Awards – Battle Notches

The Battle Notch is one of KAG’s awards programs. Battle Notches are small colored awards (shape and material varies from Fleet to Fleet) worn either on a Warrior’s uniform, or attached to the Banner. This award program is optional, and provides the Warrior a way to boast of his victories.

TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT QUALIFY A WARRIOR FOR A BATTLE NOTCH:

  • Activities which benefit the community, such as food drives, charity fund raisers, public clean-ups, telethons, etc.  To be eligible, the Warrior should be in uniform and recognizable as a Klingon and a member of KAG.  Wearing a ship’s T-shirt or patch, or carrying a KAG banner are also ways to be recognizable. The Warrior must be present at the event to be eligible for a Notch.  Donating goods or money, or planning the event without attending it, is not sufficient qualification for a Battle Notch
  • Activities which educate or make the public aware of Klingons or KAG, such as parades, ship fund-raisers and  recruiting drives, convention panels, an appearance at a theatre or library, serving as Honor Guard or security at a convention, science fair support, etc.
  • Media coverage: having Klingon/KAG-related articles published in non-KAG publications, participating in a radio or television interview; or a showing of Klingon art or culture.   The article or media mention must be more than a single phrase or the mere mention of “a Klingon” or the ship’s name.  What’s expected is a multi-paragraph or full-page article, or a highlight on the evening news.
  • Blood Feuds.  This special community event is a trademark of KAG. Blood Feuds are challenges between KAG and other clubs to see which side can generate more blood donations in a specific period of time.   All Warriors participating in a Blood Feud may receive a Battle Notch, regardless of the outcome of the feud.  However, if your side wins, the individual Warriors who spilled their blood are entitled to the more glorious Kill Stripe.   Warriors who registered to give blood but were disqualified due to temporary physical conditions are entitled to the Kill Stripe.  Warriors with a permanent medical condition that disqualifies them from donating blood are eligible for the Battle Notch, but not the Kill Stripe.

To satisfy the requirement for a Battle Notch, a Warrior must participate in some way in the planning, execution and/or aftermath of an event.

BATTLE NOTCH REQUEST PROCEDURE

Once the battle is won and you have all the information then it’s time to complete the request for decoration.

  • The request is sent to the Fleet Commander or the person(s) he designates.
  • Battle Notch requests can only be sent by the Ship’s Commanding Officer or Executive Officer.
  • If more than one ship was involved in an activity, it is the responsibility of each ship to send in their own requests.  It is the responsibility of each ship, not Fleet or Quadrant Command, to keep track of the number and types of Battle Notches each of their Warriors have accumulated.
  • Only one Battle Notch shall be awarded per activity, ie:  the Warrior will not receive a Battle Notch for attending an event plus get another one because the event was mentioned in the paper.
  • Only one Battle Notch shall be awarded per event.  Whether an event is scheduled for one day, or 300 days, it is still considered one event.

Examples: conducting a Klingon panel every day at a 3-day convention, participating in both a fund raiser and as an honor guard at the same convention, supporting a month-long science exhibit.

DATA REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL OF BATTLE NOTCHES

  • Name of ship
  • Name (Klingon and Terran) and contact info of ship’s commanding officer
  • Date of event (day, month and year)
  • A brief description of the event.  Include the name of the charity, convention, etc,  as well as the results of the event.
  • Related information such as a charity receipt, a letter of appreciation from the event organizers, a convention program, a copy of the newspaper article, etc.
  • Honored Warrior.  Include their human name plus their Klingon name, rank and honorific.

Once everything is done make copies, put together the package,  then send all the information in.  If you want notification, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope.  Otherwise notification and reply information will be sent out at another time.
NOTE: The request can be sent via email.

APPROVAL PROCESS

The approval process will be the same for every Battle Notch request.

  • Once the event is complete, the Ship’s CO or XO  completes the requests.
  • The request information is sent to the Fleet Commander or his designee for approval.
  • They review each request

If approved, the request is marked as approved, and is dated.
If not approved then request is marked ‘No’ or “Need more info’

  • Original request with related information is filed with Fleet Command.
  • A copy of the request is returned to the Ship Commander.  If the request was sent by email, the return notification will be sent by email.
  • Approved requests are now official Battle Notches
  • Requests marked ‘Need more info” can be resubmitted with additional information.
  • Requests marked ‘No’ may be resubmitted for appeal.
  • Ship Commander prepares award announcement or ceremony with crew.

BATTLE NOTCH LEVELS

The display system for Battle Notches is based upon a collective series of awards.  There are four Notches per title/level.  As a Warrior progresses to the next level they replace their old Notches with new ones. Once a Warrior reaches the Master level they advance at a slower
rate.

NUMBER
COLOR
KLINGON TITLE
BATTLE LEVEL
01-04
Silver
Warrior
05-08
Blue
Skilled Warrior
09-12
Green
Leader
13-16
Red
Conqueror
17-20
Gold
Master
21-29
one of each
Skilled Master
30-39
Black Diamond in Silver
Master, 3rd Level
40-49
Black Diamond in Blue
Master, 4th Level
50-59
Black Diamond in Green
Master, 5th Level
60-69
Black Diamond in Red
Master, 6th Level
70-79
Black Diamond in Gold
Master, 7th Level
80-89
Black Bar in Silver
Master, 8th Level
90-99
Black Bar in Gold
Master, 9th Level
100+
Star on Silver
Hov ghop HubwI’
Stellar Hand Defender
200+
Star on Blue
Hov ghop SuvwI’
Stellar Hand Warrior
300+
Star on Green
Hov ghop ra’wI’
Stellar Hand Commander
400+
Star on Red
Hov ghop DevwI’
Stellar Hand Leader
500+
Star on Gold
Hov ghop pIn’a’
Stellar Hand Master

AWARD CONFIRMATION

The Warrior aquires and wears the Battle Notches only after they have been approved.  Approved Battle Notches are displayed according to the warriors uniform or outfit, or on the banner.

FINAL WORDS

It is good form to send in your requests for decoration promptly following events rather than waiting and sending them once or twice a year. This spreads the amount of paperwork out over a greater period of time for everyone involved.