USN challenge coins and patches

[sksvlad]

My daughter just came back from an aircraft carrier deployment and brought back a bunch of mementos. These challenge coins are heavy and are not cheaply made.

 

[Falcon]

What is the meaning of the one with the Cyrillic text and hammer and sickle over what looks to be an E-2 Hawkeye?

Am I correct that it reads "Ivanski Kontrol"?

 

[sksvlad]

You are right, it is Ivanskyi Kontrol, I think whoever designed this patch, has meant "Control of Ivan", Ivan (a common Russian name) was/maybe still is a nickname for Soviet/Russian soldiers during IIWW akin to Jerry for Germans. They thought they were going to be near Russia, but ended up going through Suez Canal to support American withdrawal from Afghanistan. The patches were made way before all these changes in plans.
The sickle & hammer are the old USSR emblems associated with the Soviet Union. They don't really apply now. I think whoever designed this was of a mature age, meaning old enough to remember USSR.

 

[Falcon]

Thanks for the reply. I did use a phone app to start to learn the Cyrillic alphabet a few years ago. From that I can sometimes read what the letters would sound like in English.

Sometimes the word comes into my mind straight away, other times I will have to think about it more.

 

[sksvlad]

More patches from this CVN-69 deployment. Various squadrons present on the ship during this "cruise". "Beers on the pier" refers to a land (like terra firma) stop-over in the Middle East when they were allowed beer, a premium luxury not allowed onboard. Notice the date on the last coin, it is 9-11-2021, the day of final withdrawal from the land so forsaken that Alexander the Great army could not wait to get out of there on their way to India. They had no wood for meal fires, so they could not eat properly, and you know how Greeks are about their food!!!

 

[Falcon]

Do members of the various squadrons trade these as souvenirs?

Do they have to buy extra patches for trading use?

 

[sksvlad]

I think that patches are purchased from squadron shops and the challenge coins are given by officers to people they like. The challenge coins are expensive ($30-40 range) and only the higher paid officers can afford them. I'll double check on all this info, since I am not a DoD employee. I hope somebody who deals directly with this subject can provide a better answer.

 

[Slick]

As I understand it, and there are variations, Dept. heads, senior NCOs, and the like are budgeted for such things. Troop morale sorta stuff. Tokens of attaboys. The squadron coins and the like are sold as they are purchased from funds donated/alloted by crewmembers for "trinkets and trash"- Coins and patches. Also used as awards/gimmees, but mostly sold to recoup cost.

 

[sksvlad]

Basically the info above is more or less correct. Many things are purchased and then traded. My daughter said that some coins were minted in very small quantities and to get them one had to pull some strings. So for them it is a hobby of collecting memories. And eventually gun show fodder, hopefully many years from now.

 

[Falcon]

I used to see a lot of US Patches for sale at the UK militaria shows. I did wonder how so many ended up on the civilian market. If extras can be purchased and traded, that explains it.

sksvlad - I tried to reply to your earlier message, but your PM inbox is full.

 

[M8owner]

The US Army also has such coins. I was required to keep my regimental coin with me on duty at all times. Failure to present it when challenged would have been expensive. The offender was required to buy a round of drinks at the next officer's call. I think I still have it around here somewhere. You had to buy them. No official funds were used for this purpose, and they were only available to the officers.

 

[sksvlad]

How do I delete/empty messages?

 

[Falcon]

How do I delete/empty messages?

Find the messages that you want to delete. Click the white check box next to the message date so that it turns blue and a tick mark appears. Scroll down to the the drop-down box that says "Selected Messages". Click this box so that a drop-down menu appears. Select "delete", then click the grey button marked "proceed".

This will permanently delete the selected messages. There is no way to retrieve them once deleted.

 

[sksvlad]

Clearly there are people collecting this stuff. This is a photo from a Craigslist NY post wanting to buy whole collections