Coins of the Coalition - HM1 Burley [Image 11 of 11]

IRAQ

05.19.2020

Photo by Spc. Angel Ruszkiewicz 

Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve   

Challenge coins are traditionally given to individuals to signify membership in an organization or commemorate an outstanding achievement. While it is not uncommon for service members to receive more than one coin in their career, many only carry the one that is most important to them.

“I didn’t have Photoshop and I looked up Photoshop and I didn’t want to pay for it. So, actually to design this coin I used Paint and I used PowerPoint. At first, I just drew it on a piece of paper and then submitted it to the chain of command, to say, ‘Hey, this is kind of what we want.’ We used the outline of Iraq since we were going to be out here. On the front of the coin we put the OIR symbol and the words ‘Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve’ feeding around the edge of the coin. Then we used the Iraq flag in the background for the front of the coin and then put all the flags of the nations that help out with the OIR campaign that was on the official OIR website. I took each individual one and had to crop it down, make it small, get the best picture quality for each one, and then fit seventy something of these flags in there to include everyone. At one point we were going to get rid of them just because there were so many. The front of the coin was supposed to be three dimensional – like the back is – and it was supposed to pop out, but because of all of these flags I couldn’t. So I had the option of having this pop out or leave in the flags. When I was manipulating the picture it just looked too blank because there was such a big open spot. I decided to leave the flags in and not make it three dimensional and just make it a nice clean coat over it. On to the backside, we put the United States flag in the background because that’s what country we’re with. And then we put our unit name: Expeditionary Medical Unit rotation eight as well as all of the jobs associated with our unit. The top one, the gold leaf with the acorn in the middle, that symbolizes the doctor in the Navy. The nurse corps is the plain gold leaf with nothing attached to it and the medical service corps is the gold leaf with a branch at the bottom of it. At the bottom we put the enlisted jobs. From left to right, starting at the top, we have our information system tech, hospital corpsman, logistics specialist, personnel specialist, and the master at arms. We wear our – we call it rate in the Navy – on our dress uniform, so that’s why we included those. In between the flag and all that I’ve gone over, we have the ACE which is the anchor, the Constitution; one of the first ships and is still the oldest commissioned ship, and then the eagle in the background. That’s kind of how I came up with it. I played around with a few other textures and manipulated the icons, but this came out as the best way to see it fit.”

“I got into designing coins because one of my mentors; he does it. So, he started creating coins and I asked him about it, and he got me into it. And I had fun. I actually enjoyed creating the coin. There are some logistical complications that frustrate me, but besides that I actually enjoy trying to create a coin and I plan on doing it for the rest of my career, to keep creating the coins for commands or any other events I go to.”

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Burley, hospital corpsman

• Date Taken: 05.19.2020
• Date Posted: 05.22.2020 01:25
• Photo ID: 6218750
• VIRIN: 200519-A-JD648-1021
• Resolution: 6346x4232
• Size: 16.06 MB
• Location: IQ