Why are officers recognized with awards more than enlisted?

Retirement award was downgraded by General Officer because he told my LTC that I wasn’t a SGM or above and shouldn’t get the recommended award. The award was supported by accomplishments and substantiated by NCOER bullets. I was working at DIV level when submitted and holding the Opns Job along with standing in for the SGM position which was vacant pending someone being assigned. This wasn’t done with senior officers, MAJ and above on the same award list.

Did you slow down after getting the AAM? What have you done to achieve a higher award? It took me 9 years to get an award. One that shocked me, even thou I wasn't that deserving of it. I'll admit, my performance reports weren't "walk on water" spectacular. But I did go beyond the day to day things like showing up for duty on time, and kept my barracks room clean. I argued with the section chief (E9) when he was wrong about regs or policies. But I did show respect, courtesy and honor to all I came in contact with, no matter their rank.

Just because it is because they are smart enough to know that you have to write your own award and give it to your supervisor or a friend that is around him in the chain of command.

We do get bent around the axel regarding awards. The dirty secret is they are a low cost (or no cost) human resource tool to improve employee performance. I can guarantee better or continued performance from someone I just gave an award to. They’re ultimately very subjective and awarded on the quick glance of the final approval authority. Most of the time it’s lazy “leaders”, but remember anyone can write a recommendation for an award, so in some sense, anyone can be to “blame”.

I have many awards over my career. Of all the awards I have only two mean anything to me. Both are Navy/ Marine Corps Achievement medals. Those awards were written by officers that recognized my efforts to make the command better in one case and far more fiscally responsible in the other. Should everyone receive an award at every command? I don' think so. We don't see award worthy action out of everyone. Sometimes people just do their duty, do what is asked of them. It is the senior enlisted's responsibility to train the Junior officers. That was one of the things that can have bearing on what you see. If we dial up an award for every single person, at every command, for every billet, there would be little time left for actually completing the mission. Awards are not given lightly, and I would submit they should not be. It would devalue any awards given.

i Understand when you see platoon leaders and commanders receive awards for essentially the weight of their responsibility despite their age and experience. However it is ridiculous watching a lieutenant receive an ARCOM for a dining out detail or for a week long field problem when it’s difficult to push an ARCOM for a young enlisted who completed a combat deployment. It does seem unfair at times but ultimately it’s officers who sign off on the awards and I hate to say it but sometimes they like to look out for their own. The best you can do is recommend your Soldiers whenever you see them fit so as not to continue the cycle and ensure your write ups are so good no Commander would even think about downgrading.

The correct answer to the question is one of scope of responsibility. While it is true that officers often neglect submitting their subordinates for a deserved award or that they sometimes do it incorrectly, the truth is that officers receive a higher award for the same thing because their scope of responsibility is greater. When I was an enlisted Soldier, it was pretty sore about the fact that I got a "Certificate of Achievement" for the same operation that my boss received an LOM for. I was the one who was directly exposed to danger and worked very long hours. His work hours never changed and he was never exposed to any physical danger. Looking back, I realize that he planned the operation and supervised its successful execution. The success of the operation had wide ranging consequences and impact. My impact was significant, but narrow. The impact of his actions was far greater. I'm not sure how "fair" that is, but it is what the Army Awards Regulation calls for.

What gets me is how often they get purple hearts for paper cuts. I have 5 service connected injuries, 3 of them not in declared wartime in the 80's/90's. Yet not a single PH for any of those three injuries, one even being an explosion/breach attempt at a secure facility... So yea, it's all about the politics even in the military.

The same reason your boss gets paid more. They have more reaponsibilites and it took them longer to get where they are. Méritoire citations are different and should be treated as such, but an O-3 is doing a lot more in a year deployment than the majority of enlisted, especially non-senior NCOs and should be recognized as such.

because they do the paper work