Da Form 638 Legion Of Merit: Fill & Download for Free

A common complaint I see here is the resentment expressed by enlisted soldiers over the awards that are dished out in large numbers to officers and senior NCOs. I believe that in terms of relative merits, enlisted personnel have it easy in getting medals. If your bunkmate goes AWOL, you are innocent, but your leaders will be held responsible. If you are a better than average trooper, you're guaranteed a Good Conduct Medal. I’ve signed off on a lot of those. A junior soldier demonstrating a high level of performance, staying out of trouble, earning “Colonel's Orderly” on guard duty (do they do that anymore?), maxing the PT test and getting the EIB or Expert Soldier Badge might get an Army Achievement Medal for an end-of-tour award. I even wrote up an AAM for a basic trainee who went all nine weeks as a squad leader without getting fired. And this was when award recommendations were works of literature (two page narrative justification and 9-line citation). The DA form 638 for medals such as the AAM, ARCOM, and MSM is nowadays very easy to complete. For officers, I believe the standard is much higher. Officers have to convince the recommender and the approving authority that their unit performed above the prevalent levels of accomplishment. If through excellent leadership, a battalion commander were to have high levels of proficiency, discipline, and suitably meritorious accomplishments, he could be put in for an Meritorious Service Medal, as would his Command Sergeant Major. If that battalion was in a critical place such as in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, it could be a Legion of Merit. An officer's award reflects the effort exerted in making his command tour as successful as possible. Letting the NCOs do their jobs, mentoring the junior officers, recognizing the achievements of subordinates, and maintaining an impeccable personal demeanor (this line is directed towards those who do control their “trouser snakes”) are the hallmarks of successful tours of command. My ARCOM was awarded for a successful company command. What about staff weenies? It's harder to get an award as a low-level functionary. Best example I have was from 1985 when the Chief of Naval Operations, ADM James Watkins, visited Fort Knox. He desired to sit in the front seat of a Cobra gunship and “bust caps”. I composed the back channel message to the CG, Fort Rucker to borrow a pair of attack helicopters, went up in a Huey to overfly the proposed gunnery range, photographed the impact area, created the transparencies of the photos for the briefing, and was present and available when the CNO came to play. The visit was considered very successful. The installation chief of staff awarded AAMs to the Director of Plans and Training, and to the enlisted personnel who did the gruntwork setting up the range and supervising the safety of the exercise. I didn't get anything, except a handshake from a four-star admiral. Minor bragging rights when talking to squids in the VA hospital. I finally got an impact AAM for doing a recruiting zone analysis involving three states, seven recruiting companies, and 54 recruiting stations. I spent 4 months cruising around the battalion area, adjusting recruiter zones and station boundaries, assigning high schools and colleges, and fixing imaginary lines on visible landmarks. Google maps was still over two decades away, so I put “boots on the ground” to see the actual terrain and keep recruiters from poaching from each other. My colonel was very pleased when the battalion started making mission as a result of my efforts. Medals in peacetime are not easily earned, and for officers, I found they are significantly harder to get.