Should someone get an award for doing their job at a very high level or for doing something outside their normal job description?

<p>A unit coin is meant to expeditiously reward&nbsp;performance, an award is for something more, a bigger contribution to the unit/mission.&nbsp; Understand and be subjective on this, I believe that the Army Achievement Medal can (and should) be awarded for outstanding performance, at the BN and lower levels.....do something outstanding, you set yourself apart from everyone else&nbsp;(Soldier of the Quarter/NCO of the Quarter/Leadership awardee or distinguished honor graduate) you deserve the recognition.&nbsp; And you don't have to type it, write it neat and legibly, get it in and let's get a medal on that Soldier!&nbsp; Many times, it is the laziness of the direct supervisor in not writing the award or not wanting it to get downgraded.....and, by the way, DO NOT tell the Soldier you are recommending him/her for the award.&nbsp; Its about Deeds, not Words!</p>

First off 1LT Sebastian Coates the mere fact that you take the time to try to get recognition for your troops will stay with them a long time, regardless of the outcome. Awards that are downgraded still appear in our enlisted records (all downgraded awards are required to be). I appreciate HRC doing this because it shows that the troop might have been in "that kind of environment", who's members include "defender of the badge" and "I ain't got mine yet" and the all wise all knowing "I only do that for senior members/good old boy club". If you ever run into a brick wall, please make sure that the unit EOR is current with their database of downgraded awards (that they are REQUIRED to track) and maybe consistencies can be brought to light. Above all else, keep submitting!

1LT Sebastian Coates Awards are always a tricky subject and you will never see the same level of awards across different units. In my opinion, the biggest thing for you to remember is level of responsibility / level of performance. What was the level of responsibilty of the individual you are recommending and what level did they perform too?

Examples: A SPC with an additional duty achieving an outstanding on a Command Inspection probably equals an AAM for recognition. A SFC acheving the same outstanding, maybe a coin. Different level of responsibilities, but same performance.

A SSG section cheif training his section to all pass their section's Best-By-Test probably gets a pat on the back, where as the same SSG and his section winning the Best-By-Test probably gets the AAM with his crew. Same level of responsibilities, different level of performances, although both "did their job".

Like CSM Michael J. Uhlig said, never tell the Soldier you are putting them in for the award, that is only going to cause more problems than what it's worth.

Finally, just remember too, that you just make recommendations to the command, once they make their decisions, you have do your part to recognize your Soldiers.