Everything about The Combat Action Badge totally explained
The
Combat Action Badge (or
CAB) is a military
badge worn in the
U.S. Army. The emblem features both a
M9 bayonet and
M67 grenade. The Combat Action Badge may be awarded to any
soldier after the date of September 18, 2001 performing duties in an area where hostile fire pay or imminent danger pay is authorized, who is personally present and
actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy, and performing satisfactorily in accordance with the prescribed
rules of engagement. Award isn't limited by one's
branch of service or
military occupational specialty, but is only authorized for wear on U.S. Army uniforms.
A silver badge 2 inches (5.08cm) in width overall consisting of an oak wreath supporting a rectangle bearing a bayonet surmounting a grenade, all silver. Stars are added at the top to indicate subsequent awards; one star for the second award, two stars for the third award and three stars for the fourth award. In comparison to the
Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the CAB has a silver rectangle backing rather than blue, and the CAB is 1 inch shorter in length than the CIB.
History
Throughout the Vietnam Conflict and afterward, troops serving in combat engineer and armored units clamored for their own version of the
EIB/CIB. Despite numerous staff studies and recommendations, the request never gained the support of senior army leadership. However, as soldiers from across the spectrum of
Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) engaged in direct contact with enemy forces in the Global War on Terror, the proposal gained new traction.
It appears that the concept for the current Combat Action Badge came from an article written for Armor Magazine in the Spring of 2004 in which Major Matthew De Pirro asserts the need for such a badge based upon the evolving face of warfare and the ongoing transformation of the Army.
(External Link
) De Pirro stated:
Fellow troopers, I submit to you that our Army would be better served by recognizing our soldiers who have faced an enemy in direct-fire combat with a Combat Action Badge. We are an Army in transformation. A few years ago, we donned the black beret as a symbol of that transformation. It is time for the disparity of the Combat Infantry Badge to end. It is time for the perceived badge wars to end. It is now time to take our transformation one step further. It is time for the Combat Action Badge.
The CAB was originally planned as a ribbon which was to have been known as the "
Combat Recognition Ribbon". However, as ribbons are generally seen as less prestigious than
medals and badges, the CAB was then proposed as the "Close Combat Badge" (or CCB), thus granting the award badge status vice ribbon. This was to be a combat award only for soldiers who didn't hold the
infantry military occupational specialty (MOS), but who were deployed specifically to fulfill an infantry duty. This was in response to the large number of non-infantry (
tank crews, for example) who were deployed to
Iraq in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom and whose units were reorganized to function as infantry (motorized or light) due to the lack of need for tanks and shortage of infantry.
The change from the CCB to the CAB may have come about thanks to a question put to
Donald Rumsfeld in an April 2005 Afghanistan townhall meeting by a female
military police soldier as to why the CCB wouldn't include military police soldiers in its awarding criteria despite the combat nature of the military police's job in Afghanistan and Iraq's 360-degree battlefield. Also, it's conceivable that, since
Germany issued a
Close Combat Clasp during
World War II (also with a bayonet and hand grenade) this name may have been seen as unacceptable.
The CAB creation was approved by the U.S. Army on
May 2,
2005 and can be retroactively awarded to soldiers who engaged in combat after
September 18,
2001. Gen.
Peter J. Schoomaker awarded the Army's new Combat Action Badge for the first time to a Sergeant
April Pashley and four other soldiers on
June 29,
2005.
(External Link)
The criteria for the badge doesn't specify the nature of the hostile fire that a soldier must receive to be awarded. In practice, though, most commanders don't issue this award to qualified soldiers unless this they're directly engaged in combat.
The award isn't available to U.S. Army combat veterans of previous conflicts.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Combat Action Badge'.
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