Our base exchange carries rating challenge coins. Is one in the works for our us? If not, I have an idea for an IS coin: Our rating badge and standup date on the front, and the CG intel seal on the back.

Also, will a lateral certificate (similar to The Great Rating Merger) be issued?

How about a plankowner certificate, similar to what RFMC received?

Hey - a rating coin, what a great idea!

MC Roch - someone shold have suggested this to you a year ago!

MC,

I am going to go out on a limb here and guess you already did?

Maybe I passed him some info when I paid for my RFMC coins out of my pocket.

If you want something to show your pride, I would look at http://www.levesque-art.com/

The owner is a retired Coastie who posts on here often. I got one of his mugs on my desk and have had several custom made.

MC,

We (the IS MCs) recently placed an order for our own coins. We shared the cost. We used the company you suggested and the coins look great.

ISCM Pearson

quote:

How about a plankowner certificate, similar to what RFMC received?

How about going back to the way things used to be and only considering a "plankowner" to be a crew member on a new ship, rather then a new office, a new rating, etc......

quote:

Originally posted by Ex_CG_GM:

quote:

How about a plankowner certificate, similar to what RFMC received?

How about going back to the way things used to be and only considering a "plankowner" to be a crew member on a new ship, rather then a new office, a new rating, etc......

You mean when you were a GM2? .... 30 years ago? ....

quote:

How about going back to the way things used to be and only considering a "plankowner" to be a crew member on a new ship, rather then a new office, a new rating, etc......

Amen!

quote:

You mean when you were a GM2? .... 30 years ago? ....

Yep, that's exactly what I mean. A plankowner actually meant something. A lot of hard, dirty, miserable work goes into bringing a new ship from the construction phase to a fully operational status. Combining ratings doesn't require the same type of effort.

quote:

Originally posted by Ex_CG_GM:

quote:

You mean when you were a GM2? .... 30 years ago? ....

Yep, that's exactly what I mean. A plankowner actually meant something. A lot of hard, dirty, miserable work goes into bringing a new ship from the construction phase to a fully operational status. Combining ratings doesn't require the same type of effort.

Older isn't better necessarily. We did a lot of things 30 years ago we don't do now. Hence New ratings and New ideas and equipment. That's the problem with the CG, we hang onto things that other services are getting rid of. Congress is asking why we are hanging onto ancient equipment that even the 3rd world don't want.
Hey let's hang onto that Cutter that been around since Kennedy! Let's keep that tender in service from the 40's! It's no wonder the Navy thinks we're a joke, and a bad onw at that, they scrap crap that reaches the ripe old age of 15 and move on to better. Maybe that's why it took 220 years to get an intel rate.
You were a GM maybe we should bring back an operational M-1 rifle or muskets...

J - the plankowner CUSTOM is a very, very old CUSTOM. The perspective of very, very old people (like ex CG GM ) in regards to very, very old customs is very much relative.

I'm not sure how you managed to take my comment regarding the plankowner issue and manage to translate it into something completely different. Even 30+ years ago we were sick and tired of serving on ships that had been built in the 20's, 30's and 40's.

I embrace change, but creating "plankowner" certificates for creating/combining ratings....... exactly how does that improve anything? It's nothing but an ego stroke and does not reflect what the term meant years ago, which was recognition of the hard work involved in bringing a new ship on line.

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It's no wonder the Navy thinks we're a joke, and a bad onw at that, they scrap crap that reaches the ripe old age of 15 and move on to better.

I suggest you peruse this site:

Haze Gray

You will learn the Navy has plenty of ships that are well over 15 years old.

quote:

Congress is asking why we are hanging onto ancient equipment that even the 3rd world don't want.

Pretty simple answer to that question. Two things happened. The CG did a lousy job of defining their needs, and Congress didn't provide funding.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ex_CG_GM,

quote:

Originally posted by Ex_CG_GM:

quote:

How about a plankowner certificate, similar to what RFMC received?

How about going back to the way things used to be and only considering a "plankowner" to be a crew member on a new ship, rather then a new office, a new rating, etc......

"...the way things used to be"??? Let me tell you about the way things used to be: I have a beautiful plank owners certificate dated 1977 when Group and Station Monterey moved into our new facility (after the old WWII facility was torn down). Now that was back in '77 so even then, a POC was given for the standup of non-seagoing facilities.

Don't talk about the Old Guard unless you were actually part of it!

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"...the way things used to be"??? Let me tell you about the way things used to be: I have a beautiful plank owners certificate dated 1977 when Group and Station Monterey moved into our new facility (after the old WWII facility was torn down). Now that was back in '77 so even then, a POC was given for the standup of non-seagoing facilities.

Don't talk about the Old Guard unless you were actually part of it!

I enlisted in 1960 and was medically retired in '75. That "old Guard" enough for you?

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I enlisted in 1960 and was medically retired in '75. That "old Guard" enough for you?

now I don;t care who you are, dat dare was funny!

Might be the ONLY thing funny about being older then dirt!

Age does tend to give one perspective though.....

quote:

Originally posted by Ex_CG_GM:

quote:

"...the way things used to be"??? Let me tell you about the way things used to be: I have a beautiful plank owners certificate dated 1977 when Group and Station Monterey moved into our new facility (after the old WWII facility was torn down). Now that was back in '77 so even then, a POC was given for the standup of non-seagoing facilities.

Don't talk about the Old Guard unless you were actually part of it!

I enlisted in 1960 and was medically retired in '75. That "old Guard" enough for you?

No wonder your memory of "the way things used to be" is faulty. The very honorable and long-standing (c. 1873) organization, the U.S. Naval Institute, defines the Plank Owner's Certificate as "Commemorating the commissioning of a ship, land unit, or squadron." The USNI is the premier organization that documents and archives our country's naval history, ceremonies, honors, and customs. But if you honestly believe that the USNI is wrong on this issue, I challenge you here and now to inform them of their error, basing your argument on factual evidence, not a faulty memory.

BTW, the USNI, besides publishing and distributing the Plank Owner's Certificate, also publishes the following certificates: Shellback, Order of the Square Rigger, Order of the Spanish Main, Order of the Rock, Order of Magellan, Emerald Shellback, Golden Dragon, Neptune Subpoena, Neptune Sweethearts Domain, etc. If the "... Navy thinks we're a joke..." why are they then still holding on to these longstanding traditions?

quote:

Originally posted by Ex_CG_GM:
I'm not sure how you managed to take my comment regarding the plankowner issue and manage to translate it into something completely different. Even 30+ years ago we were sick and tired of serving on ships that had been built in the 20's, 30's and 40's.

I embrace change, but creating "plankowner" certificates for creating/combining ratings....... exactly how does that improve anything? It's nothing but an ego stroke and does not reflect what the term meant years ago, which was recognition of the hard work involved in bringing a new ship on line.

quote:

It's no wonder the Navy thinks we're a joke, and a bad onw at that, they scrap crap that reaches the ripe old age of 15 and move on to better.

I suggest you peruse this site:

Haze Gray

You will learn the Navy has plenty of ships that are well over 15 years old.

quote:

Congress is asking why we are hanging onto ancient equipment that even the 3rd world don't want.

Pretty simple answer to that question. Two things happened. The CG did a lousy job of defining their needs, and Congress didn't provide funding.

Yeah, I saw plenty of ships older than 15 years old, my bad. But I also saw only 5 or 6 built in the 60's or 70's still in commission. I saw a whole lot of 90's and 00's in there. Us? I saw a lot of 1940 - 1970's in there. We do have some new ships, not including the ships we picked up from the Navy, so I was wrong.

Technological progress ends up benefitting the Navy, while the CG does not receive the same benefit.

A nation needs its Navy to be as effective as possible. With all the advances in weapons and technology the Navy has to stay at the peak of the curve, while the poor CG, since we are not the primary point of naval defense for the country, gets left sucking hind teat.

Frankly part of the blame rests squarely on the CG's shoulders for not making a stronger case over the years to keep upgrading its assets.

It pizzes me off to see that the last new WHEC's were built 40+ years ago. I recall how lucky and proud I felt to go to Nam on the Mellon, a ship that wasn't two years old at the time. Hard to believe that there have been no WHEC's built since then. Sucks, big time.

A little bit of backround information, from the US Navy Historical Center

Plank Owners, Plank Owner Certificates, and Planking

A "plank owner" is an individual who was a member of the crew of a ship when that ship was placed in commission. Originally, this term applied only to crewmembers present at the ship's first commissioning. Today, however, it is often applied to members of a recommissioning crew as well. "Plank owner" is not an official Navy term, and has consequently been variously defined by different Navy units.

Certificates

Plank-owner certificates, like "Crossing the Line" or "Blue Nose" certificates, are unofficial. They are procured by and issued to crew members of the ship being commissioned rather than by the Navy. Some ships' crews design their own, while others purchase them from commercial sources. Perhaps the best-known of "plank-owner and other unofficial certificates" is the United States Naval Institute. Illustrations and prices of these certificates can be obtained from the Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD 21402.

Deck Planking

As part of the vessel decommissioning and disposal process, the Navy formerly removed a small portion of the deck as a traditional reminder of the time when "wooden ships and iron men" were a key part of the Navy. The last major vessel known to have been fitted with a wooden deck was USS Long Beach (CGN-9), commissioned in 1961

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At one time, you could apply to the Navy Historical Center and receive a plug from the deck planking, as a token for redeeming your plank owners certificate.