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USMC Q-Bar Qualification Badges & Suspension Bars


siege1863
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teufelhunde.ret

I think this is a complete list. USMC bars always had EX or SS before the weapon. Singles are not too easy to find, Ebay would be the first place I would look & place a wanted post here.

EXPERT

 

EX AUTO RIFLE

EX-AUTO-RIFLE

EX-BAYONET

EX-CARBINE

EX – CARBINE

EX-L ARTY

EX.MACHINE GUN

EX-MACH. GUN

EX-PISTOL

EXP.PISTOL

EX-RIFLE

EX. RIFLE

EX-RIFLE-B

EX-RIFLE-D

EX. SMALL BORE

EX-T.S.M.G.

EX. BAYONET

 

SHARPSHOOTER

 

SS-AUTO-RIFLE

S.S. B.A.R.

SS-CARBINE

SS-HOWITZER

SS – PISTOL

S S RIFLE

SS-RIFLE-B

SS-RIFLE-D

SS – SMALLBORE

SS – T.S.M.G.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've got a couple of questions regarding the basic badge aka the "toilet seat."

 

My first question actually comes as a result of a conversation with a co-worker. She brought in an 8 x 10" colorized photo of her father, a marine who served in the 1950's. In the photo, he is wearing a rifle marksman bar and the basic qualification badge. She brought in the two badges with the photo. Sure enough, a pinback Marksman badge with a gemsco maker's mark and a clutchback basic Q badge. The oddity is that there is only one bar- "SS Rifle." So, here's my question. WHY in the world would he be wearing a marksman bar but have a Q badge bar indicating that he had fired as a sharpshooter? Why would these bars even exist for rifle and pistol if there were seperate badges to show qualification with these weapons?

 

My second question might be easier to answer. I have always assumed that the Q badge was earned in boot camp. At what point in a Marine's career would he (or she) stop wearing the Q badge? Surely there would have to be a point in time where the NCO or officer would stop wearing a badge earned in boot camp? Am I wrong? Can the badge be earned later in a marine's career?

 

Thanks in advance.

Allan

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can't really answer those questions Allen, but I can tell you that around the time Vietnam kicked off, the basic badge was kicked out due to a few reasons.As you stated, the monotony of the rifle/pistol bars and also for simplicity...the Marine Corps has always tried to keep badges and ropes and other such thingamajigs to a minimum

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I think this is a complete list. USMC bars always had EX or SS before the weapon. Singles are not too easy to find, Ebay would be the first place I would look & place a wanted post here.

EXPERT

 

EX AUTO RIFLE

EX-AUTO-RIFLE

EX-BAYONET

EX-CARBINE

EX – CARBINE

EX-L ARTY

EX.MACHINE GUN

EX-MACH. GUN

EX-PISTOL

EXP.PISTOL

EX-RIFLE

EX. RIFLE

EX-RIFLE-B

EX-RIFLE-D

EX. SMALL BORE

EX-T.S.M.G.

EX. BAYONET

 

SHARPSHOOTER

 

SS-AUTO-RIFLE

S.S. B.A.R.

SS-CARBINE

SS-HOWITZER

SS – PISTOL

S S RIFLE

SS-RIFLE-B

SS-RIFLE-D

SS – SMALLBORE

SS – T.S.M.G.

 

I found this in a old Trading Post from ASMIC:

 

It show´s some more USMC bars.

 

Michael

post-8324-1269610352.jpg

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can't really answer those questions Allen, but I can tell you that around the time Vietnam kicked off, the basic badge was kicked out due to a few reasons.As you stated, the monotony of the rifle/pistol bars and also for simplicity...the Marine Corps has always tried to keep badges and ropes and other such thingamajigs to a minimum

 

Brig - The Basic Badge was first awarded in the mid 1930s and discontinued in about 1954-55. I went in in 1956 and it no longer existed/was awarded. I recall some older Marines still wore it. I think the answer to Allen's qustions will be found somewhere in the Regs governing its award criteria. Maybe another Forum member has them and will chime in. Semper Fi......Bobgee

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  • 2 months later...

I'm trying to kind of fill in a blank on some information in a service record. The Marine graduated boot camp in 1941 and was awarded the basic qualification bade with rifle bar. The problem I have is that the records are incomplete and don't show the level such as MM or SS, etc. In the 1937 regs book it also list a rifle D bar for the basic badge. What exactly is that one?

The vet was asigned as a rifle coach at Parris Island immediately after boot camp so he must have been very good marksman and maybe even expert and if so, would he more likely have had a EX-Rifle bar on his badge instead of the crossed rifles expert badge at that period of time?

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I don't know how it worked in WWII, but as a current Rifle Range Instructor on PI, I can tell you that shooting and teaching are two different things. A man who could unq on the rifle can train a kid to shoot expert as easily as a tenth award expert could fail to teach a kid to qual. Two different worlds

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 8 months later...
shrapneldude
What about JUDO? Has anyone seen many of them?

 

This is a USMC Marksman badge with a Judo qualification bar I just picked up recently.

post-1424-1299729988.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

I think that I asked this question some time ago, but couldn't find the original post and after reading through some 28 pages of this thread, I couldn't get a definitve answer, so I'm asking again. I have a friend who will be in town over the Thanksgiving holiday and knowing that when I see him, he's going to ask me the same question. His father was a Korean war marine and one of the Chosin few. The family has an 8 x 10" studio portrait of the guy taken upon completion of boot camp. He's wearing dress blues with a Marksman bar and a Basic qual badge with a single Q bar above the "toilet seat." The Q Bar reads "SS-Rifle." So here's the question- WHY would a marine wear a Marksman badge and also have a basic badge with a Sharpshooter bar? I guess the next question would be, since shooting badges exist for rifle and pistol, why would the Q bars exist and why would they be worn? The veteran died years ago, so we can't ask him these questions, but his son is dying to find out the answer...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Allan

 

Edit note- I should mention that the father went directly to Korea after boot camp, lost some fingers and was discharged after getting out of the hospital. As far as we know, he never would have had an opportunity to have requalified with his weapon, nor was he in service for an extended period. I'll see if I can take photos of the badges and the 8 x 10" and get them posted here.

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Man, that's a really good question...maybe the Q Bar is more of a combat marksmanship course, such as today's Table 2, instead of the KD Table 1

 

Just a theory

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teufelhunde.ret

....The Q Bar reads "SS-Rifle." So here's the question- WHY would a marine wear a Marksman badge and also have a basic badge with a Sharpshooter bar? I guess the next question would be, since shooting badges exist for rifle and pistol, why would the Q bars exist and why would they be worn?

 

Allan, the "SS Qual Bar" represented a qualifying score on the Carbine (as all those bars represented qualifying scores on other special weapons), not the service rifle.

s/f D.

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Allan, the "SS Qual Bar" represented a qualifying score on the Carbine (as all those bars represented qualifying scores on other special weapons), not the service rifle.

s/f D.

 

D-

 

You're the greatest! Now I can explain the mystery to my friend. Interestingly, the family has a few photos of the veteran in Korea, and he is armed with an M1 carbine in the photos. I do find it interesting that the guy could shoot better with the carbine than with the M1 rifle. That reminds me of a certain sailor who was better with a pistol than with a rifle, but that's another story.

 

Allan

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  • 1 year later...

FELLOW FORUM MEMBERS,



This topic is split from the original 31 page USMC Marksmanship Badge topic. With recent changes to the forum now containing a separate marksmanship badge subforum, we will gradually be splitting the large catch-all topic into more appropriate independent topics where they can be more easily accessed and referenced.



This thread will remain the "catch-all" for Q-Badges and rifle/pistol badges with Q-Badge suspension bars, however members are not limited to posting their badges here and may feel free to start their own topics for the discussion of other badges.

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  • 4 months later...

Just picked up this fantastic expert rifle badge by JR Gaunt New York, with 4 Q-Bar style suspension ladders

101_5550.JPG

101_5551.JPG

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  • 2 years later...

Reading through the thread, I noticed a Q bar that I have, it reads "EX-EIFLE -B" as I understand it, this is for a small bore rifle. Does anybody know what .22s were used by Marines to get this particular Q bar?

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