Expert Armor Badge Under Study by OCOA

The EAB is a natural progression for Armor soldiers to demonstrate branch/MOS unique skills and abilities. The added dimension of Armor combat elevates that to the CAB. I think the Infantry branch has had it right all along, and Armor has a chance to use a tool to promote more team spirit, pride in our history and heritage, not less. Other branches are capable of determining what their needs are. MG Bell is our advocate as branch chief of Armor. I believe if the Armor community were polled on this issue, we would find an overwhelming majority of officers and enlisted support the CAB and EAB. In closing, I would like to congratulate the ARMOR magazine staff on your excellent work. I appreciate the opportunity to express my views in this forum.

C. JOSEPH (JOE) ROMANS

SGM, KSARNG

OPS SGM 1-635 AR

Pauline, Kan.

Combat Badges Haven’t Hurt Infantry, Combat Medic Cohesion

Dear Sir: I was totally surprised at the stand taken by the Chief of Armor (COA), pertaining to the Combat Armor Badge (CAB), expressed in the September-October issue of ARMOR. The COA states there are two overriding arguments that tell him the CAB is not right for our force. The first is the divisive nature of such an award, and the second is its impact on the overall army. Allow me to discuss these two points. In my view, the establishment of the award would not be divisive in the Armor force and would not create a culture of “haves and have-nots” (COA term). To believe that a culture of “haves and have-nots” would be created is to believe that many in the Armor force possess an envious, petty, and jealous mentality. This I do not believe. The establishment of such an award would recognize the fact that certain members of our force met the ultimate challenge of our profession — combat. Should we withhold from these armor warriors the recognition that is due them? It is a fact that all members of any branch do not serve in combat in any war. All infantrymen, even during WWII, did not serve in combat, but they did perform other vital functions, just as many in our Armor force did not serve in combat but did perform other important duties. By the establishment of this award, we are not penalizing those who did not go to war — we are recognizing those who did. If the establishment of such an award would create a divisive situation and create a culture of “haves and have-nots,” the Infantry and Medical Corps would have had trouble long before now. I do not believe the establishment of this award would fragment the cohesion that exists between combat soldiers and support soldiers. The fact will always remain that front line units are only as good as their support, but the fact also remains that the combat soldiers are the ones doing the fighting and most of the dying. There are two exceptions to this statement — the combat medics and the combat engineers. The medics have their badge; I would vote for the combat engineers to have theirs also. As to the situation where the 97B CI soldier is assigned to a scout squad, the solution is simple — build into the regulation an “exception to policy” criteria. As to the Army becoming overcome with request for types of badges for everyone, I do not feel the COA should be concerned; this would become a CSA problem.

DONALD E. HORN

CSM, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Armor Soldiers in the Gulf Deserved Combat Badges, Too

Dear Sir: I was extremely excited when I read the headline of the “Commander’s Hatch” in the September-October issue — “The Combat Armor Badge.” I thought to myself, finally an Armor leader willing to stand up for the branch and the soldiers who represent the branch. I was devastated by MG Bell’s stance. He mentioned two points: It will cause divisiveness. Has this happened in the Infantry Branch between what he called the “haves and have-nots”? I think it has not. It has only added to the esprit de corps of that fine branch. Impact on the Army overall? The German Werhmacht had a combat badge for all its branches; this seemed to work well for them, and I agree any soldier should be eligible for a combat-type badge. I cannot describe to you the feelings I had trying to answer the questions of my young soldiers in 4-64 Armor, after they witnessed our mortars receiving their CIBs: “Sir, they didn’t even fire a shot,”... “We were in front of them,” etc., etc. I believe our mortarmen deserved this award, I also think our 19Ds, 19Ks, and medics also deserved a badge. At a time when the services are facing retention and recruiting concerns, I would think another bonus in terms of a much deserved award would only help morale. I know morale is down in the Armor force; I still talk to the many friends I have on active duty, and they are not happy. I also wonder if his stance would be different if he had been in the Gulf. I hope he becomes a leader in this issue for our well-deserved Armor veterans.

TODD A. MAYER

Cincinnati, Ohio

“Not Again!” Says Veteran, Warning Against the Beret

Dear Sir: Definition: PITH HELMET n. A light sun hat made from dried pith. I will tell you up front, the pith helmet is the answer. This past summer I celebrated my 60th birthday. Once again, as in the past several summers, I did it by giving my dermatologist another chunk of money for services rendered. You see, once upon a time, I was a young man of steel (I thought). There was nothing on this earth that could hurt me. Nothing would ever hurt me. Well, I was wrong. I was worn down and hurt a little at a time until now I will hurt for the rest of my life. Here is the background on how this happened. About 100 years ago, people were more in touch with, and had a better understanding of nature. Styles of dress were functional. LETTERS (Continued from Page 4) 50 ARMOR — January-February 2001 The Office of the Chief of Armor (OCOA) is currently developing an Expert Armor Badge proposal. While we will go out for formal staffing in the future, we would greatly appreciate your comments during the developmental stage. Many will remember MG Bell's EMAIL earlier this year outlining his reasons for not supporting the establishment of a Combat Armor Badge. In this same EMAIL, he stated that he would consider a competency-based badge proposal. The Expert Armor Badge (EAB), developed utilizing the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) as a baseline, is the OCOA proposal for that competency-based badge. By going to the Armor Center Homepage http://knox-www.army.mil/index.stm and clicking on the EAB ICON, the system will take you to the EAB page. There you will find an overview of the proposal and a survey form. OCOA would greatly appreciate your review of the proposal and completion of the survey form. Again, this is not a formal staffing of the proposal. However, your comments will be critical in guiding our development efforts.