It's true - why I wore a silver braided rope off a shoulder when I had an honor guard shoulder tab and insignia on my chest is beyond me. Why USAF has a participation badge for graduating basic is beyond me - if you're wearing the uniform, that's pretty obvious that you've gone through basic, big whoop. Why a national defense ribbon for serving is beyond me - that's the purpose of the armed forces, and the uniform itself is enough for those. Unit excellence badge - that's literally doing our job how it should be done - big deal.
I'm very content with getting rid of every day particpation prizes in the form of ribbons, they don't mean jack shit and reduce the meaning of the ribbons from those who have actually earned them.