What They Mean – Combat Medic Badge

The Combat Medic Badge (CMB), like any combat badge, is highly coveted within the community, but I have always felt that the CMB has a distinct spirit, something inherently different from the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) and the Combat Action Badge (CAB), by the nature of the jobs associated with each one.

When my unit was first told we were deploying it was like ripping a band-aid off. “I look forward to serving with you in Afghanistan,” was all the commander said, before turning it over to the 1SG. The first conversations that took place were done by the elated junior enlisted, who had never been to war, and were all excited to earn their badges.

The scouts and the forward observers chattered in formation beside us about their CABs, and I remember a junior medic saying that he was excited to get his CMB. There are those little moments when you view the world differently after hearing what someone says. This was one of those for me. One of our medics had just returned from Iraq, where he had done convoy security, which is a job I want no part in. With his CMB on his chest, he snatched that young medic (not me) out of formation and dragged him over in front of our own formation, just enough to show him the rest of the troop. The senior medic pointed at all the soldiers and asked the junior medic, “Who gets the Purple Heart to go along with your CMB?”

The kid froze.

They returned to formation, the junior medic and all the other medics in the platoon who had seen this exchange, sufficiently humbled.

The CMB was created in January of 1945. To be eligible for this award, a soldier must first be a medical professional and below the rank of colonel. They must also, “Satisfactorily perform medical duties while the unit is engaged in active ground combat, provided they are personally present and under fire.”

Now, if there is a way to cheat the system and water a badge down, people will find a way to do it, because that is what people do. They want the maximum return for the least amount of effort. The trick to this one is to perform medical duties. To give you an idea of how this badge can be potentially earned, here is a conversation that took place one night on my base in Afghanistan. Our eight-man building had just been rocked by some incoming fire that had landed near by.

“Holy shit, are you guys ok?” one of the Sergeants yelled in the dark room.

Everyone ‘rogered up,’ still half asleep.

“I’ll go check on the rest of the platoon,” another Sergeant said, stumbling out of bed and out the door.

“Congrats, Doc, you just earned your CMB,” a sergeant said.

“What the fuck for?” I asked.

“You asked if we were ok. That is the first step in a patient assessment.”

“I didn’t ask if you were ok,” I replied.

“No, he didn’t,” the platoon sergeant said.

“Wait, no you didn’t. You are the worst medic ever,” he replied.

“Fuck you, too. How about that?” I replied, while we all laughed.

Now, the rest of the platoon was fine, and we all went back to sleep while mortars pounded the point of origin. The important takeaway from this–aside from me being a terrible medic–is how little effort it can take to potentially earn this badge based upon the written criteria. Is that how everyone earns it? No, definitely not. But, as we all know, there are always a few.

Before I joined the military, all I wanted was experience, to be a hardened combat veteran with a chest full of medals. After my first tour, I lost interest in that idea and matured a bit, eventually losing interest in badges and awards completely. Finally, I had a CMB of my own, but those few who watered it down made it difficult for me to put it on.

This was where I was humbled again, this time by a soldier who had received two Purple Hearts. He stopped me while we were out-processing from our mobilization site and stuck his finger in my chest in the empty spot where my CMB should have been. “Where is yours? Are you too good to wear it?”

I didn’t have a response, but the next time he saw me, I was wearing it.

His two Purple Hearts were attached to my CMB, along with several of the other soldiers who were walking around. A cheap CMB recognizes a soldier’s actions, regardless of how strong or weak they had been. When a CMB is earned, it is by the sacrifices of others, and all the medic can do is try to keep them together, until they are in the more capable hands of a doctor.

That is what a CMB is. It is bought with the blood of our friends and comrades. It isn’t about the fight. It is about the sacrifice. Thankfully, it is far less recognizable outside of the military community.

Stolen Valor individuals don’t know it exists for them to slap it on their fake uniforms.

Which I appreciate.

 

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Category: Politics