The 76th Independent Battalion (part 7)
POSTED BY: Tristan
UPDATED: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 13:53
VIEWED: 14409
PAGE 9 of 12
I missed your post, Sister....must have been typing mine while you sent yours!
Your idea regarding the histories is a good one...but talk to DocJubal before sending him anything. I know he will be willing to look at what you have and see how it fits into his story, but don't overwhelm him with emails.
Doc, please chime in at any time on this.
Personal choice is allowed within reason for sidearms and knives, but we are firm on the G36-style for the main longarm, Sister. I am pretty sure that is what you mean, but I do want to clarify that. 
You are not being presumptious at all. Thank you for that. The history thing will hinge on Doc, so we will wait to hear from him.
______________________________________
Commanding Officer of the 76th Independent Battalion 
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Hi guys.
I'm a bit off-topic right now...I had a really frustrating day today with clients and employees and I just wanted to start screaming in the middle of my office until all the windows in the building break and they have to cart me off in little white van but only after prying me off the ceiling and 
.......
So I thought I'd retreat a bit and read the posts. It helped. I'm calmer now. The twitching has stopped. Thank you.
Doc, I got your message and sent you an e-mail. It's a bit rambling (please consider the day I've had 
) but you'll get the idea.
I don't have much to add. I'm very impressed with all your endeavours.
Artcat: You're so cool!
Tristan: I'm not keen on a mascot, but it's up to you. I've written Doc some of my ideas on the history/nickname thing and I'm sure he'll collate all the data and formulate an excellent proposal.
Big Damn Browncoat Vote http://richlabonte.net/tvvote/index.html
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I thought it had been decided to go w/ the upside down rank insignia too Tristan. Guess there is still some debate on it. If we are still deciding I want to voice support for the upside down insignia. This is the older style of military insignia and lends an air of the frontier and old history to the new, sci fi feel of the show. A mix of two worlds, kind of the way Joss intended, right?
I know I suggested subdued metal insignias be worn on the collar of the uniform as they are on the current military BDUs (though I have seen small patches w/ the black thread insignina used too). Let us know what you decide.
__________________________________________
Holding the line since December '02!
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Sergeant
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Morning, Canter. I am sorry your day is going that way! Remember something if you do head for the ceiling...your average ceiling fan will not hold the weight of an adult. 
I am not too keen on the idea of a "mascot" either, not yet. Perhaps after the first march we can revisit that.
BrownCoat1, morning! I am pretty sure we had discussed the upside down rank issue, but I don't think it got to a vote. So, 76th, let's vote on this. Do you prefer to have the rank insignia as the current US military wears them, or upside down?
Also, BrownCoat1, if there are mini subdued patches, I would rather go with them than pins. Less chance of them "falling off", and I think it would look better. Thoughts?
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Upside down insignia.
Mini subdued patches.
:D
I was pondering this: I see this in some media, though I do not know how prevalent it is in actual military organizations. I though about the medics having a white arm band with the traditional red cross, to make it easier to find one of us should you need, uh, assistance. The reason it is a question is that in a combat situation, I would be gunning for the guy with the medic insignia, to keep my enemy from being able to patch up the troops.
~jimi
SFC Alexander, Chief Medic for the 76th Indepentent Army Battalion http://76thbattalion.homestead.com/index.html
Ever marched with the Independents? Wanna?
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'cause the Roman Gods up to that point were crap. Jeff, the god of biscuits, and Simon, the god of hair-dos.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tristan:
BrownCoat1, morning! I am pretty sure we had discussed the upside down rank issue, but I don't think it got to a vote. So, 76th, let's vote on this. Do you prefer to have the rank insignia as the current US military wears them, or upside down?
You got my vote. Upside down.
Quote:
Originally posted by Tristan:
Also, BrownCoat1, if there are mini subdued patches, I would rather go with them than pins. Less chance of them "falling off", and I think it would look better. Thoughts?
I noticed that the new Army uniforms are mostly using the sew on rank insignia patches. They appear to be sewing them on the front now near the button line, as opposed to the collar where they wore them when I was in. I think for simplicity sake it would be easier to shoot for the collar for the insignia patches personally. I will see if the local surplus store has them and get a price on them, see what they have available, etc.
I do agree that patches will prevent lost pins, pin backs, etc. I know it used to drive me bonkers losing the backs that held the pins on. The things wore out fairly quickly since they had to be removed often for cleaning and pressing of the BDUs. Patches seem to be standard now & far easier to manage / maintain.
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I thought this was settled, too...that we would wear the insignias upsidedown; problem is that I live in rrrrrrrural Tenn. and might have diffugulty locating one..any thoughts?
CO Tristan, sir...please know I would not overburden our historian (Doc)..how about if those who want to write up a personal story..just bring a hard copy with them to D*C?? Maybe we can meet up for a meal and share 'em and Doc can decide whether they'll become part of a future link on our web page???
That way no e-mails will be flying and confusing other stuff! (it's good you made a thread just for weapons as it was getting tough to stay up with the costumes!
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And now for an update on some costuming things...
I played with the vest last night, trying to figure out some way to close them in the front to give them a better look under the coats. I ended up using the same galosh hooks I use for the Browncoats, just without any added hardware. They do the job quite well, and the vest looks good closed. However, you can see the hooks on the vest. They aren't obtrusive, but they are there. The next option, if y'all don't like these, is to go with velcro, which can be hidden a little better.
I also ran into a slight problem with the length of the vests. As they are right now, they cover my gunbelt. That was not a problem until I built some pouches for the belt...the vest covered them. So, I tried tucking the vest under the belt...and it looks weird to my eyes. I'll be building a "shorter" vest to see if I can make that problem go away.
And these are the belt pouches I built last night. They are very simple and very easy. The hardest thing was setting the snaps, and those are pretty simple. I based these off what Mal and one or two other soldiers were wearing. IRL, they would be good for a wallet, pack of smokes, etc...for the uniform, I think they help with the look. I can make bunches of these, in different colors of leather. Let me know what you think of these, and if anyone is interested in getting some.
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Commanding Officer of the 76th Independent Battalion
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RIMG, thank you for the votes.
I also agree with you on the armbands. I was thinking of having the medics put the cross on their helmets, but you have a point in the combat-zone. Perhaps just for the parade, have the helmet with the cross as well as the armband, and if the medics decide to ditch their head-gear for the remainder of the day, you will still have the armbands...so we know where to go for the beer, of course!
BrownCoat1, thank you for the vote, too.
And also, thank you for pricing the sew-on insignia. I do agree that it will be easier to deal with those than risk losing pins. If your local store has a good supply, and you are willing, can we use you as a source for these? I realize many people do have a local surplus store near them, but several do not; especially our out-of-country recruits. If this does work for you, at your leisure figure out a pricing and shipping cost for these, if you don't mind. I also have a somewhat local surplus store, so I may be able to be a source as well.
Sister, I was not aiming that directly at you! It was a general announcement that your post led me to think of...I hope you did not take it that way!
I like your idea of meeting up at D*C over coffee or cocktails to discuss this. Those that can't can still contact Doc to find out how he wants to handle this.
Oh, and it was Doc, our Ordnance officer, that started the weapon thread. Yes, it was a good idea to get all of that in one place.
______________________________________
Commanding Officer of the 76th Independent Battalion
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Tristan, the vest with the closures looks really good, and I am fine with the fasteners as they are in the pictures. Also, I really like the look of the belt pouches, and wouldn't mind having several of them myownself (smokes and money/ID come to mind, as well as somewhere to keep a bottle opener). Putting the cross on the helmets is good too, though I will need someone to tell me what kind of paint or whatnot to use (I assume a stencil for the cross would be best, as I cannot draw even the simplest of straight lines).
~jimi
SFC Alexander, Chief Medic for the 76th Indepentent Army Battalion http://76thbattalion.homestead.com/index.html
Ever marched with the Independents? Wanna?
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'cause the Roman Gods up to that point were crap. Jeff, the god of biscuits, and Simon, the god of hair-dos.
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