What is considered offensive?

[ev1436]

I was recently looking on ebay for items to add to a special forces loadout im planning to put together, and i was wondering, what kind of patches on it could i wear without pissing off the real military veterans? i live in the US, and it is often considered wrong to wear things such as ranger tabs if you havent earned them in the military. so what can i wear?

[TheAverageAsian]

Off the top of my head, moral patches and custom badges are fine.

 

TAA

[crackisbad]

rank badges are a no no

 

 

edit: i pinned this topic as i know this has been brought up in various threads.

[Skarclaw]

Don't really think patches add anything. Personally I find airsofters wearing the FDNY memorial patches to imitate SEALs contrived in the extreme.

[aznsk8s87]

It varies, depending upon who you ask. A guy I knew was in the US Army Special Forces back in the 70's and he said he didn't care if I wore any SF insignia, as long as I honored the insignia and the real SF soldiers. I come here and everybody yells at me TAKE IT OFF. Same goes for rank.

[Punkypink]

Ok I asked before and I'll ask again since this is pinned. Rank badges. Is it ok if you've actually held the rank during active service, and get the equivalent for the camo you currently wear?

[Thorbard]

I don't have a problem with people wearing patches of any kind, so long as its tactful.

 

I know many others don't either.

 

If people are copying a specific image for a specific loadout, how is it any more offensive to put the batches on than the fact that they're replicating everything else accurately.

 

Rank patches I don't really see the point in, but at the same time I don't see why it should be offensive, especially if you're in a team where you've set up a command structure.

 

I think the problem comes when people wear them to try and claim to be something that they aren't, or as a way of showing off.

 

Whatever you wear though, someone will get offended, so just pick what you're comfortable with. I wear a Seal Team 1 patch ("have a nice day someplace else") mainly because I like the sentiment, my team badge (based on the MAC V SOG badge), a blood type badge and a red cross and cant imagine anyone getting offended at any of that, but I'm sure, someday, someone will take issue with it.

[Lance Jackass]

Rank badges. Is it ok if you've actually held the rank during active service, and get the equivalent for the camo you currently wear?

 

Should think so, but it seems a bit pointless. Afterall there was someone in my family who won a VC, but he didn't wear it to go shopping...

[Punkypink]

Am not wearing it to go shopping. Just thot it'd be nice to be able to wear it on a military uniform which I wear when skirmishing. If not there, then where?

[Marlowe]

There was a request on Red Alliance a while back for Russian re-enactors to not wear the red berets of the MVD; considering what real MVD troops undergo to get it (there's some youtube videos of the highlights I think), it's offensive for the real troops to say the least.

[Thorbard]

That request was made by that unit though if I'm not mistaken.

[Jaager]

There was a request on Red Alliance a while back for Russian re-enactors to not wear the red berets of the MVD; considering what real MVD troops undergo to get it (there's some youtube videos of the highlights I think), it's offensive for the real troops to say the least.

 

 

IIRC it was the red berets and the red telynashka. But i think they were fine with the patches (goes to find thread)

[Mike_West]

It's a specific shade of red, IIRC, so called "Crapovy Beret" (apparently having nothing to do with ######).

[QQexDERA]

There was a request on Red Alliance a while back for Russian re-enactors to not wear the red berets of the MVD; considering what real MVD troops undergo to get it (there's some youtube videos of the highlights I think), it's offensive for the real troops to say the least.

 

I dare say that a few million Chechnyan civvies would be appalled to see people in the MVD beret as well, given their actions out there.

 

Still, thats another arguement. Returning to the original topic, In every country round the world, you'll find those that don't give a toss if someone is wearing "their" insignia, but you'll also find people with the exact opposite view.

[ErikBobbo]

In norway the rule of thumb is that norwegian ranks, insignias, beret-mark (king-mark) is no-no, but other coutries are fine.

[Kousnik]

its not reenactment if you dont wear the patches... or have i become confused and jaded along the way?

 

 

 

wear what you like, if it ###### someone off, tell them to grow some balls. Surely you wear the patches as a sign of respect for the units you are replicating, not to ###### them off, no?

[Captain Evil]

I say,

-Nationality patched are fine

-Moral patches are fine ( duh )

 

I personally see no problems with wearing rank patches, however I would never wear them so as not to offend anyone that did feel they are inappropriate.

Wearing specific real world unit patches is completely pointless unless you have served with that unit at some point. But if you have a custom airsoft team badge then its obviously fine to wear that.

 

btw:

The word airsoft isn't recognized in the spell checker

[Kousnik]

Wearing specific real world unit patches is completely pointless

 

 

um.... why?

[Pablo]

its not reenactment if you dont wear the patches...

 

Then again, not all of us are exactly reenacting either

 

As the original question was about the USA, I have to say I can't comment.

[loki7491]

hey, i'm british military not american, but i would imagine it is the same across the board. where what ever you like!!!! the only times i take offence are when people try to pass themself off as the real thing........ because it is an insult to my intelligence. if you are sixteen and dresses as a seal or ranger, that is a complement to that unit. you see them as something to aspire to. if you start telling people of all your covert ops and expect them to swallow it, that's when you'll get issues!!!

 

bottom line, where what you like, don't bulls***! you wont go far wrong!

 

 

[Smoke]

In my experience the people who get offended, are usually those with no affiliation to the military at all.

 

Any serving personnel, or ex-serving I’ve ever spoken to on the subject really couldn’t care less what we wear to play with toy guns at the weekends.

 

As with many things, the people shouting the loudest about a subject are usually those getting offended ‘on behalf of someone else’.

 

Which raises the question, who is the Walt? The person wearing the insignia, or the person with no affiliation to the unit claiming it ‘offends’?

 

[thewallhitme]

^ +1

[Stealthbomber]

Ok I asked before and I'll ask again since this is pinned. Rank badges. Is it ok if you've actually held the rank during active service, and get the equivalent for the camo you currently wear?

 

Should think so, but it seems a bit pointless. Afterall there was someone in my family who won a VC, but he didn't wear it to go shopping...

My sentiments exactly.

 

What's the point of wearing stripes for an airsoft game?

So you can try and tell a bunch of strangers that they should respect you cos you allegedly did something totally unrelated to airsoft to a certain level?

Perhaps I should display my Advanced driving badge or my O Level results on my BDUs as well?

 

Having said that, conversely, I have absolutely zero problem with players in airsoft teams which DO adhere to a rank structure wearing rank insignia.

If you're an "officer" in your team then why shouldn't you display the rank to show it?

In this case, as a nod to the anal-retentives in the audience, I'd suggest the team uses some kind of insignia besides traditional rank stripes however, I gotta say, it wouldn't bother me in the least if I did see a player wearing stripes because he actually held that rank in his airsoft team.

 

TBH, I'd be much more wary of the 40-year-old nobber wearing a Corporals stripes and telling everybody in earshot to do what he says cos he was in the army 20 years ago and knows what he's talking about.

Etc.

[Capt Barsteward]

i only have insignia because i found it in a pocket of a garment i purchased.

 

but yes i think its fine as long as you don`t brag about it. i got elected to be commander of my squad anyway but i don`t really shout at everyone and take it seriously. sometimes i find random people tag along with me and my squad for the day after the first two games.

 

what about nazi insignia for ww2 games? that should offend some people but how much ww2 german insignia is to much? i would allow breast eagles and belt buckles but anything else would be abit over the top (like arm bands and swastika bagdes) what are your thoughts?

 

to the guy below: well you know what i mean arm bands are over the top and would offend people, insignia or not.

[Jaager]

i only have insignia because i found it in a pocket of a garment i purchased.

 

but yes i think its fine as long as you don`t brag about it. i got elected to be commander of my squad anyway but i don`t really shout at everyone and take it seriously. sometimes i find random people tag along with me and my squad for the day after the first two games.

 

what about nazi insignia for ww2 games? that should offend some people but how much ww2 german insignia is to much? i would allow breast eagles and belt buckles but anything else would be abit over the top (like arm bands) what are yours thoughts?

 

well armbands wernt field insignia were they.....