Every branch of service has their distinct uniform. And every branch of service has rankings that attach pins and patches to signify specific ranks and titles that have been earned through effort and expertise. It can be a little dizzying to civilians trying to figure it out.
This blog is not going to tackle explaining all the different ranks and associated pins and ribbons. If you’d like to read more about that specifically we find it’s best to go to the source. In this case, that would the the US Air Force website.
Here’s our very humble set for photographing the uniform you see on An Airman now. It belongs to a friend who is well beyond graduating from basic. She is a non-commissioned officer working in the finance department. You may be wondering why the female darker band isn’t visible on the final image? Good question! Keen eye! We took a shot without the darker band because we wanted the card to not be female specific, but we didn’t have access to a male uniform. Sometimes, you’ve just got to get creative with things!
An Airman now celebrates completion of boot camp and the ceremony that awards an individual the title of Airman. It is deliberately void of anything other than the pin that is first given at this graduation. From that point on a whole battalion if you will, of options for rank, title, insignia, ribbons and patches begins.
Most of our cards have a dedication to someone we know in that branch of service on the back of the card. An Airman now is dedicated to Jessie Tillman. It’s been several years since we’ve seen Jesse. We met up with he and his wife in Georgia back in 2013. He was stationed at Fort Benning which is predominantly US Army personnel. There is a small unit of Airmen there however, and it was on this visit that Jessie schooled me on how important it was to him to be referred to as an Airman and not as a soldier.
The uniform we used to photograph the image for An Airman now was not Tillman’s, but rather borrowed from an Airman who lives here in Portland, and who I do get to see often. We met initially while volunteering out at the USO Northwest at Portland International Airport.
SSgt Gremaud has been a tremendous help with sharing information, uniforms for photographing, and just generally being a great person to be around! Here’s a link to a post on Instagram about the last time we visited her out at the Portland Air National Guard.
An Airman now is of course appropriate to be given at graduation. It gives moms and dads, aunts and uncles, siblings and friends (basically everyone in the inner circle) of the Airman a way to express their appreciation for the time, energy and expertise poured into their Airmen over the intense eight weeks of boot camp by these dedicated men and women.
2MyHero offers military, and military only, greeting cards that express admiration, gratitude and encouragement to USAF Airmen.
These are not your ordinary military greeting cards. Not only are they licensed with the USN, USMC, USAF and USCG but they also communicate in a way that is fresh and relevant.
2MyHero prides itself on creatively reaching beyond the typical imagery found on greeting cards for military. We want to express a depth of feeling and connection that will help bridge the gap between those of us who are civilians to the men and women we love who are or were at one time in military service.
We believe our cards foster building bridges of appreciation and respect between civilians and military personnel. We hope every 2MyHero military greeting card we create will help build strong bridges between the givers and receivers of our cards.
2MyHero sells cards individually as well as in six packs (a mix of six cards including white square flap envelopes). An Airman now is offered only in the An Airman now mixed six pack.
If you know a young man or woman heading off to boot camp at Lacklund Air Force Base, you’ll want to purchase one of the mixed six packs so you can encourage them at every stage – during bootcamp, at graduation, there’s one for their drill instructor and depending on how often you write them at boot camp, you may have one or two left over to send after graduation on their first assignment or next level of training.
Maybe you know an Airman who is way beyond boot camp in terms of their military career. You are sure to find a card within the collection that is relevant at any phase of an Airman’s career. 2MyHero is happy to help you cheer Airmen on with unique and well researched military greeting cards.
If you have a son or daughter heading to bootcamp for the US Marines, US Navy or US Coast Guard we have greeting cards for those branches as well.
Let us know about your experience giving a 2MyHero greeting card to your military loved one. Comment below, leave a rating if you purchase through Amazon or Contact us and tell us how the card made you or them feel. We welcome your comments!
Source: 2 My Hero