody sign it, between each party she woul cross stitch in the names and at the end of tour she inevitably had every friends name on it and everybody her DH flew with. At the next base she started it all over again and at Xmas time she would have bring them all out on all of her tables for entertaining. It was always a hoot to look at them because as yrs pass the AF will become smaller and smaller and you will most likely know everybody that ever signed it.
 
BTW everybody that we know who grad from the AFA, have their sword/saber mounted and right next to it is the grad picture shaking the President hand and on the other side is the commissioning letter. Some also did it shadow box style, with nom letter, appt letter, pic and commission.

Of course you will always know when you enter a WP grad because they keep their parade hat (the one with the plumes on top...sorry don't know the exact name)...AF people ditch theirs.
 
your favorite D & D plane portrait (Our is not D &D it the Yukon Crap shoot by Dave Hume)

And no. This is not a potrait of the plane the plane you flew being piloted by elves, with dragons and hypogriffs in the background!

In this case, D and D stands for: death and destruction. For some reason, a LOT of the guys I flew with liked portraits of thier birds in action, blowing things up either in the air or on the ground. Thier wives, on the other hand....
Not so much.

Yukon Crap shoot was a litho of a 4-ship of Strike Eagles flying a low level over the Alaskan tundra. Nothing blowing up in the background, just a cool low level...:thumb:
 
Ours is something I am proud to display the Crap Shoot(the Class print for CGSC is very depressing it is dedicated to 9/11). If you look closely to the jet it is his tail number and his hard crew pilot. Both names are on the jet in the portrait.


Take time and buy the right pic...it is very very expensive...Crap Shoot with frame in 97 was over 500...A Ronald Wong which is D & D is close to 1K(he is a UK artist and it is about a 4 mo wait to get the painting)... a lot of money to pay, then you get married and she relegates it to the basement :eek: Here's a link to a typical Wong and D & D http://www.oldgloryprints.com/Operation Eldorado Canyon.htm
 
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Swords at USMMA

Do the midshipmen at USMMA have the regular navy officer sword just as midshipmen at USNA do. Saying that the midshipmen of USMMA are technically part of the naval reserve with the special rank of midshipmen.
 
I've already done my share of F-16 and f-15 art. A small painting of an F-16 in the desert and a print with compilation of a bunch of stuff including an F-15 in there. That picture is terrific Pima, it's inspiring me :biggrin:. If I ever get to do what Bullet did, I'll be sure to document my own stuff on canvas and then I would be needing even more than just an "I Love Me" room. :thumb:
 
Do the midshipmen at USMMA have the regular navy officer sword just as midshipmen at USNA do. Saying that the midshipmen of USMMA are technically part of the naval reserve with the special rank of midshipmen.

USMMA midshipmen do use the same sword as the Navy; however, nobody is issued one. First class midshipmen in officer positions along the chain of command will be loaned a sword for use in parades and such. Some graduates will be awarded a sword for various awards.

It is rare that a USMMA graduate actually owns a sword since only a percentage go on active duty. Those who remain with the reserve program are unlikely to purchase one.
 
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