 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
A lanyard is a length of cord, webbing, or strap that may serve any of various functions, which include a means of attachment, restraint, retrieval, activation, and deactivation. A lanyard is also a piece of rigging used to secure or lower objects aboard a ship. [1]
The earliest references to lanyards date from 15th century France: "lanière" was a thong or strap-on apparatus. [2]
Bosun's pipe, marlinspike, and small knives typically had a lanyard consisting of a string loop tied together with a diamond knot. It helped secure the item and gave an extended grip over a small handle.
In the French military, lanyards were used to connect a pistol, sword, or whistle (for signaling) to a uniform semi-permanently. Lanyards were used by mounted cavalry on land and naval officers at sea. A pistol lanyard can be easily removed and reattached by the user, but will stay connected to the pistol whether it is drawn for use or it is placed into a holster for carrying.
In the military, lanyards of various colour combinations and braid patterns are worn on the shoulders of uniforms to denote the wearer's qualification or regimental affiliation. [3] In horse regiments, lanyards were worn on the left, enabling a rider to pull a whistle from the left tunic pocket and maintain communication with his troop. Members of the British Royal Artillery wear a lanyard which originally held a key for adjusting the fuzes of explosive shells. [4]
The style, design or material used will vary depending on end-purpose of the lanyard. Lanyard materials include polyester, nylon, satin, silk, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), braided leather or braided paracord.
Lanyards are widely used with small electronic devices such as cameras, MP3 players and USB flash drives to prevent loss or dropping. Electronics designed to take a lanyard usually have a small through-hole built into a corner or edge of the case or anchored to the frame of the device; the corresponding lanyard generally has a loop of thread on the end that is attached to that hole with a simple knot, usually a cow hitch. Some earphones incorporate the audio signal into the lanyard, meaning it doubles up as headphone cords as well. The Wii Remote wrist strap is a form of lanyard, keeping the device attached to a player's arm during the often vigorous movements involved in its use.
Lanyards are commonly used to display badges, tickets or ID cards for identification where security is required, such as businesses, corporations, hospitals, prisons, conventions, trade fairs, and backstage passes used in the entertainment industry. Such lanyards are often made of braided or woven fabric or split with a clip attached to the end. A plastic pouch or badge holder with at least one clear side is attached to the lanyard with the person's name badge or ID card. Occasionally, small items like business cards, pens or tools can be placed behind the badge for easy access. Lanyards can also be used as keychains, particularly in situations where keys can easily be lost, such as gyms, public pools and communal showers.
In these cases, lanyards may be customised with the related name and/or logo of the event, business, or organisation. Lanyards can feature a variety of customisation techniques including screen-printing, Jacquard loom weaving, heat transfer, and offset printing.
Lanyards are also often attached to dead man's switches or "kill switches" on dangerous machinery, such as large industrial cutting or slicing machines; on vehicles, such as jet-skis or trains; and on exercise treadmills, so that if the operator suddenly becomes incapacitated, their fall will pull on the lanyard attached to their wrist, which will then pull the switch to immediately stop the machine or vehicle.
Some law enforcement officers and members of the military utilise specialised lanyards to keep sidearms from falling to the ground during missions.
Many ID card lanyards have a built-in feature known as a "breakaway" closure. Breakaway lanyards release when pulled or when pressure is applied. This prevents choking or hanging. Lanyards with a breakaway feature are most often used in hospitals and healthcare clinics, schools, nursing homes, child care facilities, or factories that require employees to operate machinery.
Lineman lanyards are used by lineworker utility and other workers to prevent falls, although similar straps are also used recreationally by mountain climbers. This type of lanyard will have a section of heavy-duty nylon strapping attached to a metal ring or carabiner which tightens around an attachment point. The strap may be a fixed length or adjustable, and will attach to the wearer to support them against a fixed object or pole.
Certain lanyards are still worn on uniforms as decorations similar to an aiguillette or fourragère. Among these are the Orange Lanyard in the Military William Order of the Netherlands and the German Armed Forces Badge of Marksmanship.
A white lanyard has formed part of the uniform of Britain's Royal Artillery (RA) since the end of the 19th century. Originally a simple cord carrying a fuse key, the braided and whitened lanyard became the recognised distinction of a Gunner. [6] The distinction was extended to women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service attached to RA units during World War II. [7] Certain battalions descended from the Durham Light Infantry wore green lanyards to denote their past links with the regiment, whose uniform had a dark green Facing colour from 1903 onwards. [8] [9]
Royal Naval Rating wear a white lanyard when dressed in No 1 uniform, the origin of the lanyard was to carry a pouch of gunpowder for the cannon.
Epaulette is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes are referred to as shoulder scales.
This is a table of the ranks and insignia of the Canadian Armed Forces. As the Canadian Armed Forces is officially bilingual, the French language ranks are presented following the English.
A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Boy Scouts, civil defence organisations, ambulance services, customs services, fire services etc.
Mess dress uniform is the most formal type of evening-wear uniform used by military personnel, police personnel, and other uniformed services members. It frequently consists of a mess jacket, trousers, white dress shirt and a black bow tie, along with orders and medals insignia. Design may depend on regiment or service branch, e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc. In modern Western dress codes, mess dress uniform is the supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian black tie for evening wear. Mess dress uniforms are typically less formal than full dress uniform, but more formal than service dress uniform.
The Red Serge is the ceremonial dress uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It consists of a military pattern scarlet tunic tailored from serge fabric, with the high collar, blue breeches with yellow stripe identifying a cavalry history, a Stetson hat, a Sam Browne belt, and high brown leather boots with a white rope.
The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's first guns were landed from HMS Sirius and a small earthen redoubt built, near the present-day Macquarie Place, to command the approaches to Sydney Cove. The deployment of these guns represents the origins of artillery in Australia. These and subsequent defences, as well as field guns, were operated by marines and the soldiers of infantry regiments stationed in Australia. Unlike their British and Canadian equivalents, there are no regiments of horse artillery in the order of battle of the Royal Australian Artillery. The First World War saw the raising of 60 field, 20 howitzer, and two siege batteries along with the heavy and medium trench mortar batteries. Until 19 September 1962 the Australian Artillery was referred to as the 'Royal Australian Artillery', however, on this date Queen Elizabeth II granted the RAA the title of 'The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery'. The Regiment today consists of Regular and Reserve units.
The fourragère is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, in the form of a braided cord. The award was first adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Luxembourg. Fourragères have been awarded to units of both national and foreign militaries, except for that of Luxembourg, which has not been awarded to any foreign units.
A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It derives its name from its short visor, or peak, which was historically made of polished leather but increasingly is made of a cheaper synthetic substitute.
An aiguillette, also spelled aguillette, aiglet or aglet, is a cord with metal tips or lace tags, or the decorative tip itself.
Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, including private ones such as marriages and funerals. Full dress uniforms typically include full-size orders and medals insignia. Styles tend to originate from 19th century uniforms, although the 20th century saw the adoption of mess dress-styled full-dress uniforms. Designs may depend on regiment or service branch. In Western dress codes, full dress uniform is a permitted supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian white tie for evening wear or morning dress for day wear – sometimes collectively called full dress – although military uniforms are the same for day and evening wear. As such, full dress uniform is the most formal uniform, followed by the mess dress uniform.
The uniforms of the Canadian Armed Forces are the official dress worn by members of Canada's military while on duty.
The uniforms of the British Army currently exist in twelve categories ranging from ceremonial uniforms to combat dress. Uniforms in the British Army are specific to the regiment to which a soldier belongs. Full dress presents the most differentiation between units, and there are fewer regimental distinctions between ceremonial dress, service dress, barrack dress and combat dress, though a level of regimental distinction runs throughout.
The modern Irish Army uniform is based on the layer principle, and is designed to provide soldiers in the Irish Army with the right degree of protection for any operational environment.
The M-1956 load-carrying equipment (LCE), also known as the individual load-carrying equipment (ILCE), was developed by the U.S. Army and first issued in the early 1960s. The M-1956 LCE was designed to replace the M-1945 Combat Pack, the M-1923 cartridge belt, the M-1936 pistol belt and the M-1937 BAR magazine belt. The M-1956 LCE was designed to be quickly configured, using no tools, to accommodate various mission and ammunition loads. The M-1956 LCE remained in service through the 1980s and set the standard for future United States military load-carrying equipment.
A name tag or name badge is a badge or sticker worn on the outermost clothing as a means of displaying the wearer's name for others to view.
The military uniforms of the Union Army in the American Civil War were widely varied and, due to limitations on supply of wool and other materials, based on availability and cost of materials. The ideal uniform was prescribed as a dark blue coat with lighter pants, with a black hat. Officer's ranks were denoted with increasing levels of golden decoration. Specific jobs, companies, and units had markedly different styles at times, often following European customs such as that of the Zouaves. Officers uniforms tended to be highly customized and would stray from Army standard. Ironically, several main pieces of gear had been created by order of the U.S. War Secretary Jefferson Davis before the war; he later became Confederate President.
The Heer as the German army and part of the Wehrmacht inherited its uniforms and rank structure from the Reichsheer of the Weimar Republic (1921–1935). There were few alterations and adjustments made as the army grew from a limited peacetime defense force of 100,000 men to a war-fighting force of several million men.
In military uniforms, a shoulder belt is a wide belt worn usually over the shoulder and across the body. With nearly all line infantry, skirmishers, light infantry, grenadiers and guard regiments, two shoulder belts were worn - one carrying the cartridge box, and another for the bayonet, a sword, or other military equipment.
A watch strap, watch band,watch bracelet or watch belt is a bracelet that straps a wrist watch onto the wrist. Watch straps may be made of leather, plastic, polyurethane, silicone, rubber, FKM, cloth, or metal, sometimes in combination. It can be regarded as a fashion item, serving both a utilitarian and decorative function. Some metal watch straps may be plated with, or even in rare cases made of, precious metals.
British Army mess dress is the formal military evening dress worn by British Army officers and senior non-commissioned officers in their respective messes or at other formal occasions.
