Why are officers recognized with awards more than enlisted?

Bigger Ego's. More need for identity and self referencing. Vocational bling.

Their NCO'S or OFFICERS above them in their command either did not think they performed the proper task or in fact never recommend them for the award or medal.

Great point! To prove your point to a certain degree, as a Crew Chief in Vietnam, in an attack helicopter company, we flew a mission into heavy combat and when the skids bearly touched I left my mounted M-60 to go into the battle with just a 45 pistol which I wasn't able to fire since I had to literally pick up a soldier in my arms, who was half blown apart, and try and hold his body parts together while I was carrying him through the fire back to my chopper to put him on the floor, where my gunner helped strap what was left of him in, and we were back on our M-60s as we took off. When we were past the point of the firefight the pilot said to the co-pilot, over the intercom, that he was putting himself in for a Distinguished Flying Cross because he was the Officer in charge of Medals. Guess he and the co-pilot got their Medals and all I got were blood stained clothes and horrific memories for the rest of my life. Maybe that was what we can call politics in war, or to your point, why the brass took care of themselves, in my instance, and myself and my gunner literally got blood and guts.

I was enlisted from 1972 until 1977 and joined the USARNG in 1978 for 9 months. When I left active duty I had 2 awards - NDSM and AGCM - while in the Guard I received the OSR, NCOPDR, and ASR. I understand a soldier's understanding of the system. Once I commissioned I observed that the majority of awards went to full-timers and officers. When I became a HHC Company Commander I instructed my Lieutenants to look for note worthy deeds to award soldiers for accomplishing. Also, my first year in command I presented 23 awards at AT not one went to a full timer or an officer. I may have been guilty of having blinders on but I was determined to properly recognize my soldiers.

My experience isn't very recent, but as SGT, I had almost twice as many ribbons/medals as my last Company Commander.

I think as a retired Army SFC that awards are handed out too easy. I think you should get an award when you have done something above and beyond the normal scope of your duties assigned. I was taught that AAM is more like you changed something or improved something at company level that made accomplishing a mission better. Then the ARCOM was when you did something at battalion level and it was noticed by many and you change the way things happen at battalion or higher. The MSM was the answer to the BSM to be a peace time award because the BSM is a war time medal. I think the MSM is an Accumulative metal and can be for a single action this must almost certainly change the way people do business at many levels and benefit the military in many ways. BSM read one and you know why someone receives one. Now in the resent past do I think the medals have been diminished by the new culture of everyone gets an award and rank has say on the level of the award in the army. I do a lot of awards are deserved and had work went into getting them and the people that earn awards generally could care less they are just doing their job. So in saying that. I never worried about rank money and awards I just wanted to be the best soldier I could be and serve my fellow soldier. The rank and medals showed up. I earned 20 different medals and ribbons and with in those ribbon I had 53 awards. I never ware my ribbons until my last duty station in the Army the CSM had a thing about payday uniform wearing well the wife calls that's it

Former MACV SOG. LTC's would get a silver for flying over ground action and EM's would get a bronze for on the ground action. Understood that the officers who were assigned short time needed to get a medal for promotion. EM'S got a feel good and bragging rights in the club. Most MOH's went to EM's.

because they file the paper work

I seem to remember something about not using grade or position for personal benefit. Seems like it should apply here....

The problem is the people that approve the awards know officers on a first name basis, usually. The Battalion Commander picks where his Lieutenants and some of his Captains go, so he's familiar with what the officer's done and can put a face to a name. An E1 or E4 is probably a name on a spreadsheet for a BC, though so unless it's something that blows their socks off, they probably won't notice or "think it's good enough." It's pretty annoying to put in the effort to get your dudes awards and them get kicked back because officers aren't getting awards, so why should a private that did twice as much work?