M14 Forum

Sustinemus

Somewhere recently I heard that the US Army is handing out Combat Infantryman Badges like candy - basically to any REMF that gets deployed to the sandbox, whether they went outside the wire and personaly engaged the enemy or not.

Is this true? Has the CIB really been cheapened like that?
Just wondering...

GARRARD

I can't speak for all commands but when I was in Afghanistan, there were many infantrymen who at the end of the deployment went home without a badge. Only the guys who exchanged fire got them. I'm sure there might be a few isolated incidents of REMF's getting CIB's but generally speaking, they aren't being handed out like candy. CAB's on the other hand are easier to get, maybe whoever you heard this from got the two confused.

dave41855

Here in Vermont, both CIB's and CAB's are not being handed out like candy. You want one, you earn one. I know of 2 individuals in HQ's who both put in for CAB's and were turned down. Not enough time in theater and not enough time from out behind the desk. Took me 18 months before I got my first award and another 12 before I got my star on it. In Vermont? no way!

Dave

ICANHITHIMMAN

I have seen it in Afghanistan and I saw it in Iraq REMF get them it is just a tour award.

Dreampiper

After Desert Storm I was surprised to find a CIB listed on my DD214. My understanding from 672-5-1 was that this award was for infantry MOS only so I never wore it and just assumed it was a typo. I already had max points for awards so didn't see anything wrong with leaving it on the records. FWIW I was a combat engineer attached to 1st ID and wear the Big Red One as my combat patch and did get to tiptoe through the toe poppers.

Mine was the only incidence I heardabout of the CIB being awarded to a non Inf soldier.

Voodoo

I don't know about CIB's, but the CAB (Combat Action Badge)
is being handed out pretty frequently since it's inception.



I don't know what the requirements are for it. It wasn't around when I was over there, so I never got put in for one, but I see a lot of my peers who went over after I did sporting one.

GARRARD

You can find CAB eligibility requirements at http://www.army.mil/symbols/combatba...ry_id_key=7285. As for CIB's, regulation states that your PMOS must be 11 or 18 series to be eligible.

nalioth

Y'all had me wondering what a CAB was.

More new stuff from the new army.

Thanks for the explanatory link, GARRARD.

Socom16shooter

As far as I know, currently all the REMFs are being Jack@$$es about approving the CIB right now. This is the end of my third trip here to Iraq and It has been incredibly long(15 months.) I know when I came over for the invasion, I don't think anyone left without one, But now I kow of several people who will not be recieving theirs.

Firemanwas11B

I know they were handing out the CABs like candy. People were getting them just because the base they were on took indirect fire. I think that the badge was made with good intentions but is being abused.

I saw the same abuse with Brinze stars when I was there, soldiers were being awarded them and never left the wire let alone the supply warehouse.

M4Tanker

In my little corner of 3d Cav here out in West Ninewah Province, maybe 10 guys in the company have recieved CABs, and that was for a single mortar attack on one of their first five patrols. We've found plenty of IEDs, caches, and plenty of bad guys, thanks to the Iraqi Army taking the lead. And because of that, the Iraqi Army and Police get the brunt of the fighting. They're the magnets for direct-fire and VBIEDS out here. The insurgents know not to mess with US forces when we have our vehicles and .50cals

I'm in my 13th month and damn glad I haven't 'earned' a CAB yet.

The Combat Action Badge does get handed out alot, but like everybody's saying, it's unit dependent.

-Elijah Sexton

porsche2nr

When i was doing convoy security in the Seabees we got hit by 4 IED's... no combat action ribbon... no rewards were handed out to our whole company... but joe schmuck who worked in MWR handing out soda's and pool cues got a Navy Achievement Medal for "keeping up the morale".... or a Postal Clerk getting one for doing his job.... mean while we were told all we do is drive around Iraq and that our number 1 enemy is accidents and to buckle up our seatbelts.... my opinion.. the troops know who earned them and who didnt... who did what and who didnt.....

CPT1-285TH

It was pretty much the same story for my unit. You had to be directly engaged and engaging the enemy to qualify for a CAB, and you had to be able to produce multiple sworn statements along with verification from the S-2 to substantiate your claim. Being an aviation task force that pretty much meant only the attack pilots were in a position to most likely earn one, and most of us did. The lift pilots/crew chiefs did get into some trouble from time to time, but their requests were scrutinized pretty hard (usually took the escorting AH-64 crews to vouch for their claims). There were no blanket awards for mortar/rocket attacks on the FOB, but I do know for a fact entire CS/CSS units on the same FOB as mine were awarded CABs for indirect fire attacks even if they did not present a credible threat of loss of life or injury (Taliban in my AO had really shitty aim!).

Whether it is direct or indirect isn't a big issue with me. I always try to give my men the benefit of the doubt and take care of them. I am a little frustrated though with the lack of standardization with the awarding of the CAB in general. It was hard to explain to a soldier "no, you do not meet the higher HQ's criteria" when both you and he knows that someone in another unit 3 tents down from him got a CAB just for sleeping through a rocket attack in his bunk.

I highly doubt this isn't the first war where unequal standards were applied, and it won't be the last. The only advice I can pass on to other offciers, and senior NCOs, is do everything in your power to take care of your men. I made sure my men were always taken care of before me, and I will always live by that for the rest of my career.

Trung Si

I guess so, I see every one is wearing one, so I guess mine is worthless!

CPT1-285TH

Very true statement!