Hey guys, I'm a brand new USPA member (12 jumps) and when I registered on the site, I saw stuff about jump and freefall badges. Apparently, the USPA awards members badges for number of jumps and hours of freefall in 1,000-jump and 12-hour intervals, respectively.
My question: why? Are there gala events where USPA members wear their badges on some sort of uniform? Are there award ceremonies at drop zones where jumpers are recognized at these milestones? Do people just frame them and hang them above the mantle as conversation pieces? Why do these badges exist?