Non-Infantry Soldiers Get Combat Badge

Associated Press ^ | February 19, 2005 | Associated Press

[Former Military Chick]

WASHINGTON - The Army is creating a combat badge for soldiers who come under fire in close combat in Iraq and Afghanistan but who are not otherwise eligible for special recognition because they are from armor, artillery or other non-infantry units.

Soldiers from foreign armies, such as the Iraqi army, who are assigned to U.S. Army units in close combat, also will be eligible for the special recognition, officials said Friday.

The new badge, called the Close Combat Badge, will settle an emotional debate that has raged within the Army and was settled only last week by the service's most senior generals.

The disparity at issue is that infantrymen and non-infantry soldiers who face the same risks in the same gun battle at close range are treated differently by the Army in terms of badges.

Until now, only infantrymen who participated in direct combat missions and came under fire were given the Combat Infantryman Badge, a coveted distinction that counts in their favor when eligible for promotions. There is no equivalent recognition for artillerymen or others who came under fire.

Since the wars began in Afghanistan and Iraq, the inequity became increasingly controversial within the Army - particularly in the case of Iraq, where some cavalry scouts and other non-infantry soldiers have been reorganized into infantry-like units to perform infantry-like close combat missions.

Several of the most senior Army commanders in Iraq had written to Lt. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck, the deputy chief of staff for personnel, asking that he grant exceptions to the limited eligibility rules for the Combat Infantryman Badge, in order to recognize the other soldiers.

Instead, Hagenbeck said in an interview Friday, the Army decided to preserve the rules for the Combat Infantryman Badge but also create the Close Combat Badge so that infantrymen would still have their own and others who performed infantry-like missions under fire would get special recognition, too.

"It's for the artilleryman who has been made a de facto infantryman," Hagenbeck said. The same applies to other ground combat soldiers like those in armor, combat engineering and cavalry, who have been called upon to do infantry missions and are personally present under fire.

It will be given, retroactive to Sept. 11, 2001, to eligible soldiers below the rank of colonel.

The badges are not awards for valor, like the Bronze Star. The precise eligibility rules are to be published by the Army in March, and senior officers then can issue the badges, Hagenbeck said.

[Former Military Chick]

I will be curious what our Army military Freepers think of this?

[Mr Rogers]

I'm USAF, but I'm also curious...why should one's job specialty prevent you from getting a combat badge if you find yourself regularly in combat?

If I read this right, a truck driver who gets caught in a cross fire and shoots his way out would not qualify - 'tho it sounds like close combat to me. What am I missing?

[Triggerhippie]

I was a contractor in Iraq. They didn't let us carry weapons so there was no "combat." Do I get a medal for having come under fire? How would I wear this medal? A stylish beret, maybe; the Army hands them out now for self-esteem reasons.

[Former Military Chick]

Please do not get me started on the medals given in the Army. Hey if a chick to can put up their tent they get an ARCOM I KID you NOT.

It is a joke.

But, hey, I think you deserve a medal. Glad you are safe. Thanks for helping our guys out in Iraq.

[Triggerhippie]

Really, I wasn't there that long so I'm not sure I helped enough to warrant any thanks much less a medal. I do appreciate the kind words though.

The folks who deserve thanks are the young men and women who have sweated and/or bled over there. They helped to bring liberty and self-rule to a nation that has never known either. That is heroism, folks!

[Former Military Chick]

I will share your comment with beloved. He is one of the Army's finest and served in Iraq as well. Troops appreciate hearing words of kindness.

[leadpenny]

It all seems petty now but these discussions (sometimes heated) took place between Infantrymen and those of us who dropped them off in LZs in Nam. The Grunts tallied air time towards Air Medals while air crews did not qualify for the CIB. There was one exception, if you were an Infantry Branch Officer and also a helicopter pilot, you could qualify for the CIB after piloting choppers on a required number of Combat Assaults. But, the Armor Branch, Signal Branch, Artillery Branch, etc., pilot, conducting the same missions, could not.

[Beckwith]

only infantrymen who participated in direct combat missions and came under fire were given the Combat Infantryman Badge

I have no problem with awarding a badge denoting combat service.

However, the CIB is an Infantry badge, always was an Infantry badge and always will be an Infantry badge.

You can't get a combat infantry badge if you're a truck driver and end up in the biggest battle in the world, because your not an infantryman, but maybe you can get the Combat Truckdriver Badge.

[pepsionice]

Up until about 20 years ago...any shot fired in your direction...was a combat situation. These management gurus...in their brilliant wisdom...have decided that shots fired don't equal combat. Which means, some joker...probably a Lt Col...has to personally decide if you are in combat or not. Its more or less a joke. So the creation of this non-infantry combat badge was the band-aid to fix this joke.

[j. earl carter]

I saw a thread a few weeks back where they created a medal for people who "won" the cold war. The medals truly are a joke.

[Bob]

Up until about 20 years ago...any shot fired in your direction...was a combat situation.

While it may have always been considered a combat situation, two people in that situation wouldn't necessarily both be eligible for the CIB. Eligibilty for that award has always required an infantry MOS (job classification) to qualify.

Nobody had to decide whether you were in combat or not. If your job wasn't infantry, you weren't eligible for the CIB, period.

[Khurkris]

The CIB with wreath, IMO, is the one that counts.
Its the 'been-there-done-that' reward. It remains one of the few things in the Army that actually means what it represents. There are a few others - RANGER tab, Green beanie, Pathfinder tab and a few of the 'salad awards.' When you see the CIB w/wreath above the left pocket, you know that Soldier earned it.
Now I do believe that a similar award should be made for some of the support troops who also operated under hostile fire. They darn sure deserve the honor and distinction for their service. But it isn't my decision.
To create "sub-levels" of the CIB is to lessen the value of the CIB.
This is another feel good, self-esteem idea created by REMF's.
I do not condone this award.

[Khurkris]

A description and qualifications for the CIB

Combat Infantryman Badge, Paragraph 2-6, Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), 25 February 1995

[R. Scott]

If I read this right, a truck driver who gets caught in a cross fire and shoots his way out would not qualify - 'tho it sounds like close combat to me. What am I missing?

The difference is in the MOS – Military Occupation Specialty. The infantryman trains and expects to be engaged in close combat. Other combat arms types train for combat and expect to engage the enemy – but from a greater distance.
I can speak as a retired Transportation Corps type. I trained primarily to haul cargo for point A to point B. Training in armed defense was secondary, and in Viet Nam we seldom went out looking for trouble – the main job of the infantryman. We did engage in combat, usually at ranges from 10 – 200 yards (some of those rivers were a bit narrow) and did take heavy casualties. During the ’68 Tet Offensive we carried fuel and ammo to the Marines at Hue and Dong Hoa on the Perfume and Cua Viet Rivers. We averaged 40% casualties per mission.
We did not begrudge the infantry their CIB. We were recognized as having been in a war zone by the shoulder patch and recognized as having been in combat by the Purple Hearts.

I guess the big difference is that the infantry goes out actively looking (and hoping) for trouble. We did not generally look for it and seldom hoped for it.

[R. Scott]

These management gurus...in their brilliant wisdom...have decided that shots fired don't equal combat.

Shots fired at you by the enemy always count as “combat”. “Close” combat is up close and very personal. There is a big difference between exchanging fire at 100 yards and at 10 yards or closer.

[R. Scott]

The CIB with wreath, IMO, is the one that counts.

I put it just one notch below the Combat Medic Badge.

[Khurkris]

"I put it just one notch below the Combat Medic Badge."

Nope...the CMB is an equal, Good Lord its an equal.

[Beckwith]

Poster Khurkris (Post #12) is more (most) correct.

[KeyWest]

I saw a thread a few weeks back where they created a medal for people who "won" the cold war. The medals truly are a joke.

I disagree. I am eligible but never bothered to get it, since I am retired. The hardships endured by those in the Armed Forces - deployments, many moves, unaccompanied tours - are worth acknowledging in a medal.

I do not think acknowledging that service is a joke. And that is all it is, just recognition, well down on your chest, but still among all the rest that signify service.

[Lockbar]

Here is an example of the German WW2 Close Combat Badge, worn above the left breast pocket, just like our C.I.B.. I think they stole our idea as we had our Combat Infantry badge first. This badge was open to all branches of the German military, and all MOS, as long as they participated in "close combat" for a period of time.

I think a US combat badge is OK, as long as they don't water down its meaning, like they have the Bronze Star. Shouldn't some of the guys getting the Bronze Star actually be getting good conduct medals?