Surface Warfare

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

I've often wondered why Magnum wears a surface warfare belt buckle. Being a Navy Seal there is little to no chance he would be surface warfare qualified. If he had been surface warfare qualified he would have had the surface warfare emblem on his uniform below the ribbons. It seems he should have worn a belt buckle with the Navy Seals Trident.

I may be missing something but I do not remember the Combat Action ribbon on his uniform. He would have had this serving in Vietnam.

Also, in Resolutions 8.1, when he is in the bar talking to one of his Navy buddies the guy mentions had he not left the Navy he would have had his own ship by now. Once again this is another "flub" because as a Navy Seal he wouldn't be on track to command a surface vessel. He could, however, have commanded his own Seal Team.

[IslandHopper]

I've often wondered why Magnum wears a surface warfare belt buckle. Being a Navy Seal there is little to no chance he would be surface warfare qualified. If he had been surface warfare qualified he would have had the surface warfare emblem on his uniform below the ribbons. It seems he should have worn a belt buckle with the Navy Seals Trident.

I agree IKWYT. In the first season Magnum's uniform only includes the surface warfare badge, not the Navy Seal SEAL Trident. We don't see the SEAL Trident on his uniform until "Memories Are Forever." When Mac comes to the guest house to tell Magnum he has been reactivated to testify about his old unit, he brings Magnum's uniform which includes the SEAL Trident and ribbons. The surface warfare badge is now absent.

[J.J. Walters]

The fact that he wears a Surface Warfare insignia belt buckle, and he at one point had a Surface Warfare pin on his uniform, says a lot though, doesn't it? He wears the belt buckle all the time. I could be wrong, but I believe it is technically possible for him to have achieved both - Graduate from Academy, go into a Surface Warfare tract, become a line officer on a ship, switch gears and volunteer for SEAL training, and 30 months later you head to 'Nam as a SEAL. Of course this doesn't explain why he didn't wear both pins at the same time on his uniform.

This would, however, help explain the gaps in Magnum's history between 1967-1975 (and his 3 tours of duty). Magnum says he first went to 'Nam in '67, just after graduation. Maybe his first tour was actually aboard a ship as a line officer and not as a SEAL? Maybe only tours 2 and 3 were as a SEAL? It seems like this would be the only way the pieces would fit.

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

I guess he could've gone surface first, and that would be a logical explanation. Maybe they should've thrown the SWO pin on the uniform for realistic effect, but I won't nitpick too much.

[ten_of_spades]

They had a surface warfare buckle for sale on eBay last week...damn thing sold for over $300! I wonder what it would go for if it had the 'Magnum' inscription

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

That is insane! You can get the standard Navy issue SWO buckle for around fifteen bucks!

[Coops]

The Surface Warfare Pin was first proposed in 1972 and, by 1980, several classes of the Surface Warfare Pin had been approved for issuance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_Warfare_Officer