Note 1: NO SALES TO VIETNAMESE OR OTHER FOREIGNERS. TO DATE, I HAVE CANCELLED 3 ORDERS. DESCRIPTION A fairly large and heavy Jostens 10K “solid” yellow gold men’s class ring from the Unites States Air Force Communications Service NCO Academy (not to be confused with the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO). The initials “RHC” (very likely the initials of the original owner) are engraved on the interior of the ring. The insignia for the Air Force Communications Service (AFCS) was a clenched armored fist above a globe / sphere. Stars appear in the insignia and six jagged rays / lightning bolts emanate from the fist. All are enclosed within a shield. This insignia appears on the right side of the ring. On the opposite side of the ring, in a shield below an eagle with outstretched wings, there is a second, smaller insignia having a total of eight pointed zig-zag rays emanating from a winged device. This insignia is present on several U. That makes it 39 to 46 years old. History of the AFCS and its Academy The Air Force Communications Service began life as the Army Airways Communications System Wing on April 13, 1943. It was activated, as part of Flight Control Command, on April 26, 1943. After the Air Force became a separate branch of the U. Military in 1947 and following several intervening name changes, on July 1, 1961 the entity described in the paragraph above was officially re-designated as the Air Force Communications Service (AFCS), the name and initials that appear on this ring. On November 15, 1979, the Air Force Communications Service was officially renamed as the Air Force Communications Command , marking the end of the “Air Force Communications Service” designation. The name has changed several times since then. With regard to the AFCS Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Academy , it was officially established May 1st, 1972 at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, near Kansas City Missouri, under the command of Capt Henry J. The academy was designed for noncommissioned, E-6 through E-9, officers. On September 30, 1977, as part of the relocation of HQ AFCS and the closure of Richards-Gebaur AFB, the 1872d School Squadron (NCO Academy/Leadership School) moved from Richards-Gebaur to Keesler AFB, Biloxi Mississippi. Sources (three; use Google to search for each of the phrases below, clicking on the first search result). 10K Yellow Gold The gold portion of the ring is in very good condition. It does show some light wear and small nicks, commensurate with age, but all the words and letters appearing on the ring are readily legible. As can be seen in the photos, the ring is not misshapen. Synthetic stone The blue synthetic stone is in overall fair condition and substantially intact but does exhibit small chips / flakes, mostly at the edges where the smooth, flat table on the top of the stone meets the faceted sides. The imperfections are most viewable in the second photograph. This condition is not uncommon in class rings having faceted synthetic stones of non-trivial age. In the photographs accompanying my listings I go to some lengths to illustrate imperfections. In the “Condition” sections of my listings I do my best to point out issues regardless of whether or not they are readily visible in the photographs. The item “10K Gold Class Ring U. S. Air Force Communications Service NCO Academy Sz. 11.25″ is in sale since Saturday, May 4, 2019. This item is in the category “Jewelry & Watches\Men’s Jewelry\Rings”. The seller is “pentium90″ and is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
- Style: Class/School
- Theme: USAF
- Metal Purity: 10k
- Sizable: Yes
- Metal: Yellow Gold
- Brand: Jostens
- Ring Size: 11.25