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DoD Vehicle Stickers..

jmiller82

jmiller82

Registered User
I'm a Navy brat of about 23 years and I've always wondered something - what do the different colors of the DoD vehicle stickers represent? You know, the one usually at the bottom that has your duty station on it.. I know the blue is for officer, and the red is for enlisted, but what do the green, yellow, and black stand for? Also, I think I've seen white before, but I'm not sure if it was just faded.. Could it be CG? I know this is an otherwise useless post, but it would solve this neverending riddle I've had with those darn sticker colors! :)
 
TheBubba

TheBubba

I Can Has Leadership!
None
green yellow and black are different categories of civilian employees... not sure which means what though.
 
jmiller82

jmiller82

Registered User
Another question I had that is partially related to the stickers is this: When a flag officer comes to a base (usually a visit or something of the like), does he fly his flag (with how ever many stars) or does he just get a special salute indicated by his star(s) on his decal? I know the eagle indicates a CAPT (USN/USCG) or a COL (USMC/USA/USAF), but do they also carry a flag or just get a special salute?
 
F

floridaseabee

Member
I would imagine that the visiting Flag would be contacted by the Base protocol office or something and they would get a driver in. I dont think they would fly a flag on the car that he may be in....or salute him differently from others. His POV would probably have a star (or 2/3/4 stars) much like the eagle that you see on the COL/CAPT cars. The decal may take the place of the flying flag. I am speculating and do not know the definite answer.... Concerning the salutes, he is a comissioned officer and warrents the same salute that an ENS/2ND LT gets. The AF people around here _may_ clean up their normally-sloppy salutes for him though. Man, they are bad.
 
ChunksJR

ChunksJR

Retired.
pilot
Contributor
j_m74 said:
Another question I had that is partially related to the stickers is this: When a flag officer comes to a base (usually a visit or something of the like), does he fly his flag (with how ever many stars) or does he just get a special salute indicated by his star(s) on his decal? I know the eagle indicates a CAPT (USN/USCG) or a COL (USMC/USA/USAF), but do they also carry a flag or just get a special salute?
Click to expand...

Most of the time, a flag will be flown on the base flagpole, if the Base CO is worth his salt...

Othertimes, the duty driver will put a flag license plate on the front of the duty vehicle...so look there.

If it's the flag's POV, he'll have the Stars on there just like the bird. If you are below the rank of the person driving...it's proper protocal to render the salute. This is especially obvious if there is a "CO" or "XO" sticker anywhere in the car as well (usually the back of the rear view mirror).

A salute is just a formal greeting...I salute most women I pass at the commisary...don't hesitate to salute if you're not sure.
 
phrogdriver

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
ChunksJR said:
A salute is just a formal greeting...I salute most women I pass at the commisary....
Click to expand...

I last saw that in the TBS protocol video from circa 1955. I think it began, "I'm Troy McClure, and today we're going to talk about military protocol. This is Jimmy...."

That used to be the standard, 40 years ago. I think you're probably just confusing some female petty officer who's at the commissary in civilian clothes. "Why is he saluting me?" If you tried to only salute only civilian women in this manner, it would put higher respect on civilians than on military personnel, e.g. some 21-year-old housewife gets a salute, but in an enlisted uniform she wouldn't?
 
ChunksJR

ChunksJR

Retired.
pilot
Contributor
phrogdriver said:
I think you're probably just confusing some female petty officer who's at the commissary in civilian clothes. "Why is he saluting me?"
Click to expand...

I'm not confusing anyone...I don't snap to or go out of my way...it's a quick "evening/afternoon/'morning ma'am..." Just like a cheezy tip of the hat. I like doing it, and plan on continuing to do so. I don't feel it detracts from the uniform in any way shape or form. It's a formal greeting and chivalry isn't dead.
 
jmiller82

jmiller82

Registered User
Here is a blurb I found on USMilitary.about.com. Keep in mind that they listed this as Air Force Registration colors, so I'm not sure if it differs from service to service. I thought it was DoD administered..

Officer - Blue background with white letters
NCO (E-5 and above) - Gold background with black letters
Enlisted - Red background with white letters
Civilian - Green background with white letters
Contractor - White background with white letters

It says the AF Installation CO can select any color code for dependents of deceased military members.

It seems that the Army does the same as the AF with its color coding system, with a little more variance in the Civilian/Contractor coding, as you'll see with the link below..

Something else that I found that was VERY interesting:
The DOD statute for the vehicle registration.
Check out subsection 5 of 634.21 (the page the link takes you to (#5) about the grade insignia:
"For Navy and Marine Corps personnel the grade insignia will be affixed on placards, approximately 5 inches by 8 inches in size, and placed on the driver's side dashboard. Placards should be removed from view when the vehicle is not located on a military installation."
Hmm.. How many of you have a placard with the grade insignia on your dashboard?! And of those who do, how many of you have it 5"x8" (Apparently, this is for EVERYONE, not just O-6 and above)?? Besides the Eagles and Stars (for O-6 and above), do they still do the small grade insignia beside the decal? My father is a retired CDR and to this day makes sure that when his decals are updated, he receives the oak leaf (silver)! I've only seen it, however, on AF installations and on a few other Army installations (not all). Is this just an AF/Army thing?

Still no sign of the purple.. Maybe that's the color the AF Installation CO assigns for dependents of deceased military members..
 
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