Troop ribbons being sold for profit [View All]

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Retired Col. Thomas P. Thomas, executive director of the nonprofit Connecticut National Guard Foundation Inc., didn't realize the battle he was facing in the war of the ribbons until last month, when he noticed something strange at the Berlin Fair. People who gladly would have bought his ribbons in the past were turning up their noses at the product he displayed in a booth there.

Over the past year the foundation has given away roughly 8,000 ribbons throughout the state in exchange for a $5 donation, Thomas says. All proceeds go to support scholarship programs or to provide financial assistance for Connecticut families who have spouses serving in the Middle East.

According to state officials, 500 deployed Connecticut troops have left behind 650 dependent family members, including 248 minor-age children. Many of these families struggle financially, as most take a drastic pay cut from their civilian jobs when activated for missions lasting 12 months or longer, Thomas says.

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Thomas says his foundation's ribbons are supplied by a Pennsylvania company and are made in the United States. Many others are made in Asia and typically come wrapped in a clear cellophane package, he says, adding that those ribbons are thinner and tend to fall off in the least bit of inclement weather.

The cheaper varieties tend to be sold by profiteers, he says.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct-fea--troopribbons1112nov12,0,7797887.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire