Look, I do not have a beef with anybody that has earned their badges (especially read millitary here) and wear them proudly. IMHO there is a distinct difference between a badge earned though military service and one bought as part of a crewpack for a two day/8 hour recreational diving specialty course. Neither do I have a beef with anyone who are proud of their accomplishments that they've worked very hard for, I feel the same about my qualifications. And you are right, badges do say a lot, but my reference to the so-called "Badge-jacket" spouting his mouth was directed at the newly certified idjit that pitches up at a dive resort/boat/shore dive and professes to be a SCUBA god. The one who tries to impress the chicks by taking off his badged jacket and flexes his "big guns" to "get some action". Don't you see,? He needs those badgies to make his "guns," or perhaps something else, look bigger; they're not there to speak of his awesome diving skills.
I cannot comment on other organizations (my NAUI and CMAS experiences have only been good thus far, although I've had relatively limited exposure,) but in the PADI world there are many, maaany certified divers who have IMHO as an independent instructor been given a card that only puts them in harm's way because they've not been taught properly. They too think they've "earned" their merit badges because they don't know any better; they don't always realize that there are courses, and then there are courses.
With all due respect to the millitary contingent on this board, I have yet to see someone "report for recreational diving duty" in their uniform or some well earned badge jacket. Although I am sure that this could and probably even does happen, I have just not witnessed something like that myself (yet), and even then unless those badges have something to do with diving they're not related to the badges we were talking about here. The guys we usually dive with that have strong millitary backgrounds, whom I'll trust with my life sbtw, are probably even more low key than anyone else, especially the minimum 50 dives done, newly certified DM in his brand new badged boat coat that now believes he knows everything there is to know about scuba diving. This is the Badge-jacket I was talking about.
And if you were waiting for someone to clear his throat then perhaps you were waiting too long because they'd already left and sought some peace and quiet elsewhere. Silence is also an answer people.
I cannot comment on other organizations (my NAUI and CMAS experiences have only been good thus far, although I've had relatively limited exposure,) but in the PADI world there are many, maaany certified divers who have IMHO as an independent instructor been given a card that only puts them in harm's way because they've not been taught properly. They too think they've "earned" their merit badges because they don't know any better; they don't always realize that there are courses, and then there are courses.
With all due respect to the millitary contingent on this board, I have yet to see someone "report for recreational diving duty" in their uniform or some well earned badge jacket. Although I am sure that this could and probably even does happen, I have just not witnessed something like that myself (yet), and even then unless those badges have something to do with diving they're not related to the badges we were talking about here. The guys we usually dive with that have strong millitary backgrounds, whom I'll trust with my life sbtw, are probably even more low key than anyone else, especially the minimum 50 dives done, newly certified DM in his brand new badged boat coat that now believes he knows everything there is to know about scuba diving. This is the Badge-jacket I was talking about.
And if you were waiting for someone to clear his throat then perhaps you were waiting too long because they'd already left and sought some peace and quiet elsewhere. Silence is also an answer people.
