Does a getting a award, ribbon or medal define ones career. Does having a chest full of ribbons make you a better soldier ?

Spot on with your comments SFC McNabb. I did the same thing because I liked it.

Same boat I volunteered because coaching H.S. Football was always a passion of mine. Did not even think about awards while I was doing, just focusing on my defense! G2G. Awards do not define the person the actions do. Good point and should be reciprocated throughout the ranks!

I've had many discussions on this the past few months. It seems the trend is those soldiers with a chest full of awards tend to view them as no big deal, shouldn't be the goal, and don't mean what they used to mean. Those younger and/or newer soldiers with few awards tend to feel more of a sense of accomplishment, validation, and motivation to get awards. I can't say motivation to get a ribbon is bad motivation if it leads them to do the tasks associated with said reward, however, of course they should quickly grow out of reward being the sole motivation. I strongly believe that if punishment or discipline for poor behavior needs to be carried out on paper, then by equal measure reward for excellent actions should merit the same. Tangible reward can make good soldiers better, and turn fair soldiers into great ones if given fairly and complemented with a good dose of expectations, responsibility, and encouragement. I certainly don't think medals and ribbons should be the sole goal for the seeker, nor the end-all for the giver. It is merely a good affirmation in a much larger process of cultivating soldiers and leaders. Just some of my thoughts on the matter.

That's the word I was searching for.

I've been seeing quite a bit of interest in the CIB and CAB, again why wouldn't you know if you rated one of those badges?

Since you bought it up LTC Ford do you mind me asking what your style was?

SFC Richard Giles - I tried to be consistent across commands from Platoon leader on up. I recommended some soldiers for impact awards and most who performed well for end-of-tour awards. I had to go to bat for some for my troops in cases where somebody higher up wanted to downgrade the award. Sometimes I was successful and other times I wasn't.

Nothing wrong with that standard sir. Thx for the response.