PCS, Impact, Deployment, and other awards: Should they be determined by rank?
The only way to fix this system is to start with the Leadership. When you have to sit in a Staff Meeting and listen to and I quote "SSG's and below will not receive MSMs only E7's and above" is a toxic contribution to the award system and unit morale. The award should be based off of the credible contributions that the soldier gave to the unit. When you start applying rank to awards, it sets a bad tone because a junior soldier will never expect to receieve better than what he or she is used to or entitled to because they have grown accustomed to a "false standard". Senior leaders automatically assume that because of the rank they hold they will receive a particular award and might not be deserving of it. Its even worse when you try to fight for what you deserve and you hear "Well, we are only allowed to give out an X amount of MSMs or ARCOMs per year according to BDE policy".
Another issue with awards is just pure laziness on the leaders part. If your BN/BDE says this award is due 60-90 days out, then do your part as a leader and take care of your soldier(s). Do not wait until the last minute to draft up an award that you know the soldier does not deserve or turn in an award that is pretty much a duplicate of someone elses award that PCS'd recently. That leader will ensure that they do everything in their power to receive the award they deserve, so they should treat their soldiers the same.
This is a soft subject that is rarely addressed by higher and it is something that should not be continued to get swept under the rug. I understand you can add to the regulation and enforce policies, but there is no checks and balances to the policies that are put in place and that is the other problem.
In my experience though, everyone I've seen put in for a higher decoration had easily earned it.
Doesn't change the fact though, the regulation prohibits creating policy that ties decorations to ranks. A commander can't render someone ineligible for a decoration based on the nominee's rank.
Does that mean it's not happening? I can't say; my experience says no. The Air Force had the Medal of Honor awarded to an A1C in Vietnam.
Awards are always going to be a hot button issue, but at the end of the day it is all about scope of responsibility.
I can't help but think like an electrocuted dog in this situation. It's the job of the juniors to do the work and sometimes work more proficiently then the SSG or SFC appointed over them. but, is it not also the job of the junior to make the SSG look good? This occurs at all ranks and unfortunately seems like the higher you go the more glory you seek for yourself.
Too many times in even my short 4 years in the military I have seen the PFC' and SPC's who are deserving of awards get passed up. For instance;
SPC performs analysis on some bad guys operating in the area pushes that work up the chain and because of it ends up eliminating nearly all threat in the immediate area. SPC leaves country with an AAM however, the SSG recieved a DMSM for the accomplishments of running his section effectively and helping eliminate immediate threat to the 300+ people living on the COP. wtf?
In my opinion this is crap. but, it has only taught me that awards and decorations most of the time dont mean much. But, rather the fact that you know you did the job well. As long as I know what Ive done and it has been done according to the Core Values then I can carry it with pride.