How many still wear their SA ring?

Here's to the Ring Knockers:

The new Captain was having a cordial dinner in the wardroom and says, “I can tell, just by this short at-sea period, where you received your commission and where you went to school.” He looks at the LTJG Supply Officer and says, you went to OCS and the University of Texas. The meals have been delicious and the mess bill is more than fair. That’s the mark of a good Wardroom SUPPO. The junior officer was dumbfounded.

He says to the second LTJG, you went ROTC out of San Diego. You’re always tanned, obviously spent time on the water as an undergrad, and your ship handling skills are exceptional. Keep up the good work. The LTJG was also dumbfounded by the Captain’s prescience.

The Captain turns to the third LTJG and says: You’re a Naval Academy Graduate. The officer, without hesitation says, Captain, this is uncanny. You’ve correctly guessed our commissioning source and where we all went to college. How did you know? Was it my impeccable appearance? My commanding presence among the enlisted men? “No”, replied the Captain smoothly, “I saw your class ring while you were picking your nose.”
 
To keep the ring thread going,USAFA seniors are finally receiving their rings today. Ceremonies are by squadron only no traditional Ring Dance. I absolutely love seeing the pictures of all the individual rings and their different layouts. Some seem like they can be really pricey !!
 
Bigrod said:
To keep the ring thread going,USAFA seniors are finally receiving their rings today. Ceremonies are by squadron only no traditional Ring Dance. I absolutely love seeing the pictures of all the individual rings and their different layouts. Some seem like they can be really pricey !!
Click to expand...

This is great news! Congrats to them. Hopefully they can have a ring dance of sorts sometime next year.
 
Bigrod said:
Some seem like they can be really pricey !!
Click to expand...
My parents wanted to buy my ring, and I knew they could not afford much, so I opted for a composite metal (not white gold) and I opted for cubic zirconia (not a diamond). To me, the value was in the experience and not in the ring materials. I want to say my ring was only about $300 at the time.

I do wear it daily and this has led to chips and damage to the onyx stone on the top. In ~21 years, I have sent it in for repairs at least twice, possibly 3 times.

For me, I love the symbolism of the USAFA ring design.
1) Everyone who graduates gets 1 side of the ring with the official school crest to represent a shared common bond
2) Your class selects a class crest design for the other side of the ring that makes your ring unique from other class designs
3) The cadet selects the top of the ring for the individual flair.
4) For USAFA, the plane model numbers depicted in the class crest sum to be the graduating class number - for me, I was in the 41st graduating class and we have a F-15, F-22, and a F-4 in the design.
5) The top of the ring has 59 links in the chain representing the class of 1959 - the first graduating class.
6) As I recall, there are other required elements of the class crest that include the Eagle for freedom, the Sabre for Leadership, and the Polaris Star for direction and Excellence.

IMG_4030.JPG
 
For those with an imagination and a keen eye, one can make out a 2 and 0 on the Naval Academy crest side of the ring. An upperclassman had pointed it out to me when he received his ring. For him it meant 2.0--the minimum CPR needed to graduate and wear the ring.
 
10 years out, I only wear it on special occasions or formal events.
(Mess dress, suits, etc, the ring goes too.)
 
Lots of similarities...

one question for AFA folks.... I was surprised to see chains. Where would you typically see chains used in the Air Force?

shiner said:
My parents wanted to buy my ring, and I knew they could not afford much, so I opted for a composite metal (not white gold) and I opted for cubic zirconia (not a diamond). To me, the value was in the experience and not in the ring materials. I want to say my ring was only about $300 at the time.

I do wear it daily and this has led to chips and damage to the onyx stone on the top. In ~21 years, I have sent it in for repairs at least twice, possibly 3 times.

For me, I love the symbolism of the USAFA ring design.
1) Everyone who graduates gets 1 side of the ring with the official school crest to represent a shared common bond
2) Your class selects a class crest design for the other side of the ring that makes your ring unique from other class designs
3) The cadet selects the top of the ring for the individual flair.
4) For USAFA, the plane model numbers depicted in the class crest sum to be the graduating class number - for me, I was in the 41st graduating class and we have a F-15, F-22, and a F-4 in the design.
5) The top of the ring has 59 links in the chain representing the class of 1959 - the first graduating class.
6) As I recall, there are other required elements of the class crest that include the Eagle for freedom, the Sabre for Leadership, and the Polaris Star for direction and Excellence.

View attachment 6604
Click to expand...
 
Chains are typically made from links. Links are linking all cadets to the Long Blue Line. This way the Line is strong in heritage and connects all who graduated before to those that are graduating now.
 
Bigrod said:
Chains are typically made from links. Links are linking all cadets to the Long Blue Line. This way the Line is strong in heritage and connects all who graduated before to those that are graduating now.
Click to expand...
Does the AF also call it the Long Blue Line? That's a relatively common thing to hear here at CGA.
 
My Citadel ring has never left my finger for more than a few seconds in 40 years; the "Band of Gold" is probably more highly prized than an SA ring.
 
Recent grad. I never wear my wring. My friends or even people who graduated a few years before me choose not wear their rings unless they are at a formal event.
 
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