I currently have a pair of "member" sew on collar insignia that I bought from The Bent Needle (they are the same as those sold by Lighthouse Uniform). They are about 1" X 1" and have a thick border around them. I'm trying to find a set like the active duty wears (ie: Embroidered on the ODU material with no border, I think made by Vanguard and a little bigger than 1" X 1"). I called Vanguard and they said that currently they are not authorized to make the Auxiliary ones. Does anyone know where I can find a pair or if they even exist?
not sure of the embroidered auxiliary office insignia but one thing is for sure - do not wear the active duty embroidered insignia because it does not have the red "A" in the middle and auxiliarists are not authorized to wear the insignia without that "A".
Just telling you this so you don't waste your money because we've had a few auxiliarists jump the gun and wear the AD embroidered insignia on ODU's when augmenting us and they were told to take them off since it is "impersonating a CG officer".
Originally posted by CeleretAudax: Just telling you this so you don't waste your money because we've had a few auxiliarists jump the gun and wear the AD embroidered insignia on ODU's when augmenting us and they were told to take them off since it is "impersonating a CG officer".
I thought we weren't supposed to wear grade/office insignia when augmenting?
You're usually not supposed to, especially if it might confuse the public over who is in charge... as in why a PO1 is giving orders to a "captain" while doing a facility inspection...
It kinda helps with not having a situation arise like that.
True. They want Auxies to blend in. . . but not tooooo much.
It's getting late now, so I'll forego starting my usual rant about the need for distinguishing uniforms and insignia -- clearly indicating Auxiliary status.
you are correct that in the past, auxies weren't even supposed to wear their office insignia when augmenting active duty personnel. I am not the aux liaison so I can't give you too much info, but I can say that for whatever reason, auxies from our local flotilla have been wearing their office insignia when going on harbor patrols with AD folks. I heard one auxie say they were allowed to wear the office insignia as a sign of respect from the command recognizing their efforts/contributions to the CG in the region.
Things had to be changed though when there were aux personnel wearing active duty LT and LTCDR sew on devices with no red "A".
If the Auxies are on an aux facility taking an AD person on a harbor patrol, that isn't considered augmenting. In that case the CG is on our "turf" and we can wear Aux office insignia. If the Auxie is working on a CG vessel or facility or at a CG unit, then they're only supposed to wear the member device.
However, we have heard of several places where the local CG has encouraged Auxies to wear their office insignia while working with the CG and thats perfectly okay also.
Since we're talking about sew-on insignia, an Auxie is pretty much forced to make a choice to either have separate ODUs (1 with member device, 1 with office insignia) for different missions or just wear member device at all times if they do any augmenting. Sort of an unfair choice for the Auxie though.
Another benefit of the sew on collar devices is that the "A" can be big and bold. I got a pair of DVC sew-ons when the D13 store closed inventory. The "A"s are much more noticeable than the metal devices. On the ODUs this distinctiveness really helps clarify that I'm an Auxiliarist. Even with the Aux tape I've been confused with the active side by active duty members a few times when wearing the ODU with metal devices.
I'd suggest that they make sure the "A"s are highly visible and perhaps oversize when sourcing the sew on versions.
Perhaps it is having some time in the Aux or maybe I'm just growing up, but I'm a 100% convert to the "nothin wrong with being an Auxiliarist" camp.
Another two cents on the same note: I've given up wearing my unit cap when at Sector and wear my Aux ball cap, also cuts down on confusion. I'm not suggesting this to others but it certainly works for me.
