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The new combat badge

May-11-2005 » Filed Under: General Military

Now every MOS, every branch is eligible

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By Matthew Cox, Army Times

Coming under hostile fire now has a new meaning — any soldier who experiences it will be eligible to wear the new Combat Action Badge.

In a reversal of plans, the Army announced that it has scrapped the idea of a Close Combat Badge for soldiers in infantry-style jobs, and has approved the CAB for any soldier, in any military occupation specialty, who has had to operate under hostile fire. [...]

Commanders at the rank of major general will have authority for awarding the CAB.

The CAB will be retroactive to the beginning of the global war on terrorism. The effective date of the award is Sept. 18, 2001, the date President Bush signed Senate Joint Resolution 23, “authorization for use of military force” to prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States, Robbins said.

Ensuring that soldiers who are eligible for the award from past actions receive it will be no easy task.

“This is going to take some effort … to recognize soldiers who have moved units, who have left the Army or who have passed away,” she said. “This is going to take some work.”

Eligibility requirements

Eligibility requirements for the CAB are similar to what is required of Marines to be allowed to wear that service’s Combat Action Ribbon.

The Combat Action Ribbon is awarded to Marines and sailors who engage in a firefight or other combat action and whose performance is satisfactory. The Marine does not necessarily need to return fire — if a convoy is attacked and a Humvee driver maneuvers his vehicle out of the kill zone, he could be eligible. [...]

Command Sgt. Maj. Victor Martinez of 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery, disagrees. Martinez said he believes “it’s a good thing that no MOS is excluded from the opportunity to be recognized for actions in combat. The enemy’s bullets, mortars, or rockets don’t distinguish between soldiers MOSs,” he wrote in an e-mail from Qarrayah, about 40 miles south of Mosul, where the 2-8 is stationed.

“Since the beginning of this war on terrorism, many soldiers across the Army are not doing their traditional job,” he continued.

“I would just hope that the integrity of this award does not get out of control. By that I mean that if it were handed out to everyone without justification, it would not mean anything to those who earned it. I’ve seen that happen before with other awards.”


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