It was approved and things that go with it.
My recommendation for my Combat Action Badge that I was out in for was approved. I got the memo and permanent orders this Wednesday. Also because my S1 managed to get my ERB updated just right before I was going to to the Soldier of the Month Board this past Thursday, I was able to wear it. It added a big boost of confidence and I was able to win the board, making this my third board win out of six tries. It might be something to do with finally getting it after waiting for almost three years to get it.
So on Friday I was wearing my CAB and someone asked why I never wore my badge before. I explained that it was newly approved as of March 18th. Someone asked if they did a ceremony and I told them no. So before I knew it I was told that they were planning something for me at the end of the day safety briefing. So when the time came I was called up in front of the clinic and talked about how I won the SOM board. He also made a point to talk about the CAB and why it this is means a lot. Also he made a comment that he expected to see me as a NCO in the near future. Oh course if anyone knows me I am not that great of a public speaker so I was blushing like crazy. I also had my wife Christine in front of everyone and gave me a chance to publicly thank her fore everything that shes does for me and gone through because of me.
Also later I ‘Earned” my CAB by having previous badges winners put on my CAB without the damnits. Yep it hurt a lot ,but I would felt like something was missing if I had not gotten that. They had to pull the CAB out twice because it stuck to the skin.
Good Times.
Category: Pointless blather
Very well done, sporkmaster! *HOOAH* trooper! You can come rescue muh old ass anytime too….B-)Cuz, I’d do the same for you. Congrats, my lil brother!
Congratulations…..and more so on “earning” it.
Thank but there was a sad thing that I think that my Class As officially died in that there was a large rip that we had to use a pin to old together for the board.
Congrats Spork.
Congrats!
Congratulations, Sporkster!! Funny thing is; you don’t sound any different than before. Must be too early in the morning or you haven’t had your Coco Puffs, yet.
Congratulations!
As for the “pinning”, some people feel it necessary and some don’t. I’m one of the latter: when we were awarded CIBs no one pinned them on, probably due to the fact that we still had irregular showers and the last thing we needed were dirty pieces of metal creating dirtier holes in us. Since then, it’s been clear that no one pins a lesser badge on me.
Remember to continue your professional and personal development too; it seems that you (and/or your leadership) are motivated about boards, but don’t neglect civilian education and military courses. Some of us are able to glide up to SSG by taking care of Soldiers and neglecting ourselves; it took almost nine years for me to realize that it is time to stop gliding and start flying. I’m working on the college piece right now (about to spend most of the day working on a Criminal Law paper) and will be doing my damnest to maximize promotion potential for the next SFC board.
If you ever need anything, you have my email.
Sporkmaster,
Well done! Well done indeed! I echo everything from above about civilian courses, etc. It also doesn’t hurt at all to do community volunteer work, Boy Scouts, school groups, etc. Ask them to send a note about your helping out to your command. These always look good in your jacket. You get the satisfaction of helping others out, and if it helps you get advanced, all the better.
As to the pinning, I still have a small blue permanent dot where I had my gold Navy Aircrew wings “pinned” on. They called it “blood pinning” back then, like yours without the clutchbacks. Sumbitch was purple & green for a week after that, but it was also a damned proud moment for me.
Anything you need, let me know. I’d be honored to help out.
Congrats Sporky, nice job!
Congrats, Spork. Well deserved.
Thanks guys.
As far as the civilian education I am already maxed out with 95 college credit hours. I was able to join as a PFC because of that. Right now I am working on completing my Associate Degree and start my bachelor degree in a medical field I am not sure of at this time.
Under the new system there is a limit to the number of ACCP hours that you can use. You can only use 320 hours rather then it being able to max out at 999 hours. I wrote about the other changes here.
Sporkmaster, I said I glided up to this point–to this day I have not completed an Army correspondence course and for both E-5 and E-6 I had only a handful of semester hours (being an 11B used to be great for junior NCO promotions, now not-so-much). Work towards those degrees and stay optimistic. I’m just now finishing my CRJ301 Criminal Law homework and feeling burned out; the sad thing is it only consisted of 4 essay questions but the end result was over 2000 words. It might be unnecessary, but I want to maintain a 4.0 for as long as possible. After this degree is completed next year I’ll start on a Master’s. I almost (but not quite) wish I’d have completed the Associate’s before changing the degree plan. Think long-term. This last SFC board was my second look and despite my ability to impress decentralized boards I realize that my records do not reflect my abilities and potential. Keep up with those boards, increase your confidence and knowledge, and go for the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club boards (one more thing I have yet to do). We have a Medic that is about to leave who have been in for only twelve or so years and has already been selected for E-8. He is a member of the SAMC, a PT stud, and enforces the standards. Also, try to branch out as much as possible. I was talking the other day with an E-5 who is still trying to make points for E-6. He is one of those who feel that serving in line units alone will enable him to get promoted and told me that after recruiting he hopes to stay in light Infantry companies. He seems to devalue positions such as battalion staff as well as special assignments. I’ve known a very few senior NCOs who skyrocketed despite a lack of diversity in their careers but my mentors have always told me to gain skill-sets outside of my PMOS (in moderation, of course). As for me, I’m hoping to get selected next year or, at the very latest,… Read more »
Congratulations Sporkmaster, keep charging, a lot of good advice has been thrown out at you. Always remember to take care of your soldiers and they will take care of you.
fm2176,
congratulations go out to you also for successfully completing a tour in TOG, you have survived a unit that thrives on stressing soldiers out for the sometimes silliest things. I was assigned to Hq, MDW mid-to late eighties and we use to check out soldier complaints from TOG on a consistent basis. If it wasn’t for them I probably would have been able to get homw at a decent hour most days. It is a hard unit to go through a tour and not get in trouble at least once. Unless it changed it had some of the most asinine rules I saw in 24 years.