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Suffice to say the concept of a 'PCS Award' is foreign to me as I still am unable to find what Army Regulation (Retired 1993) states an award is an automatic entitlement @tour's end.
Not complaining but a PCS Award used to mean you got a plaque commemorating your time with the unit. Myself and the other NCOs would hand-make them and present them at a platoon going away party. If you had done anything good then you would have already received your AAM, ACM, etc. If the commander and the unit had relied on the person then another but higher level medal was submitted. We tried hard to present them in formation prior to (sometimes unable) the soldier's departure.
Generally if the medal required a higher than Battalion/Squadron level authorization it was hand-passed from commander to commander until it was authorized then returned by the same method. The NCOs were responsible to ensure the actions were true and the write-ups were complete BUT the Officer Corps was expected to make sure the awards were presented. Included in the 'presented' were the signature phase I mentioned. Commanders actively discussed what awards were recommended and which were earned with their NCO's and higher Commanders.
It was middling rare that anyone was given (if that's the word) an award on leaving the unit. Please make your thoughts known.
Not complaining but a PCS Award used to mean you got a plaque commemorating your time with the unit. Myself and the other NCOs would hand-make them and present them at a platoon going away party. If you had done anything good then you would have already received your AAM, ACM, etc. If the commander and the unit had relied on the person then another but higher level medal was submitted. We tried hard to present them in formation prior to (sometimes unable) the soldier's departure.
Generally if the medal required a higher than Battalion/Squadron level authorization it was hand-passed from commander to commander until it was authorized then returned by the same method. The NCOs were responsible to ensure the actions were true and the write-ups were complete BUT the Officer Corps was expected to make sure the awards were presented. Included in the 'presented' were the signature phase I mentioned. Commanders actively discussed what awards were recommended and which were earned with their NCO's and higher Commanders.
It was middling rare that anyone was given (if that's the word) an award on leaving the unit. Please make your thoughts known.
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Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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I saw E-7s and above after only 6 months in Iraq get Bronze star, almost every E-7+ in our battalion got one except a handful of shatbags. What did they do exactly, their jobs. I will credit our 1SG who actually apologized after the awards ceremony to the entire company and said we earned his Bronze Star he didn’t.
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Absolutely brojen! Mediocrity awards and participation awards abound, with redundant awards like Army Service Ribbon and NCO Professional Development Ribbon. Go back to WW2 thinking.
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I believe the Army's award system works. The award basically writes itself when proper performance counseling is done. A supervisor should be able to export the bullets directly from a monthly counseling statements for junior Soldiers and support forms for NCOs and Officers. As a battalion commander, I stressed that every Soldier should leave the unit with a piece of paper that reflected their service. It could range from a MSM to a chapter packet.
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Wow...that's a good question. From my own experience, the system IS broken. I say that because of human interaction. I mean if PVT-SPC or SGT-SFC or 2LT-MAJ so and so does something out-fricking-standing, has at least three witnesses of whatever the thing is, but they're on the S-list of a particular individual of the chain of command/NCO support channel, they aren't getting their award. If they receive anything, MAYBE they'll get a Commander's Coin or MAYBE a Certificate Of Achievement or Appreciation. If the word doesn't get to the right place so that the approving authority for the award can say 'yes', the award is a no-go. An NCO friend and former 1SG of mine was put in for a Soldier's Medal because he pulled a pregnant woman from a burning car and field-dressed her burns until EMS arrived, all while suffering 1st and 2nd degree burns on his head and neck. The reason given as to why the award got no-goed is because he wasn't a Staff Sergeant at the time, even though we all knew that the Chief Of The Firing Battery was a racist and blocked his award from going up. Once the story hit the local paper, the XVIII ABN Corps commander read about it and called down to DIVARTY & screamed "WHY IN THE F--- ISN'T THIS NCO GETTING AN AWARD?!?" DIVARTY called down to my battalion and they scrambled fast AF to get his award ready. They gave him a regimental ceremony and the whole nine.
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SSG Eric Blue
SFC Ralph E Kelley - Funny that you use THAT TERM since that's what he became known as later. Why the private he banged on the trail, impregnated, and subsequently married later on decided to let that fact about him slip, I'll never know.
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I would say you are kind of reading it the wrong way, but then a lot of people do.
PCS is the reason for the award, like achievement service, valor, ETS, retirement, impact, etc.
PCS is not the qualifier for an award, the achievements are the qualifier for the award.
The same reason you would put put in time, money and effort for a plaque for someone when they leave, you aren't doing that because they are leaving, you are doing it because you appreciated their work and effort during their time with the unit.
But a lot of people see it as, if people get a PCS award, then every PCS should get an award, and I don't know why, because that sometimes leads to a struggle in trying to come up with achievements that would warrant a level of an award, and if you are struggling to come up with some, that should tell you that an award probably is not warranted in this case.
I make every effort to recommend awards when I see achievement, and I have also let people PCS without a PCS award.
PCS is the reason for the award, like achievement service, valor, ETS, retirement, impact, etc.
PCS is not the qualifier for an award, the achievements are the qualifier for the award.
The same reason you would put put in time, money and effort for a plaque for someone when they leave, you aren't doing that because they are leaving, you are doing it because you appreciated their work and effort during their time with the unit.
But a lot of people see it as, if people get a PCS award, then every PCS should get an award, and I don't know why, because that sometimes leads to a struggle in trying to come up with achievements that would warrant a level of an award, and if you are struggling to come up with some, that should tell you that an award probably is not warranted in this case.
I make every effort to recommend awards when I see achievement, and I have also let people PCS without a PCS award.
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SFC Ralph E Kelley
As you awarded for achievement so should all leaders - BUT the empirical evidence of the number of soldiers receiving awards (even though in some got awards at their old unit) upon arriving at their new unit. My question is valid - that's the perspective I'm seeing.
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not true so maybe they will send it to you if you don't get before you PCS?
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