Worst Feeling? Explaining to a Soldier why the COC felt the need to deny their award.

Turned down for an ARCOM after writing, assembling, printing and publishing an entire series of SOP that were determined by IG to be "the best in all TRADOC." Despite doing nothing other than demand progress reports, the SFC, MSG and SGM were awarded MSM where the citations were verbatim what was listed on my award nomination.

A quota system?
For awards?
1st Armored Division did some similar crap when they gave out Bronze Stars to all Sergeants and above for (meritiorious) service while corprals and below only got Army commedation medals for their service in Dessert Storm.
The Army will never learn that cronieism is depleting their ranks of the best they have!

I was submitted by the B-40 Commander for a BS w/V after a prolonged firefight at night. The S-1 told me that it might not be approved because, (1) I wasn’t an officer (2) not wounded during the action. We received a new B-40 commander that was unaware of the operation and the A-401 detachment commander took my 638 and resubmitted the paperwork under his name. He was there that night but hid at the bottom of a foxhole during the two hour battle. Twenty seven years later during a phone conversation with the old B-40 commander he asked if I’d received the BS w/V, I informed him that the POS A-team commander took the award. After blowing his top he resubmitted the paperwork and I received a BS w/V when I graduated from the Battle Staff Course. MAJ Tom Bridgewater was the commander and he always took care of his soldiers. Even when we got into trouble he backed us up. I received a ticket after an accident that cracked the windshield of my jeep. As I was lowering the windshield, a jeep with two MP’s pulled behind me and started asking questions. What happened, while I was answering I was leaning on the hood of the jeep. The MP behind me asked what I had in my back pocket and I replied a 1911 .45. He told me to take it out. When I had recovered the .45 he asked me if it was loaded. I smiled yes, we are in a war, he told me to pop the mag which I proceeded to do and then said I guess you also want the one in the chamber. I was given two tickets one for the accident and the other for carrying a concealed loaded weapon SMH in a war zone. A month later MAJ Bridgewater called me into his office. As I stood before the man he read the report and told me that he had to reply and said OK 8 hours of drivers ed and 4 house concerning weapons in the Nam. I then asked when will the training start, with a straight face. He busted out laughing and through tears said, “I’m only pissed that you didn’t just drive away.” I responded that I couldn’t drive away because they both had weapons.” Still more laughter he said, “so did you, now get out of my office.
The photo was taken at the end of the first week of a 30 day combat operation commanding along with Greg Skougland a company (112 men) of Cambodians.

The biggest thing is awards are supposed to and should be based on what a soldier does. Not based on rank. I've turned in awards such ARCOMS only to have them knocked down to AAM due to lack of rank. I call BS! If a soldier plain as day and God above deserves a higher medal give it to them. Rank should play no part in it. Rant over.

In my 26 years of service, I witnessed a transition in awards that took the merit out of them, who can deny that rank plays a role in which award you receive, this has historically been the fact - some get silver and some get bronze while others get ARCOM for the same operation. But what truly tainted me was seeing a politically correct movement towards issuing awards, IE soldier of the quarter/year or some type of unit recognition. Pick up an article and the pictures are always the same, a caucasian then there must be women and minorities in the picture. Every time???? I have been witness to lesser troops being selected for awards based on this, and the truly deserving troop passed over. The value of awards, in my opinion, have been deflated by these actions and most NCOS that I have worked with saw them as a waste of time and an epic hassle to try and get approved.

When stationed my team came under fire from a sniper. A until helping to protect us shot and killed the sniper, I personally confirmed that with the other team lead. Upon return to our base I told my team to write sworn statements about what happened and that I was going to submit for CAB’s. I had six (6) sworn statements that pretty much laid out the facts. The BN Co disapproved the Combat Action Badges saying something like we may have thought we were in danger but there was no report of a sniper over the net. That was in 2007 and I just can’t get over the fact that my guys didn’t get what they deserved. Besides going to a Congressman or Senator, any helpful suggestions? Thank you.

I was put in for an award by my squad leader for my actions during a Humvee roll over. I had never considered my actions to be award worthy however when he told me I was excited about how he thought it was. It made me proud. Then one of the S shops lost it... and that just made me very frustrated with the process so I've lived the other side and it sucks.

So, I personally find it egregious when EVERY SINGLE SOLDIER of SSG or above is awarded a meritorious Bronze Star after a combat theater deployment. During my first deployment, the medic running between 113s and climbing over the top to treat casualties received a ARCOM with V, while the Ops NCO came out of it all with a BSM.

When I was Chief (E-7) I did a deployment in support of OIF (I was doing S-1 style duties). When it came time to submit award inputs I was told to write up a Bronze Star for myself. As I wrote all I could think of was my grandfather who received a BSM in WW2 for having ropes toed around his ankles so he could be lowered down a cliff to toss grenades into a Japanese machine gun nest. I was so happy to be awarded an Army Commendation Medal. Sometimes the downgrading of an award is the right answer.

I had two different awards downgraded because I "didn't have enough rank" for the higher award, and once I was told I was being put in for a medal and months later found the paperwork was never even started, and all the bullets for things I had done showed up on someone else's award. By the end of my active duty days I was totally bitter over the whole thing. The whole procedure is jacked.