Paul R

Great stuff Bob! I love the Korvettenkapitan set! Lets see more! :jumping:

All I can say is outstanding grouping. I have not seen any shield documents before!!! :jumping:

WOW! Thank you for sharing these photos! I love them! They show the importance women had in the homefront emergency services! I can hardly wait to see more photos!!

Maybe Bob could give us a glimpse of his collection? PlleeeaassseeE? :whistle:

Bob, You collect LW as well? I took you for an "SS" man. :-D

Thank you, Terry. I do look forward to talking with you about it. The TSA was established in 2003 and you are already retiring? They must count other government employment for retirement points... right?

Please do post more! I would love to see any Lufwaffe images. Especially those of LW Administrative Beamte, Luftschutz, SHD, or LSW personnel!

Those are some great photos. How long did it take you to accumilate them all?

Bob, I appreciate you taking the time to look into this hat! Can you please thank your fellow collectors for the help as well? Paul

I am interested in knowing more about this hat as well. Has anyone been able to shed some light on this for you?

Here is mine; on the right. It was given to me by a Cuban immigrant for something I did for him. He stated that he was only going to throw it away anyway. :speechless1:

No star yet! One day though! You are right. All the job owes me is my paycheck on the first and the 15th. I am actually very happy with my service and occupation. I actually dread retirement, as being in the military was something I have always wanted to do from as far back as I can remember. We all know that life would not be worth living if there was nothing to complain about! Have a frosty beverage for me!

I do hear you Tim. I guess that I am just a bit let down... There is nothing like being put in for a Comm on three occasions, just for it to be down graded for stupid reasons(once because of my rank being too low, another because they were wanting to cut down on the number of medals being awarded-of course they were alloted to officers, and another because my supervisor did not have one yet), while transferring to different units and seeing incompetant douche-bags with multiple awardings of them, for simply having a pulse. Of course I hear, "at least you know that you earned yours." Medals may not be able to buy us a cup of coffee, but the points they represent can make or break a person for advancement. Master Chief, I wish to you and your family a most happy and prosperous New Year!! :D

I remember reading about the GCM being awarded for four years of good service as well. From what I remember, it was given to reward continuous good conduct and a re-enlistment incentive. Tim, I agree with you regarding the award criteria for Naval and Coast Guard personal awards. The standard is definitely higher than with the other branches. I made Health Services Tech. of the year for the entire branch of service and received a CG Achievement Medal at the end of that tour. I remember seeing Master Chiefs retiring with one Achievement medal for their entire 30+ year stint of service. While attending a school, I met up with an Air Force Master Sergeant(my rank equivalent). After noticing that he and about a dozen others with him had this medal, I asked him about what they had to do to get this prestigious award. He told me that in the Air Force something was wrong if an E7 did not have at least one Meritorious Service Medal! In the Coast Guard, someone does not typically receive that medal unless they are an 06(Captain)leaving a Commanding Officer billet, after a tour of honorable service. It is amazing how much the criteria can vary for the same medal between branches of service.

Thank you all for the replies. So there are only three paygrades? How does advancement work? As an E-7 in the Coast Guard, if I were to retire then join up with the TSA, would I have to start at the bottom or is there advanced placement(especially since the Coast Guard is a part of the DHS as well)? Also, as noted by Chris, I have seen both the gold and silver embroidered insignia. Is this just a variation to be worn with certain uniforms or does it actually have a meaning? Sorry for the silly questions. BTW, I like the new blue uniforms a lot better.

Very nice tunics! Bill, I like your 2nd Berlin mounted Schutzpolizei a lot. Also, I find the red piped police tunics to be very attractive. The red and gray waffenfarbes are for Admin, right?

Thanks Nick!! Great to see you! I did see the pay scale, during my searches but I have some questions on how it works. Also, I was wondering about the actual ranking insignia. I have seen these people with various shoulder boards, but do not know what they represent. Do you know anything about the physical insignia? BTW, the pay looks like it really stinks for the lower half of the scale! I hope that my past military experience(in the DHS) and my degree will help put me into some of the higher pay brackets.

Does anyone know where to find information on the TSA Ranks and Paygrades? Do we have any members here? I have a possible career change in mind. I am torn between the TSA and Customs.

Can you post photos yet? :jumping:

It looks like an early SS tab to me. Can you make some close up photos of the tab?

I agree! In the group photos, which one is you? Is that portrait of you as well?

Hi Grenzflieger! It is great to see you here! Those are some beautiful uniforms. IS there a way to determine if an example is assembled or the real thing? Are the liner stamps the NVA type?

That is the most complete collection of tallies I have seen! How much would the Scharnhorst, Bismark, and Prinz Eugen go for? I am sure that Bismark is literally the pinnacle of this field and very very expensive

Can you make the shoulder board photo a bit clearer? So far, I do not see any disqualifying factors!