Tacking the Stripe info

Pacific Air · August 22nd, 2005

To those around the world who don't know, in the United States Air Force, we wear our rank on our sleeves. We're the only rank of military personnel who do this - the rest of the Armed Forces wear their ranks on their collars. It is traditionary for us to, whenever a person gets promoted to the next rank, we "tack" on the new stripe by lining up a gauntlet of personnel who have worn the stripe before them , and punch them in the arm, "tacking" the stripe to their uniform. I don't know if this explanation is true, but from what I've heard, there were Airmen who would glue the stripes to their uniform instead of actually sewing them on, so the "tacking" was to make sure that the stripes don't fall.

August 22nd, 2005
Pacific Air	Tacking the Stripe info To those around the world who don't know, in the United States Air Force, we wear our rank on our sleeves. We're the only rank of military personnel who do this - the rest of the Armed Forces wear their ranks on their collars. It is traditionary for us to, whenever a person gets promoted to the next rank, we "tack" on the new stripe by lining up a gauntlet of personnel who have worn the stripe before them , and punch them in the arm, "tacking" the stripe to their uniform. I don't know if this explanation is true, but from what I've heard, there were Airmen who would glue the stripes to their uniform instead of actually sewing them on, so the "tacking" was to make sure that the stripes don't fall. \"I must stop now and eat my pen.\" --Gen. Mortimer Polk