Court Mounted Medals

[Matt_Fisher]

I'm curious as to the history behind court mounting medals.  I believe that CF dress regulations state that all medals worn on the uniform must be court mounted.  When did court mounting become mandatory?

However, how do you court mount when the service member has that many medals that they must either overlap them or have multiple rows?

 

[Michael Dorosh]

I'm curious as to the history behind court mounting medals.  I believe that CF dress regulations state that all medals worn on the uniform must be court mounted.  When did court mounting become mandatory?

However, how do you court mount when the service member has that many medals that they must either overlap them or have multiple rows?

You overlap the court mounts.

Swing mounts are still on the books too, I believe the member has the option of either/or.  Our last combat veteran - an RSM who retired in the 1980s and had served in the Korean War - had swing mounted medals that clinked very nicely when he walked.

 

[pbi]

Its very rare now to see swing mounting, unless it is somebody with one gong who doesn't know where to go for court mounting. Most bases and alot of private individuals offer court mounting. At one time overlapping wasn't too much of a concern for us (most people only ever went to Cyprus...) but with today's op tempo its not uncommon to see even Reserve folks with a pretty respectable rack. Cheers.

 

[Matt_Fisher]

From the CF Directorate of History and Heritage's FAQ page:
http://www.dnd.ca/hr/dhh/engraph/faqs_e.asp?category=honawa&FaqID=27#answer
"Question
Do I have to have my medals court-mounted?

Answer
Serving Members of the CF must have medals court-mounted"

which is what spurred me to inquire about the history of court mounting medals.

 

[aesop081]

Since the CF now pay for court-mounting, it would make sense that it would be manditory.

 

[Lance Wiebe]

When I joined, in 74, it was mandatory to have your medals court mounted if you were in possession of more than one medal.

One medal alone did not have to be court mounted, although many of us did.  It just looked nicer.

It was after I got out that DND started re-imbursing the costs of having your medals court mounted.

 

[Veterans son]

I believe that medals do look better court mounted, in my opinion!

 

[Navalsnpr]

Medals must be Court Mounted within the CF. It was only a couple of years ago that the CF began to pay for the mounting though. Prior to that time, it was the responsibility of the member to pay for the mounting which cost around $20.00 per medal.

Now the CF will pay for new medals issued to be court mounted, but they will not pay for medals to me mounted if they were received by the member before the CF started to pay for it.

The medal(s) do look better mounted and the finish on the medals are protected as they are not clanging together after they are mounted. Unfortunately, you can't see the entire back portion of the medal after they are mounted.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Now the CF will pay for new medals issued to be court mounted, but they will not pay for medals to me mounted if they were received by the member before the CF started to pay for it.

Every time I get a new one I get the whole set redone and the military pays the shot, and I have some that predate the reimbursement. I've never seen a single medal get court mounted by itself and added to the existing rack, they all had to be done at once. Unless there's a system I'm not aware of.

 

[CAMPVET]

Yupper...there's alot of smart people out there making a killing court mounting medals.  While the CF pays to court mount your full medals, the minis you need for your Mess Kit will cost you a pretty penny.  My mini MMM cost about 60 bucks alone just to buy it, and then I had dismount all of my others just to add it on.

It would make better sense to me for all medals to be issued individually court mounted, and devise a slider bar system to put them on, sort of like the ribbons.  Up to four medals on a straight bar, and then anything over five will start to overlap.  You'd save the CF a fortune in re-mounting costs, but you'd upset those people who are making a killing mounting medals.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Design it, submit it, get it approved and make that fortune.

 

[Acorn]

Prior to the CANFORGEN which both required the court mounting and announced that the CF would pay for it there was NO regulation requiring court mounting of medals. That being said, individual Regiments/Corps may have required it, just as we were required to buy Regimental belt buckles etc "back in the day."

There may have been a directive requiring mounting - either swing mounted or court mounted, I don't recall, but court mounting wasn't the CF mandated and only standard 'till very recently. Swing mount is no longer permitted for serving members.

Acorn

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Prior to the CANFORGEN which both required the court mounting and announced that the CF would pay for it there was NO regulation requiring court mounting of medals. That being said, individual Regiments/Corps may have required it, just as we were required to buy Regimental belt buckles etc "back in the day."

There may have been a directive requiring mounting - either swing mounted or court mounted, I don't recall, but court mounting wasn't the CF mandated and only standard 'till very recently. Swing mount is no longer permitted for serving members.

Acorn

Thanks for the clarification - glad I wasn't remembering incorrectly - I obviously missed the CANFORGEN about mandatory court mounting, but of course I only have the one gong.