23 Jan 19, 2155
All,
I just wanted to start this announcement by congratulating all of the soldiers who have received awards. I hope you all continue to strive for excellence. Many of you are no doubt curious about how the awards system works, and in the absence of formal documentation (which is in the works), I wanted to clarify how the system operates so everyone understands the awards process.
Awards won’t be released at the end of the month like many of you may be used to. Instead, they will be released as soon as nominations have been received, approved and processed. This enables us to recognise those who show dedication throughout the year and streamline our awards process. Enlisted awards work through the chain of command system, where your first line leaders nominate soldiers for awards and these are passed up to company to be approved and/or denied much like you would all be used to.
The system for command staff is different. We didn’t want to create a system where we were able to recommend and approve our own awards, so we created a system of checks and balances. Every three months a nomination form is released, and command staff members nominate any company staff they deem to be deserving of an award (they obviously can't nominate themselves). After a list has been compiled, staff anonymously vote on whether the nominated member should receive their award. Different awards have different approval rates based on their category:
Category 1: Army Achievement Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal – 55%
Category 2: Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal – 65%
Category 3: Meritorious Service Medal – 75%
Category 4: Bronze Star, Combat Awards – 85%
We tried to make the system fair and transparent. We never want a member of Command Staff to be able to hand out an award to himself: we aim to ensure that all awards handed out mean something and are given solely for exceptional conduct and service. If you would like more information on this topic or any others, don’t hesitate to come and have a discussion with me. My door is always open.
Once more, congratulations, and here’s to many more!
ETHAN I. RHODES
First Lieutenant, IN
Executive Officer
I just wanted to start this announcement by congratulating all of the soldiers who have received awards. I hope you all continue to strive for excellence. Many of you are no doubt curious about how the awards system works, and in the absence of formal documentation (which is in the works), I wanted to clarify how the system operates so everyone understands the awards process.
Awards won’t be released at the end of the month like many of you may be used to. Instead, they will be released as soon as nominations have been received, approved and processed. This enables us to recognise those who show dedication throughout the year and streamline our awards process. Enlisted awards work through the chain of command system, where your first line leaders nominate soldiers for awards and these are passed up to company to be approved and/or denied much like you would all be used to.
The system for command staff is different. We didn’t want to create a system where we were able to recommend and approve our own awards, so we created a system of checks and balances. Every three months a nomination form is released, and command staff members nominate any company staff they deem to be deserving of an award (they obviously can't nominate themselves). After a list has been compiled, staff anonymously vote on whether the nominated member should receive their award. Different awards have different approval rates based on their category:
Category 1: Army Achievement Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal – 55%
Category 2: Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal – 65%
Category 3: Meritorious Service Medal – 75%
Category 4: Bronze Star, Combat Awards – 85%
We tried to make the system fair and transparent. We never want a member of Command Staff to be able to hand out an award to himself: we aim to ensure that all awards handed out mean something and are given solely for exceptional conduct and service. If you would like more information on this topic or any others, don’t hesitate to come and have a discussion with me. My door is always open.
Once more, congratulations, and here’s to many more!
ETHAN I. RHODES
First Lieutenant, IN
Executive Officer
![[Image: E.Rhodes.png]](https://www.4thid.us/forum/images/signatures/E.Rhodes.png)