Letter to the editor
Tell me what you think. This is what is being submitted to the stars and stripes…
Proximity to Combat Badge (PCB)
I’m writing for all of us that serve our country, and do wish we had the opportunities that our comrades in arms up north had, such as serving in a combat environment. We, the ones in the rear with the gear, so to speak, would give almost anything to participate in such a historic event. We’re not all the burlesque desk jockey’s that we’re made out to be.
The simple fact of the matter is that most of us won’t ever get to see the chance to get north. The fact that we get awards for giving our all at our jobs is besides the point. After a while, one can see the mere mockery of receiving an ARCOM for doing power-point presentations, or how the fact that we receive commander’s coins from every CO here can be a distortion of the fact that it’s the right time, right place type of award. We seriously work hard at performing our duties, and all the additional duties such as police call, the once a month guard duty, or headcount, can seriously put a strain on our manning abilities, and our free time. These additional duties aren’t even recognized usually with the exception of the token AAM. None of these awards can be worn on our duty uniform, however, like the coveted Close Combat badge or the EIB. There is nothing to show the world our sacrifices when we walk by them in the airports going home. Sure, we get the combat unit identifier patch on our right sleeve, but hey, we have to deal with the pressures of the possibility of terrorist threats here as well.
I’m suggesting an award that a forum of us have come up with. We’d like to see it called the Proximity to Combat Badge, or PCB for short. I feel that the fact that there isn’t such a thing for us is making a mockery of our true sacrifices. We’re not here impersonating soldiers, but are true soldiers.
