Military Ring Info

The Fire Direction Center is the place in the field artillery battery that computes data for the artillery sections to set on their howitzers to make the artillery accurately hit the target. In my day (things are much different now) the fire direction officer was responsible for the data sent to the guns.

The fire direction center must account for all variables that effect the trajectory of the artillery shell and make the neccessary computations to correct the aim of the gun so that once all of these things have effected the flight of the shell it will land where the forward observer needs it to. Some of the factors which effect the flight of the shell are; powder temperature, the temperature of the gun tube, the amount of powder added, wear on the inside of the tube, air temperature, air density, wind speed and direction, spin which is put on the shell to make it not wobble in flight, and the rotation of the earth while the shell is in flight. You can see that this is serious business with no room for error.

When I was a fire direction officer most of this was calculated with charts, and firing tables, it was only after I came into the military that we began to use computers to calculate firing data. On top of this it had to be done quickly because the reason that it was needed was because someone was in a serious jam and needed help immediately.

This job was a true challenge and a true reward. The methods that I learned are long forgotten. Each time that I look at my Field Artillery Ring and my old ribbons and medals they bring back memories and war stories that I could tell.

We would like to acknowledge the actions of Air Force Academy Master Sergeant Greg Meinert for his ongoing actions in trying to account for the remains of those Airmen still listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. The US Air Force lost 2,600 Airmen and 2,500 aircraft during the was with 568 airmen still classified as missing in action.

There is a disporportunate number of airmen still missing when compared to the other services because most aircrews were lost behind enemy lines.

We certainly thank MSG Meinert and the teams of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command for their time, attitude, and effort. Thank you for remembering our MIA’s. These soldiers are worthy of every honorable mention that we can give them. We also see many of our customers honor the missing by creating the POW/MIA ring. We want to thank all of you for helping the missing to be remembered.

We would like to wish the 10th Mountain Division soldiers who have recently entered Afghanistan as part of the US build up of forces the very best. Be safe and Godspeed. We know that you will be successful in the offensive to put the taliban down once and for all. Its just a matter of time and their days are numbered.

We are thankful that the insurgents have not been able to inflict any casualties as of yet and we certainly hope and pray that it stays that way. There are no soldiers in the world who are better trained and equipped than ours and I have the utmost confidence that you will quickly get the situation under control. We have sent a lot of Operation Enduring Freedom rings to soldiers stationed in Afghanistan so we know that you are proud of what you are doing and we thank you for your sacrifice.

Benjamin O Davis Jr. (Dec 1912-Jul 2002) was the first African American to attain the rank of General Officer in the US Air Force. He served as the commander of the 332nd Fighter Group during WWII (Tuskeegee Airmen). General Davis became determined to become a pilot when he went on a flight at the age of 14. He entered West Point Military Academy in 1932 and was given the silent treatment by his classmates. He ate alone and never had a roommate during his time at West Point. This treatment only served to strengthen his determination to meet his goals.

He initially began service with the US Army as an Infantry lieutenant. He had applied for the Army Air Corps but was not accepted because they did not allow blacks at that time. He was assigned to teach military tactics at Tuskeegee University in Alabama which put him in the right place when the 332nd was initially formed. He flew over 60 sorties during the war and had the honor of commanding a unit which never lost a bomber that it escoted to enemy fighters. We do all that we can to honor every great soldier who has served our country with our commemorative service rings. We want you all to know that we are proud of you.

The Army scout serves as the commander’s eyes and ears on the modern battlefield. The scout’s job is done primarily behind enemy lines. Their job is not  necessarily to engage the enemy, but to report on his whereabouts, activities, size and disposition, and location.

The scout requires special handling in the field because of the nature of his job. During my time as an Artillery Fire Support Officer I found that the intelligence that we received from the scouts was extremely crucial to bring heavy artillery on the enemy. This information helped us achieve victory on more than one occassion. The field artillery would send a COLT (Combat Observation and Lasing Team) with the scout elements to further help to bring smoke on the enemy.

A scout team is an invaluable asset to the commander when it is used correctly.

The people who make up the scout team are very important to the operation of the maneuver commander. If you have ever served in this capacity you can use a custom ring to tell the story of your service.

The Tomahawk missile is a land attack missile (TLAM). It is classified as a long range cruise missile. This missile is hard to intercept because it flies low and slow. This bad boy can carry bomblets, or a nuclear warhead. It can also be used as an antiship missile. The Tomahawk was designed to be fired from submarines, but it can also be fired from a ship.  It also has the capability to be fired from land. The Tomahawk has the capability to receive information from multiple censors while in flight so its flight path and speed can be adjusted to compensate for changing target conditions.

I like to keep up with new military trends and equipment because I am proud of the high tech tools that we have provided our soldiers to work with. Writing articles is one way to bring back memories for me and a US Navy Ring would be another way for the people in the service to remember their time in service.

The present Air Force Seal was approved on Nov 1 1947 by presidet Harry Truman. The official colors (gold and ultramarine blue) were the air corps colors at the time of the inception of the seal. The stars in the seal represent the 13 origional colonies, and the eagle is the symbol of air power. Air power is also represented by the clouds and the thunderbolt in the design. The 3 groups of stars at the top of the design represent the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.  The roman numerals at the bottom of the design represent the year that the Air Force was established.

For those of us who did not know the meaning of the symbols in this design, now you do. I certainly learned a lot when I was reading up on this design and I hope that you have too. This design essentially does some of the very same things that an Air Force commemorative ring would do in that it allows you to put meaningful symbolism in a keepsake.  When I look at the military ring that I had made it always brings back memories. Each part of it represents a peroid of time in my life.  

In both the Army and the Marine Corps this is the highest enlisted rank. The Sergeant Major is the biggest, baddest, oldest, and ugliest, enlisted soldier in the Battalion. The Command Sergeant Major is the senior enlisted advisor to the Battalion level (or higher) commander. He or she represents all of the enlisted people in the unit. The top dog (enlisted) in the Army or the Marine Corps is called Command Sergeant Major of the Army (Marine Corps).

In my military experience the Command Sergeant Major was highly respected by both officers and enlisted soldiers and was treated with reverence even by high ranking officers. He is the example of wisdom and strength to all in the command. He had to rise above a multitude of others to attain the rank of Sergeant Major and he is the most experienced soldier in the unit. There are many companies that have designed Sergeant Majors Rings to commemorate this rank.    

The Battle of Rattlesnake Springs took place on 6 Aug 1880 between the Apache war chief Victorio and elements of the 24th Infantry Regiment and the 10th Cavalry Regiment.

Victorio was raising sand in the region by conducting cross border raids into Texas and New Mexico from his base of operation in Mexico. He would cross the border, do his thing, and then dissappear into Mexico before he could be apprehended. The Army was trying to track him down and was stationing troops at points which they knew he had to eventually appear.

During this episode, which took place over the space of a few days the Buffalo Soldiers determined that Victorio was going to head to Rattlesnake Springs. They rode over 65 miles in less than 24 hours on a parallel course and got to the place ahead of him. They then set up an elaborate ambush and engaged his forces when they arrived hours later. This battle was instrumental in causing Victorio to cease his raids into the area for good. He obviously didn’t want any part of that business. Sometimes events like this become lost to time. This is why commemorative rings, statues, and memorials are important.

The next step in creating your custom made military ring is to choose the laser vue design that you would like to have. The laser vue is the design that goes inside of the stone. The laservue is normally the same color as your ring. For example, if you order a ring that has a silver or white gold lustre, the laser vue will be silver. If you order a gold colored ring the laser vue will normally be gold so that it matches the ring. 

We have had people reverse the color of the laser vue design in the past and this is fine. If thats what you would like to do simply let us know when you place your order.

The way that you choose your laser vue design is from the drop down next to the word laser vue design on your product page. If you want to see how the design that you have picked looks just scroll back up to the top of the page after you have made your choice and there you should see the design.

If you don’t like those choices you can scroll back up to the top of the page and click on a page number where it says laser vue options. There are 6 additional pages of designs that you can choose from. Once you have decided just type  the name of the design in the slot that says perferred laser vue.