Close combat badge

[Niner]

A friend sent me this. Looks like the Army is going to start giving FO team members a combat badge like the infantry and medics. Well... "close combat"... does that mean, nearly combat but not actually as close as infantry combat?



02-18) 20:32 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --

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.

[DuncaninFrance]

When we had National Guard on exchange for summer training camp the amount of mess dress ribbon was amazing! It was just like looking at a cubscouts jumper!

I did ask one of the Sgts which one was for opening coke bottles under fire Sorry guys but this is bloody ridiculous!! Medals are firstly for gallantry and secondly for a campaign. Badges are for identifying trade / training ( armorer, / signaler / para ) and rank - not for saying 'I was in a dangerous part of a conflict'!

Hells Teeth - GET REAL

[Niner]

The CIB was held in higher regard than many medals by most infantry soldiers. It used to be, and probably still is, a requirement that a soldier has to have at least been in contact with the enemy before it can be awarded. Just because a fellow has an infantry MOS doesn't mean he gets one. This distinguishes infantry who have been in combat from support troops. It was and is a good thing. Of course some remfs with an infantry mos that they had picked up somewhere along the line in their military career got one also now and then by connections. I knew a guy who ran a beer hall in Vietnam who got one without actually being in combat. But the CIB was in the past, and still now, respected in the US Army.

The arty guys, such as myself or Niner Delta, although with the infantry, couldn't earn one even though we were in combat as part of an infantry company more than a few times in Vietnam. No hard feelings about it. That was just the way it was.

This new "close combat" badge is a step in the right direction, however the arty guys in FO teams should have their own badge. There was almost one once that looked a lot like a CIB. Vern sent me one once. Have to take a picture of it.

[riptidenj]

The badge shown looks like a Combat Artilleryman's Badge I saw in a

book I read 40 years, there was also a Combat Armor Badge proposed, neither was approved. IIRC when the CIB was introduced in WWII it was for those whose performance in combat was deemed outstanding, there

was (IIRC) the Expert Infantryman's badge for those whose combat performance eas deemed good. The latter is now a peacetime award you

recieve from completing a course. In Vietnam the CIB was awarded to

those who completed 30 days combat in an infantry unit. In the unit I was

in they were pretty strict about awarding only to genuine 11Bs and 11Cs, if any REMFs got it they awarded it to themselves or paid the clerk to

put their name on the list. I talked to some MPs when I was on AD 40

or so years ago, they said they were put in for it because on several

operations they accompanied the Infantry as POW handlers and saw just

as much action, but they were turned down.

[Aughnanure]

This is sorta OT (and I have raised this elsewhere) but while on American traditions; why do the American services salute with the palm of the hand turned down instead of outward as do the British army?

[Niner]

Did a google search. One site says the British Army salute came about in the early 1800's in an attempt to alter the tradtion of tipping of the hat and accordingly save on wear on the hats. Now it says this about the American tradition:

Most historians believe, however, that the U.S. Military salute was influenced more by the British Navy. The Naval salute differs from the "Open Hand" British Army Salute in that the palm of the hand faces down towards the shoulder. This dates back to the days of sailing ships, when tar and pitch were used to seal the timber from seawater. To protect their hands, officers wore white gloves and it was considered most undignified to present a dirty palm in the salute so the hand was turned through 90 degrees.

[Tom-May]

An alternative explaination for the salute styles:

In the 17th/Early 18th Century, the salute was made by removing the hat and dropping it to the side.

With the increasing complexity of headgear in the 18th Century, it became necessary to fasten the hat in place (often with a tie under the queue), making removing the headgear a complicated process.

As a result, the Army salute was changed to raising the hand to the cockade (or the Royal Cypher, in the case of Grenadiers) touching the cockade with the finger tips and showing the palm to the person saluted* - this is similar to the salute used by the French and others in the same period#.

In the Royal Navy, the Officers saluted by placing the hand to the hat, as though ABOUT to remove it (without actually moving it), while the ratings, who ofter went bareheaded, tended to 'knuckle' their forehead (a gesture akin to the archaic gesture of tugging the forelock)..

These gestures, with the evolution of headgear, and relationship between officers and men, the gestures became formalised into the salutes we know today, with the Army showing the palm and the Navy using the palm down.

If the American forces salute was related to the Royal Navy salute, then my suspicion is that the Army salute came via the USN.

During the 19th Century, the Royal Navy became the touch-stone for Navies about the world, in the same way that the French and Prussian Armies became for Armies world wide**. With their similar traditions, it cannot be a surprise that the salutes were similar.

Is it beyond the realms of possibility that, when the salute was formalised in the Army, they adopted the same salute as the Navy (which also distinguished them from the Armies of many of the major European powers)?

The Air-Force followed it's Army roots.

Just speculation.

Tom

* To show the back of the hand to the person saluted, would have been considered an insult.

# For the same reasons.

** Hence the wide spread use of versions of kepis and spiked helmets at various times in the 19th C.

[Niner Delta]

Thank you Duncaninfrance, for your views on our procedure for awarding medals and badges. However, it seems to me that since you were never in the US military, your rant about our medal awarding system seems not backed up by experience or knowledge. Therefore, your opinion has been carefully noted and filed under, "To be shred."

Vern.

[DuncaninFrance]

Any time Vern That's what opinions are for and I stand by this one.

Now - lets get on with the war!

[1886lebel]

The Air Force will begin awarding a new Combat Action Medal in April.

The Air Force Combat Action Medal may be awarded to Airmen that have directly participated in active combat, either in the air or on the ground, as part of their official duty. Airmen serving as a crew member on a C130 providing key support to Coalition forces or Airmen servicing as a convoy escort operation that takes fire, for instance, would be eligible to apply for the award.

Airmen can apply for the award to recognize participation in combat activities dating back as far as Sept. 11, 2001.

In order for an Airman to wear the AFCAM, a narrative explanation of the Airman's involvement in combat activities must be submitted by a person with first-hand knowledge of the incident. The application will be processed through the chain of command and eventually be approved or disapproved by the Commander of Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR).

"This is for people who are in combat as a part of their duty," General Roger A. Brady, deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel, told the Air Force News Service. "If you are walking across the base at Balad and you are injured by a mortar, you will likely get the Purple Heart. You may even get a Bronze Star, depending on your performance in your duties. But that scenario would not lead to the award of the AFCAM."

Since the Air Force started manning convoy operations in support of the war on terror, more Airmen have had an opportunity to put their rifle training to use in real-world scenarios.

Today, explosive ordnance disposal and security forces Airmen, along with those performing in-lieu-of taskings, have joined battlefield Airmen working "outside the wire" in Iraq and Afghanistan and are regularly involved in combat situations as part of their duty.

"We are a warfighting Air Force," said Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley. "Our Airmen are doing amazing things in combat operations every single day, both within their core competencies as Airmen, delivering those effects from the air and now on the surface as part of the joint fight."

It is for those Airmen involved in combat operations, on the ground and in the air, that the Air Force has created the Air Force Combat Action Medal, said Gen. Brady.

"There are people coming under enemy fire, but we do not have an Air Force way to recognize the reality of their experience," General Brady said. "So General Moseley has asked us to develop an appropriate recognition, a combat medal, and we have done that."

To develop criteria for the award and to get a better understanding of what Airmen were looking for in combat recognition, the Air Force consulted with combat-experienced Airmen.

"We gathered feedback from Airmen; active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve members who've been in combat (in the air and on the surface) -- some who've received combat recognition from other services, and some who haven't," said Maj. Randall Smith, chief of the Air Force uniforms and recognition branch. "Their feedback was critical in ensuring the recognition we developed met General Moseley's requirements. We also heard from Air Force senior leadership, both officer and enlisted."

General Brady said the AFCAM will be unveiled sometime in April. Then, as part of the unveiling ceremony, some Airmen will be awarded the new medal. At that time, the Air Force will begin to process additional applications for the award.

The AFCAM will be the highest-level Air Force individual award to not earn points under the Weighted Airmen Promotion System, said Major Smith.

"There was a strong consensus that this recognition should not be tied to promotion points, but should be tied to a meaning greater than that," the major said.

Airman will wear the AFCAM on the mess dress uniform. The ribbon for the AFCAM can be worn on the blue or service dress uniform. These uniforms are usually worn for ceremonies or other duties where it is appropriate to highlight individual achievements. There will be no patch or badge equivalent for wear on the utility uniforms worn for daily duties and deployments; the emphasis in these cases is better placed on the mission and the team, above self.