Surprise with the US Air Force Reserve Pipe Band Tartan

[Barb T]

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"If you asked a weaver to look up the US Air Force Reserve Pipe Band tartan in the Registry and weave you a length, you would get the following:

http://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tar....aspx?ref=4180

What started this in the first place is that is exactly what I did. And I got a length of tartan that does not match what the USAF Reserve Pipe Band wears in their uniform, as you can see in what Carolyn is wearing in my previous post. So, that's where the mystery lies."

I'm not understanding how this is not a weaver's mistake. The way I interpret your comment above is that you asked a weaver to weave the US Air Force Reserve Pipe Band tartan, but instead they sent you Strathmore's US Air Force (Not Official) cloth. That seems to qualify as a mistake to me. What am I missing?

I have to say that I'm about at the stage of beating my head on the desk.

1) I asked the weaver to weave the USAF Reserve Pipe Band tartan. The weaver did exactly that. I got a length of tartan that _absolutely perfectly matches_ the one listed in the Registry. There were no mistakes.

2) What surprised me was that this perfect, no-errors length of tartan (which does, in fact, match what is in the Registry) does _not_ match what Strathmore is currently weaving as USAF tartan. In other words, what Strathmore is weaving does not match what is currently registered as having been adopted by the USAF Reserve Pipe Band. And the tartan in the current USAF Reserve Pipe Band uniforms (which was custom woven in 16 oz by Strathmore - it's not their stock 10 0z) _does not_ match what is in the Registry as the tartan adopted by the USAF Reserve Pipe Band either.

3) In fact, the only piece of tartan in this whole discussion that does, actually, perfectly match the sett in the Registry of Scottish tartans is the one that I had custom woven last summer.

I don't honestly know how I can be any clearer than that. Or am I losing my mind and no one understands what I'm saying??

[seanachie]

I have to say that I'm about at the stage of beating my head on the desk.

1) I asked the weaver to weave the USAF Reserve Pipe Band tartan. The weaver did exactly that. I got a length of tartan that _absolutely perfectly matches_ the one listed in the Registry. There were no mistakes.

2) What surprised me was that this perfect, no-errors length of tartan (which does, in fact, match what is in the Registry) does _not_ match what Strathmore is currently weaving as USAF tartan. In other words, what Strathmore is weaving does not match what is currently registered as having been adopted by the USAF Reserve Pipe Band. And the tartan in the current USAF Reserve Pipe Band uniforms (which was custom woven in 16 oz by Strathmore - it's not their stock 10 0z) _does not_ match what is in the Registry as the tartan adopted by the USAF Reserve Pipe Band either.

3) In fact, the only piece of tartan in this whole discussion that does, actually, perfectly match the sett in the Registry of Scottish tartans is the one that I had custom woven last summer.

I don't honestly know how I can be any clearer than that. Or am I losing my mind and no one understands what I'm saying??

Barb:
You are not losing your mind at all, I have followed this closely. It was a while back but I remember reviewing the pics of Carolyn's tartan when I had my misadventure. I have since deleted but in one of the emails I received saying I had the wrong tartan I received a pic that matched it exactly. The tartan you received on a client's behalf was the first time I had seen that sett. Thanks for your input into this. I think I am about to give up on the idea of getting an AF tartan kilt, it seems so much easier for the other services.

[Mark Stephenson]

Barb:
You are not losing your mind at all, I have followed this closely. It was a while back but I remember reviewing the pics of Carolyn's tartan when I had my misadventure. I have since deleted but in one of the emails I received saying I had the wrong tartan I received a pic that matched it exactly. The tartan you received on a client's behalf was the first time I had seen that sett. Thanks for your input into this. I think I am about to give up on the idea of getting an AF tartan kilt, it seems so much easier for the other services.

Seanachie -
Gee, I'd hate to see you give up on wearing an Air Force Tartan. Frankly, both the Strathmore USAF-Not Official and the USAFR PB tartans are beautiful in their own right. As there is no "official" USAF tartan, get the one that pleases you most. Of course, if you want the Strathmore tartan, the trick will be getting it in 16 oz (if that's what you want). On the other hand, if you want the Strathmore tartan in 11 0z, then you're home free. I actually own both tartans: a shirt in the USAF-Not Official and the kilt that has been under discussion here in the USAFR PB. When folks ask me what tartan I'm wearing, I simply say, "USAF". I am proud to have served our nation for 20 years in the USAF, and I am proud to wear any tartan that symbolizes the USAF. So, IMHO, go ahead and get your kilt, and enjoy. Of course, if you do, then you'll have to decide which insignia you wish to use on accessories: the modern logo, or the traditional seal... the choices just go on and on. So choose what you like best and go for it.
Aim high!

[macwilkin]

Seanachie -
Gee, I'd hate to see you give up on wearing an Air Force Tartan. Frankly, both the Strathmore USAF-Not Official and the USAFR PB tartans are beautiful in their own right. As there is no "official" USAF tartan, get the one that pleases you most. Of course, if you want the Strathmore tartan, the trick will be getting it in 16 oz (if that's what you want). On the other hand, if you want the Strathmore tartan in 11 0z, then you're home free. I actually own both tartans: a shirt in the USAF-Not Official and the kilt that has been under discussion here in the USAFR PB. When folks ask me what tartan I'm wearing, I simply say, "USAF". I am proud to have served our nation for 20 years in the USAF, and I am proud to wear any tartan that symbolizes the USAF. So, IMHO, go ahead and get your kilt, and enjoy. Of course, if you do, then you'll have to decide which insignia you wish to use on accessories: the modern logo, or the traditional seal... the choices just go on and on. So choose what you like best and go for it.
Aim high!

There is also another option; the original USAF Pipes & Drums (which was disbanded in the early 1970s) wore the "Mitchell" tartan, as I document in my article on the STM web site about the tartans of the USAF.

This post is proof positive of my theory that the USAFR PB tartan has become the de facto USAF tartan, regardless if the wearer was a Regular, Reservist or Air Guardsman.

T.

[Mark Stephenson]

There is also another option; the original USAF Pipes & Drums (which was disbanded in the early 1970s) wore the "Mitchell" tartan, as I document in my article on the STM web site about the tartans of the USAF.

This post is proof positive of my theory that the USAFR PB tartan has become the de facto USAF tartan, regardless if the wearer was a Regular, Reservist or Air Guardsman.

T.

Todd,
Would you consider writing an article for the Scottish American Military Society (SAMS) quarterly newsletter that gave the history of the "USAF" tartan?
Cheers!
- Mark

[macwilkin]

Todd,
Would you consider writing an article for the Scottish American Military Society (SAMS) quarterly newsletter that gave the history of the "USAF" tartan?
Cheers!
- Mark

Mark,

I aready have written the article:

http://scottishtartans.org/USAF.htm

If STM is all right with it, I would be happy to submit it to SAMS for possible publication, as well as my article on the VA-46 "Clansmen", a USN A-4 suqadron that adopted a tartan as its emblem.

T.

[seanachie]

Seanachie -
Gee, I'd hate to see you give up on wearing an Air Force Tartan. Frankly, both the Strathmore USAF-Not Official and the USAFR PB tartans are beautiful in their own right. As there is no "official" USAF tartan, get the one that pleases you most. Of course, if you want the Strathmore tartan, the trick will be getting it in 16 oz (if that's what you want). On the other hand, if you want the Strathmore tartan in 11 0z, then you're home free. I actually own both tartans: a shirt in the USAF-Not Official and the kilt that has been under discussion here in the USAFR PB. When folks ask me what tartan I'm wearing, I simply say, "USAF". I am proud to have served our nation for 20 years in the USAF, and I am proud to wear any tartan that symbolizes the USAF. So, IMHO, go ahead and get your kilt, and enjoy. Of course, if you do, then you'll have to decide which insignia you wish to use on accessories: the modern logo, or the traditional seal... the choices just go on and on. So choose what you like best and go for it.
Aim high!

Mark:
My remarks were somewhat tongue in cheek. Taking the Leatherneck tartan as an example, it seems a much more straightforward proposition. No special runs for 16 oz tartan either. I would have no real decision on the insignia, I would go with the SAC crest. I really enjoyed SAC and of course it is no more.
Eventually I will add an AF tartan to my collection.