Jeremy Kudlick wrote:TIOH may legally be the heraldic authority for the US Army, US Government, and the US Navy (when they feel like it), but we all know they are hardly the best heralds in the world, or even in the USA
TIOH is not the heraldic authority for the U.S. Navy in any sense of the word. They are a heraldic advisor to the Navy when the Navy asks them to be, and they are the executors of the Navy's heraldic choices in the sense that they prepare the technical drawings and manufacturing specifications for the physical production of heraldic articles for all the U.S. military services. But TIOH is a heraldic authority only for the Army itself.
U.S. Navy ship arms and badges are ultimately assumed by the first commanding officer on behalf of the original crew of the ship. For surface warships and amphibious ships, there is a general practice of seeking the advice of TIOH (this is not the case for submarines, aircraft carriers, or auxiliaries), but there is not requirement that this advice be accepted.
I fully agree that the Murphy arms are a mess, but it's not TIOH's fault.
As for the Stolen Valor Act, what was ruled unconstitutional was the provision against a person claiming to hold a particular decoration, not the provisions against wearing decorations to which one is not entitled.