Spcs. Rex Buchanan, left, and Darrin Greeno, driver-mechanics from the Minnesota Army National Guard and 50th Main Support Battalion, based at Forward Operating Base Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq, talk after escorting a convoy Tuesday to FOB Warrior in Kirkuk. They have different opinions on the new Close Combat Badge. Buchanan thinks all soldiers should be eligible for the Close Combat Badge; Greeno said all the proof of his service he needs is to return home alive. (Charlie Coon / S&S)
KIRKUK, Iraq — It’s a matter of respect, according to Spc. Manny Hornedo.
“When you walk around, it says ‘This is what I did, this is what I earned,’” said Hornedo, a New Jersey Army National Guardsman with the 50th Main Support Battalion at Forward Operating Base Speicher.
The new Close Combat Badge is a good idea that would be made better if more soldiers were eligible for it, according to some who just finished a 60-mile convoy to deliver fuel, water and other supplies to FOB Warrior in Kirkuk.
The Army announced the creation of the new badge in February to recognize soldiers with combat arms specialties. It will be available to those soldiers later this year.
But a lot of soldiers are upset that they would not be eligible for the new badge because their specialty doesn’t qualify. Among the specialties that don’t qualify are: transportation, military police or others not performing infantry work.
“I definitely think more than a few MOSs should get it,” said 1st Lt. Julie Nagle of the 642nd Military Intelligence Battalion, who said her troops have engaged in combat.
“A lot of the National Guard don’t do their MOSs when they get over here,” said Hornedo, a transportation specialist. “When you’re walking around in your [camouflage uniforms], nothing is going to be there to show what you’ve done.”
To others, getting a combat badge didn’t matter.
“I don’t really care; I’m here to do a job,” said Spc. Darrin Greeno a mechanic and truck driver with the 50th MSB and the Minnesota Army National Guard. “If I get attacked and nothing happens to me, it’s a good day.
“Some people need [a badge] to prove a point. As long as I come home, that’s all I need to prove to people.”
Another soldier added that he liked the way the Marine Corps does it — no badges.
“They’re all riflemen,” the soldier said.
The Close Combat Badge, or CCB, is supposed to be the equivalent of the Combat Infantryman Badge, which was established during World War II to recognize infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers whose specialties would likely put them in harm’s way.
But in Iraq, there are no front lines, where infantry would normally be placed. Instead, while infantry units work in many places, anyone heading out the front gate faces the prospect of combat.
The proposed new badge is already creating a stir among the military ranks. Some letters this week to Stars and Stripes from readers downrange say the badge’s criteria is too limited and slights MPs, mechanics and others who often find themselves in battle, but would not be eligible to earn the new badge.
One letter writer said, “If the brass in Washington think that 12 (combat engineer and bridge crew member), 13 (field artillery) and 19 (armor) series soldiers are the only ones out there risking their lives, they need to come to Iraq and open their eyes. ... I hope the criteria is changed from what has been suggested. Everyone who went outside the wire to engage the enemy deserves the same recognition, regardless of their MOS.”
Army officials late last month said troops’ service is commendable, but the badge is designed to recognize those with an infantry mission.
Others downrange echo the letter writer.
Riding with Greeno in their Hemett wrecker and recovery truck was Spc. Rex Buchanan, also with the 50th MSB. Like Greeno, he drives the truck, can repair it and tow vehicles.
Buchanan was happy to get his combat patch, a rainbow on his right shoulder that signifies his service in theater for the 42nd Infantry Division, also known as the Rainbow Division. It is Buchanan’s 20th year in the military but his first time overseas and first time in combat.
A badge to wear over the left breast pocket would be appropriate for anyone who earned it, he said.
“I hear about these guys going out and drawing small-arms fire and getting [attacked by roadside bombs],” Buchanan said. “They should have a patch or something that says, ‘Thanks for doing what you’re doing.’”
All soldiers are trained on their weapons and have to follow the rules of engagement like anyone else, noted Sgt. Hermino Medina of the 16th Quartermaster Company.
The insurgents don’t aim at just infantrymen, said Medina, a laundry specialist who also rides, locked and loaded, in convoys. “They’re going to harm you no matter what.”
Even soldiers who are normally confined on a base, such as Spc. Edward Haskins, a mechanic with the 16th Quartermaster Company, could face combat. The 500-mile convoy that took him from Kuwait into Iraq could have turn into battle.
Said Haskins of the trip: “You were in harm’s way every day.”
Badge Q&A ...
What is it?
A new badge being offered to some soldiers in direct combat missions similar to infantry and Special Forces.
Who’s eligible?
Soldiers with the following military occupational specialties of armor, cavalry, combat engineer and field artillery, and who participate in ground combat. Officers in those units are also eligible.
History
The Army announced the creation of the badge in February. Additional details are expected to be released this month. The badge will be retroactive from October 2001.
