US Army Creates New Medal

[Bill Smy]

From the New York Times:-

Army Creates Medal for Troops Who Come Under Fire
By THOM SHANKER

Published: February 13, 2005


WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 - Army troops assigned to combat units that come under fire will be eligible for a new badge that recognizes their efforts separately from ribbons for all who serve in Iraq or Afghanistan or who support the Pentagon's antiterrorism missions based in the United States, a senior Army official said Saturday.

Advertisement


The new award, called the Close Combat Badge, was unveiled to a private conference of four-star generals convened in Washington this weekend by Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, the senior official said.

Army and Pentagon officials discussed the badge on the condition that they not be identified by name.

The badge was requested by field commanders and reflects their desire to distinguish the efforts of soldiers whose units are "organized to routinely conduct close combat operations and engage in direct combat," the Army official said.

Previous decisions that created ribbons to honor military efforts in the Bush administration's global campaign against terrorism have been harshly criticized by members of Congress, veterans and even some current service members.

The Army officer said on Saturday that the new badge was, at least in part, meant to answer some of those concerns.

The first military honor created after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was called the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and frustrated some in uniform who wanted ribbons that were awarded for specific deployments in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Some leading members of Congress, in fact, accused the Bush administration of creating one generic medal to ensure that the effort to topple Saddam Hussein of Iraq would be viewed as part of the larger antiterror campaign. That effort began with the war to unseat the Taliban government in Afghanistan and rout leaders of Al Qaeda there.

Last May, legislation creating separate campaign honors for Iraq and for Afghanistan was approved by Congress, but even the new ribbons did not differentiate between front-line combat troops and those assigned to support missions.

"The previous ribbons are awarded for service - for just being physically in the theater of operations," said a Pentagon official. "There is a ribbon now for being in Afghanistan or Iraq, and also a ribbon awarded for those based in the United States who support the mission."

In contrast, the Close Combat Badge "will be presented only to eligible soldiers who are personally present and under fire while engaged in active ground combat," the Army official said.

It will not be given to members of support units attacked while performing their missions, even though supply convoys have been a regular target of the insurgency in Iraq.

In particular, the badge will be for soldiers who serve with armored, cavalry, combat engineering and field artillery units at the brigade size or smaller that come under attack and "close with and destroy the enemy with direct fires," the Army official said.

While the Army has the authority to approve and issue the badge on its own, senior Army officers were notifying members of Congress on Saturday of the decision to issue the award to combat troops.

 

[FredDaHead]

Wow, soon soldiers will get a medal for lacing their boots, another for wearing a belt, one for buttoning their shirt the right way...

No wonder these guys have chestfuls of medals, they get them for every single act they do!

 

[big bad john]

Isn't that what the CIB is supposed to be for?

 

[Infanteer]

Well, I think this is a good thing for the US Army.  The CIB is only awarded to Infantrymen.  This recognizes that a good variety of soldiers from across the trade spectrum will commonly be faced with a close combat situation - especially in a non-contiguous war like we're seeing now.

You can laugh all you want at the US Army and it's medals, Frederick G, but it is the way they do things and some trucker or cook gets recognized for fighting through an insurgent ambush, then he's definitely earned the recognition and probably doesn't care what you think.

 

[big bad john]

When you see a US service person in Dress Uniform, just by looking at them you get a synopsis of their career to date.

 

[tomahawk6]

The CCB is not a new idea. The German's in WW2 had a number of combat badges. The war in Iraq is quite different than our other wars because we are using engineer's, artillerymen and tankers as infantry. They are performing infantry roles but are not eligible for the CIB. The Marines issue a Combat Ribbon which is what I would have rather seen the Army do.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

The Nahkampf Spange (close combat clasp) was given by the German Wehrmacht to soldiers in three levels, Bonze, Silber und Gold. 

First I heard about a close combat clasp medal....sounds interesting, good way to distingish who actually went out of the wire and who didn't. 

there were several other awards too - the General Assault Badge, Panzer Assault Badge in bronze or silver, the numbered panzer assault badges, and the Infantry Assault Badge in bronze or silver, in addition to the Nähkampfspange.  The latter, incidentally, could be awarded simply for time in theatre, measured in months, in addition to the prerequisite number of days "in close combat".

Incidentally also, very odd that Bill would use the word "medal" in the title of this thread.  The journalist in question clearly doesn't know the difference between a medal and a badge.

I also think it is a good thing - there were unofficial medic, tanker and engineer combat badges in the US Army in the 1950s, but they were never adopted.

 

[big bad john]

I thought the Medic Badge was official?

 

[Michael Dorosh]

I've split off the thread hijacking by 54/102 CEF into a new thread called DND Buzzsaw, if anyone cares.

The Medic badge may have been official come to think about it - I think Mauldin talks about it in one of his books.

 

[D-n-A]

Another article on the Close Combat Badge

The new badge is only for Soldiers in Combat Arms(not Infantry or Special Forces though, since they get CIBs), so if a LOG or EME type soldier is involved in firefights, they don't get this badge.


Army Creates Badge for Non-Infantry Soldiers Who Participate in Combat

February 15, 2005


By Lisa Burgess,
Stars and Stripes, Mideast Edition


ARLINGTON, Va. â ” After 60 years of debate, Army officials have finally decided to create a badge for non-infantry soldiers that recognizes their direct participation in ground combat.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker presented the new Close Combat Badge, or CCB, to a cadre of senior officers Friday, during a regularly scheduled meeting of four-star Army generals, according to Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army personnel spokesman.

The new badge will be the equivalent of the Army's Combat Infantry Badge, which was created in 1943.

The CIB, in the form of a rifle surrounded by a wreath, is reserved for infantry and Special Forces soldiers only.

The Close Combat Badge will be awarded to soldiers with military occupational specialties in armor, the cavalry, combat engineering, and field artillery. Officers must have a branch or specialty recognized in Army regulations as â Å“having a high probability to routinely engage in direct combat.â ?

The CCB will be presented only to soldiers who are engaged in active ground combat, moving to contact and destroy the enemy with direct fire.

All soldiers are allowed to wear their unit patch on their right shoulder as a â Å“combat patchâ ? after spending 30 days in an authorized combat theater.

While prestigious, however, the wear of this unit patch as a combat designator does not necessarily indicate that the wearer was involved in direct ground fighting.

That is the purpose of the Combat Infantry Badge and a Combat Medical Badge, which is reserved for Army, Navy and Air Force medics. These were the only two Army symbols that indicate that the wearer has come under direct enemy fire.

Combat badges are different from military medals. Medals and the ribbons that represent them are worn only on a soldier's mess dress and Class â Å“Aâ ? and â Å“Bâ ? uniforms, never on battle dress uniforms.

But the badges, which are rectangular pieces of metal when worn on the dress or Class â Å“Aâ ? and â Å“Bâ ? uniforms, are also worn as a fabric patch above the right-hand breast pocket of the BDUs â ” acting as a â Å“visual recognition of close combatâ ? whenever a soldier is in uniform, Hilferty said.

The creation of the new Close Combat Badge closes a debate that soldiers have been â Å“talking about since the 1940s,â ? when the CIB was established, Hilferty said in a Monday telephone interview.



Soldiers and their leaders have argued over the years that the infantry and Special Forces are not the only two branches of the Army that get into firefights.

The Army has periodically reviewed the criteria for the Combat Infantry Badge, but it wasn't until the conventional wars in Iraq and Afghanistan turned into insurgencies that the non-infantry soldiers' point of view gained increased momentum.

So, at the request of commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan, last year Schoomaker approved the creation of a task force to look at creating a new combat badge to widen the pool of soldiers recognized for their actions under fire, Hilferty said.





More details about the new Close Combat Badge, including its design and the procedure for soldiers to request the award, will be unveiled later this week, Hilferty said.

Army officials said they are hoping that Lt. Gen. Franklin L. â Å“Busterâ ? Hagenbeck, the Army's chief of personnel, will personally announce those details.

A March administrative message will follow that formally outlines the exact rules and regulations, officials said.

The new badge should be available this fall through unit supply and also for purchase in military clothing sales stores.


Proposed criteria for the Army's new Close Combat Badge

Who is eligible?: Colonel or below for officers; all enlisted soldiers are eligible.

Enlisted soldiers must have a Military Occupational Specialty in Armor or Cavalry (CMF 19), Artillery (CMF 13), or Combat Engineer (CMF 12).

Officers must have a branch or specialty officially recognized in Army Regulation 611-1 as â Å“having a high probability to routinely engage in direct combat."

Soldiers must be:

Assigned or attached to an Army brigade or smaller unit that is purposely organized to routinely conduct close combat operations and engage in direct combat, in accordance with existing Army rules and policy.
Under fire while engaged in active ground combat, to moving into contact and destroy the enemy with direct fire. Battle or campaign participation is not sufficient to qualify for this award; the unit must have been in active ground combat.
Additional eligible personnel:

If all other criteria are met, eligibility may include other services and foreign soldiers assigned to Army units of brigade and below.
Effective date: Sept. 11, 2001 (retroactive)

Note: As of Feb. 14, this criterion was â Å“pre-decisional,â ? meaning that it has not yet been fully approved by Army or Defense Department officials.

Source: U.S. Army

 

[Marine]

I guess the combat action ribbon isn't enough....