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| Army creates badge for non-infantry soldiers who participate in combat |
| 2005-02-15 |
| And prolly long overdue. I'll let you milfolk tell me if you agree...pictures due next week. 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 "having a high probability to routinely engage in direct combat." 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 "combat patch" 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. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #11 Whatever makes people feel a part of the fight. Real soldiers could care less about medals. They know where they've been and what they've done. No reason to show off medals when a couple good war stories will suffice. If people want to see proof, show 'em your scars. |
| Posted by: shellback 2005-02-15 1:50:46 PM |
| #10 I thought that was what the campaign service ribbon/medals were supposed to signify. I think this is bs But then I was in the old army (which is in no way intended to criticize the new army. I have nothing but absolute respect and admiration for these guys and their accomplishments) |
| Posted by: Michael 2005-02-15 1:13:04 PM |
| #9 Reminds me of the old First Shirt joke: "I don't much care about the bullet with my name on it - that will happen when it happens. Now the one with To Whom It May Concern on it, well now, that's a different matter... I want you to kill that sumbitch before he squeezes off. Do you read me, troopers?" *obligatory roof-raising response* |
| Posted by: .com 2005-02-15 12:49:10 PM |
| #8 We have what's called the Combat Action Ribbon or CAR which any MOS can wear so long as you were shot at. A bullet doesn't give a fuck what your MOS is. That way you don't run into this nonsense about who gets what based on MOS. E.G. - Every Marine a rifleman, that's innate. Every Marine officer has the basic knowledge on how to command a rifle platoon & even a company. That's the difference between a warrior culture and an organization of MOS's - hence the U.S. Army. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2005-02-15 12:42:26 PM |
| #7 The Army still operates under a Branch system. Branches being Infantry, Armor, Artillery....etc. While Moose is right that some REMFs can have more medals [usually 100% for merit vice combat and anyone in can tell the difference between the two], the value of any device is more relative to the branch of the individual rather than service as a whole. Promotions and selections are more dependent within the branch and its related Military Occupation Specialties (MOS) than considered in the whole of the organization. Thus while the article states "The new badge will be the equivalent of the Army’s Combat Infantry Badge", its comparing apples and oranges. The new badge has more to do within the branches which will receive them, but in the general population the CIB will still be considered the senior of the two. |
| Posted by: Uneagum Wheremp9442 2005-02-15 10:36:48 AM |
| #6 There is a continual effort by certain officers to get citations and awards, any citations and awards, to justify their existence. So they apply for each and every school and course opening, and endlessly self-promote and go "medal fishing", like flying over a combat zone in a helicopter for the CIB. They view doing their job as "slack time" in between schools, and usually are poor performers. Some commands even encourage them to do this, to get them away on TDY instead of screwing up in their real job. However, other commands are equally stingy in handing out deserved citations for "just doing your job", no matter how exemplary your performance. This explains why some REMF officer is highly decorated while a seasoned combat NCO has about three mandatory ribbons on his class 'A's. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-02-15 8:39:44 AM |
| #5 Retief understands jointness. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-02-15 7:30:27 AM |
| #4 ..I'm definitely for this, but the 'under fire' rule needs to be hard and fast. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-02-15 7:26:13 AM |
| #3 A second to the Lone Ranger. Of course, it will now be handed out in droves to everyone in combat slot and not 11B whose units saw combat, whether they saw combat or not. Now what are we going to offer the MP units that see combat? Or the convoy drivers that have that special experience of having to fight their way out of the cluster that their leaders get them in? If the Army is truly changing then there should be a single patch to denote seeing combat up close and personal, regardless of the unit you were in or attached to. |
| Posted by: Jame Retief 2005-02-15 6:46:25 AM |
| #2 Minor factual error - CIB and CMB go above left breast pocket, not right hand side. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2005-02-15 2:59:32 AM |
| #1 The sidebar at the link gives this interesting criterion: Effective date: Sept. 11, 2001 (retroactive). I propose we also award the CCB to the members of the FDNY, NYPD, and the passengers of Flight 93. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-02-15 12:50:45 AM |