Military patches for rank on kilt?

[Sturdy]

Guys,

Those of you from the US military - isn't it helpful when you see someone that you are able to tell what branch of service they were in and what their rank was? I have no problem with civilian veterans showing me their pride in their service as too many people hide it now; not PC you know! since I've been wearing my USS Tattnall hat I've had many great chats with people I don't even know. By the way guys, we can salute the flag as it passes in parades now instead of have to place our hands over our hearts like civies.

[Riverkilt]

Okay, the pins from the National Museum of the Marine Corps arrived today. Added them to the sword kilt pin - sort of a "cluster" effect for now - and it includes my brother's SSgt. stripes. Tartan is the Dress Blue Marine



It may seem "busy" to some, but I like it.

[OC Richard]

With a few very specific exceptions, mixing military items with civilian wear is forbidden by all branches of the U.S. military unless the rules have changed in recent years. And veterans are restricted from wearing their uniforms except under very specific circumstances.

As a U.S. veteran I would never mix military items with my civilian attire, and I personally believe it is bad form to do so.

So very interesting to hear you say so, because I see this mixing done at every Highland Games: US veterans wearing military shirts complete with rank insignia, name badge, medal ribbons, etc with a Scottish bonnet and kilts.

The only veteran I know well, a Korean War paratrooper, never wears anything military while in civvies but maintains a full Class A uniform for his funeral Honor Guard duties.

[Sir William]

I have mixed feelings on this.

For a utilikilt or other canvas kilt, I really don't have a problem with putting patches, badges, etc on it, to include rank insignia. I'm not sure why, but when I see this I'm not offended. I guess I think of it the same way as seeing a jacket covered in various patches and badges. So, in response to the OP, I'd suggest putting the rank on the apron more or less where a kilt pin would go. And, if he wants to add qualification badges or tabs, or unit insignia, go for it.

But for a wool kilt I'm far more traditional, in which case I prefer to see a military themed kilt pin, sporran, belt buckle, or sgian dhub. When I wear my Leatherneck kilt, I wear a buckle I wore on our base color guard, a USMC themed kilt pin, and I have a Thorfinn sporran with my jump wings on the flap. However, I don't wear rank and have no inclination to do so, though I'll admit that I like the red SSGT stripes Riverkilt wears.

When I participate in SAMS events, I wear our Post uniform. On our shirt we can wear ribbons and qualification badges, but nothing to indicate service, branch, or rank (though our plastic name tag does indicate service). However, we allow and encourage our Post members to wear military-themed kilt pins, belt buckles, and the like, and I frequently wear the same items I mentioned above.

I should mention that SAMS does allow active duty military, to include reservists on active duty, to wear their regulation uniform shirt, if permitted by their respective service. Most active duty members I've encountered in SAMS prefer to wear their Post uniform shirt instead.

[Chas]

So very interesting to hear you say so, because I see this mixing done at every Highland Games: US veterans wearing military shirts complete with rank insignia, name badge, medal ribbons, etc with a Scottish bonnet and kilts.

To a lesser degree, this has also been my experience.

[Mikilt]

The last few years I have attended the Chicago Highland Games, there has been a fellow staffing the admissions tent who wore a cap badge from the Royal Marines on his glengarry while in jeans and a t-shirt. Was he out of order?

[Steve Ashton]

Folks, just a kind word of caution here. No rule violation here, just one member talking to another.
This thread is right on the edge of becoming about the legal aspects of wearing military devices while in civilian attire.

This thread is not about legal rights or wrongs. A few members, myself included, have expressed our own personal preference and that is OK as long as it is understood that it is only one person's personal preference.

When we start questioning someone else's 'right' to wear military items is when it could possibly cross the line.

Let's not veer too far from the intent of the OP's original question please. He asked not if it was right, but how, to affix items to a kilt. None of us, myself included, actually answered that question.

[AFS1970]

I have never been in the military but as to how to attach the patches, I would assume them to be in the same order they would be on a sleeve. I guess it could get complicated if mixing patches that were worn on different sleeves, but there is probably some relative ordering rule out there that could serve as a rough guideline. Based on what I have seen that would put rank below unit, and if worn hash marks below rank.

While I know that the various branches of the military have their rules and most veterans do try to follow those rules or at least the spirit of them, from what I have read there is no actual jurisdiction over veterans by the military in this regard. I have come across two events in my life where somewhat strange interpretations of insignia and ribbon rules were invoked, one by a member of the military and one by a civilian who was trying to harass a veteran. Neither case ended up in any charges being filed against the veterans in question. Just a thought.

[flyrod6057]

Different services and nations have different traditions. USMC gives a wide latitude and wearing ribbons, medals and badges, but says, so far as I could tell, nothing about rank insignia. I personally wear my ribbons and badges on suitable occasions, and miniature medals for evening wear, since about the only black tie events I go to are military in nature. I don't wear rank insignia because I no longer hold rank. Someone who is retired and still entitled to be addressed by their rank may feel diffrently.

I retired as a Gunnery Sergeant. I wear the gold collar rank insignia as a kilt pin. I like the way the single Gunny chevron compliments the Leatherneck tartan. I have no issue with doing this, because there is no USMC regulation for the wearing of the kilt. If there were, I would be careful to maintain the proper decorum as set forth in regulations. In that same spirit, I would never dream of taking such liberty with medals or other items that have regulations for their wear in civilian attire.

The point I am making is this: the U. S. military doesn't have any regulations regarding the wear of the kilt. This means two very distinct things:

First, the OP should feel comfortable in doing whatever they see as appropriate.
Second, since there are no regulations to consult, there is no "right way" to go about placing things on a kilt; at least not here in the U.S.

[blue cord]

I make these for sale minus the patches that's up to the owners.