Campaign Medals (ICM & AFGM) and GWOT-Es

[GearMonkey]

I've run into a bit of trouble processing ICM/AFGM/GWOT-Es and hoped some of the wiser folks out there might be able to help me out.

For the last two years I've been submitting people for these medals as they reach the magic 60 non-consecutive days in or over country required by the regulations. Because we (C-17s) don't stay in country we've been counting dates for each medal as we visit either Iraq or Afghanistan. We, of course, don't count the same date twice but if we go to Iraq during one CDD/FDP and to Afghanistan on the next CDD/FDP we've been giving credit for both. I figured this was totally legit; we're fighting a two front war and eventually amassing 60 days in each theater to earn the medal.

Last week I turned in a new batch of AF104s and the MPF folks told me that this methodology was bogus. I called AMC awards & decorations and was told that we could only earn points for one of the three medals during each "service period" and that their definition of a service period was departure from home station until return to home station. I asked for an official reference to this definition but all they could give me was the ICM/AFGM release memo which mentions service period but does not specify what exactly it is. This limitation is bad enough when it screws you out of one or two service days on a short trip that transits both countries but when they apply it to a four month deployment everyone loses credit for more than half of their time out there.

Like many other regulations, the ICM/AFGM stuff seems to be written from a long-term ground deployment perspective. The fact that people fly in and out of both countries on a daily/weekly/monthly basis from home station, on 10 day SRTs, and/or on deployments doesn't fit their cookie-cutter "service period" definition. I could understand if CENTAF came up with this retarded idea but it seems AMC is equally guilty of not understanding how we fight this war. Each day is a new service period for crews who fly both theaters and never know where they will be the next day.

As a squadron A&D guy I've seen how long it takes to get 60 days for any of these medals. The idea that we're automatically screwed out of 66% of our qualified service dates blows my mind. I've been flying for 2 years now and have between 50 and 60 days (away from home, fighting the war, in-country) for each campaign and for the GWOT-E. Now apparently 100+ of those days don't count for anything. It gets worse for other guys who still don’t have enough credits despite five or more years flying to both these countries. This seems like a very poor way to recognize the hard work and sacrifice of flyers who are fighting the war but not deployed in-country.

My view is that the 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days requirement is enough of a restriction already and that the whole “service period” is a moot point. If someone spends part or all of 60 days in either Iraq or Afghanistan they’ve clearly participated in the campaign and should be recognized for it. I’ve done far more for the Iraq/Afghanistan medals I don’t have than I ever did for the National Defense Service Medal that I do have.

A few questions for those who may be in the know:

1. Who at AMC decides what a "service period" is and why don't they understand how C-17s fight these wars?

2. What do your squadrons/bases/MAJCOMs count towards your 60 days for a campaign medal?

3. Are there any loopholes or creative ways to process AF104s to recognize people for their actual campaign participation rather their artificially low “AMC-approved” service time?

I appreciate any feedback you have.

[Butters]

A few questions for those who may be in the know:

1. Who at AMC decides what a "service period" is and why don't they understand how C-17s fight these wars?

2. What do your squadrons/bases/MAJCOMs count towards your 60 days for a campaign medal?

3. Are there any loopholes or creative ways to process AF104s to recognize people for their actual campaign participation rather their artificially low “AMC-approved” service time?

I appreciate any feedback you have.

May be hard to do now because they know who you are and they know you complained about it, but try turning them in separately. They are not going to go back and find the paperwork for a previous award and compare it. They are shoeclereks, the have a certain element of laziness. I never knew that "service period" was a problem, but I turned all of mine in separately.

[afnav]

I brought my Air Medals to my MPF at Offutt and had them change my GWOT-E into an ICM. They saw that I did most of my flying over Iraq during '03, so they simply did what I asked them to do.

I'm not sure if it will work anywhere else, but it worked for me there.

[Butters]

I brought my Air Medals to my MPF at Offutt and had them change my GWOT-E into an ICM. They saw that I did most of my flying over Iraq during '03, so they simply did what I asked them to do.

I'm not sure if it will work anywhere else, but it worked for me there.

Probably won't work since that is not what he is trying to do. He is trying to get all three, not turn one into another.

I think they are confused about the “Period of service” thing. That really means you can’t use the same deployment to get 2, i.e deployed 120 days to Iraq you don’t get GWOT-E and ICM, you get one or the other.

Now that I think about it, this did come up, and CENTAF (not AMC) said at the time to go by MSN numbers (the 12 digit number thingy) for airlift aircraft. Each MSN number was considered a separate period of service.

[disgruntledemployee]

Now that I think about it, this did come up, and CENTAF (not AMC) said at the time to go by MSN numbers (the 12 digit number thingy) for airlift aircraft. Each MSN number was considered a separate period of service.

Yep, one mission number/FDP is applied to one of the following medals: GWOT, Afghan campaign, or Iraqi campaign. Same with AM and AAM, one credit per mission number/FDP.

So yeah, GM3 bros, I hear you. Its tougher for you to get the bling than say our Herc dudes, whom either live in Iraq or Afghanistan, and thus easily earn 'em. Heck, even the Deid and Salem dudes can knock one out after a couple of 120s.

But if you can manipulate the system, and you really want a big rack (sts), go ahead. Everybody loves a really nice big rack. Everybody!

Out.

[LT4Life]

Somewhat related but good to know...if you have either of these three medals and you let USAA know they will lock your credit card interest at 4% for life. All it took for me was a phone call and it was done.

[slacker]

Somewhat related but good to know...if you have either of these three medals and you let USAA know they will lock your credit card interest at 4% for life. All it took for me was a phone call and it was done.

So, you call USAA credit card services and say "I've got a GWOT" and poof? Can you give more details?

[Duck]

Do you think they will do that for me? I got the GWOT Service medal for fighting terrorism at ASBC... That's the same as deploying... right?

[LJ Driver]

I think the GWOT-E requires deployment to somewhere other than Afg or Iraq. I just went around the horn about this with A&D also, and the requirement has indeed changed from what it was originally.

[Herk Driver]

I think the GWOT-E requires deployment to somewhere other than Afg or Iraq. I just went around the horn about this with A&D also, and the requirement has indeed changed from what it was originally.

Eligibility for the GWOT Expeditionary Medal: Individuals must have served in one of the following designated, specific geographic areas (land area, airspace or waters) of eligibility to be eligible for the GWOT Expeditionary Medal:

Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria (Bourgas), Chad, Columbia, Crete, Cyprus, Diego Garcia, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Hungary, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo (only specific GWOT operations not associated with operations qualifying for the Kosovo Campaign Medal), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Romania (Constanta), Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey (east of 35 degrees east latitude), Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen, that portion of the Arabian Sea north of 10 degrees north latitude and west of 68 degrees longitude, Bab El Mandeb, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Aqaba, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Suez, that portion of the Mediterranean Sea east of 28 degrees east longitude ("boarding and searching" vessel operations), Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Hormuz and Suez Canal.

(listing is updated as of Feb. 14, 2007)

Somewhat related but good to know...if you have either of these three medals and you let USAA know they will lock your credit card interest at 4% for life. All it took for me was a phone call and it was done.

4%...for life?? I think you've been mis-led.

From their website,

Military Benefits

Receive a special credit card rate for up to one year during regular deployment or PCS and a 100% rebate on all finance charges during a military campaign.

Nothing specific about campaign medals, but, if you mean for your life, during that one year during regular deployment or PCS, then you are correct.

Edited February 14, 2009 by Herk Driver

[KennyB]

Yeah... you might just be an Lt4Life if you believe 4% for life from USAA. That made me laugh out loud. Thanks for that Lt. Now get that snackbar in order!

[afnav]

Somewhat related but good to know...if you have either of these three medals and you let USAA know they will lock your credit card interest at 4% for life. All it took for me was a phone call and it was done.

If you are going to a combat zone deployment, they will change your credit card interest rate to 4% for one calendar year. I know, since I just did it yesterday.

[Guest Rusty Pipes]

I'm assuming it is still the case, but if you are on the ground when there is an Air Base attack you can get an ACM or ICM just for that one day. When I was at CHS one of our Awards and Decs guys found that in the message (nobody really read it before then). I know it doesn't happen as often anymore, but back in the day you couldn't land at Balad without going alarm black. Most guys had the 60 non-consecutive days, but having one day when the base got shelled was much easier. We just put the reference to the time and date and referenced the AFCENT Intel log for Air Base attacks if they wanted to look it up... of course they never did. As far as their "period of service" deal at your MPF I think you just have some shoe making shit up as they go with their own personal interpretation.

[disgruntledemployee]

I'm assuming it is still the case, but if you are on the ground when there is an Air Base attack you can get an ACM or ICM just for that one day.

"HA ha ha ha aaaahaaahaaahaahaa ha ha haa haa haaa haaaa haaaaahh aaahhhaaahaahhaahhhaahah ahhaahahah haa haa haa haa."

"You Air Force dudes are real warriors!" "You all get a medal for being on a FOB when 1 mortar hits?????" WOW!

And so on and so on. This is the kind of ribbing I get from my Marine co-worker when I tell him shit like this.

Out

[POKESC17]

I'm assuming it is still the case, but if you are on the ground when there is an Air Base attack you can get an ACM or ICM just for that one day. When I was at CHS one of our Awards and Decs guys found that in the message (nobody really read it before then). I know it doesn't happen as often anymore, but back in the day you couldn't land at Balad without going alarm black. Most guys had the 60 non-consecutive days, but having one day when the base got shelled was much easier. We just put the reference to the time and date and referenced the AFCENT Intel log for Air Base attacks if they wanted to look it up... of course they never did. As far as their "period of service" deal at your MPF I think you just have some shoe making shit up as they go with their own personal interpretation.

This policy was rescinded by AFCENT about a year ago. AFCENT went on to use the Army's definition of "Engaged", meaning you had to be fired upon and return fire. I don't have the email anymore since I'm finally out of that hell they call A&D's but your folks should be able to find the info out fairly easy.

[GearMonkey]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm glad to see that I'm not smoking crack on this issue.

Looks like we'll try processing one at a time with a cooling-off period in between so the Wing forgets about the previous one. I hate that we have to do stupid stuff like this because people don't understand how the world works.

I wish they'd make the whole A&D process a lot easier. The way I see it qualification should be a yes/no proposition. Where you ever in the country? If "yes" you get the campaign medal, if "no" you don't.

My Air Medal plan is even better. Everyone gets a punchcard with 20 missions on it. Each time you land the SARMS punch a hole. You get 20 punches they give you a medal and that is the end of it. If it works for Subway, Starbucks, and Qdoba it should be good enough for us. AFSO21 baby!

[Guest Rusty Pipes]

"HA ha ha ha aaaahaaahaaahaahaa ha ha haa haa haaa haaaa haaaaahh aaahhhaaahaahhaahhhaahah ahhaahahah haa haa haa haa."

"You Air Force dudes are real warriors!" "You all get a medal for being on a FOB when 1 mortar hits?????" WOW!

And so on and so on. This is the kind of ribbing I get from my Marine co-worker when I tell him shit like this.

Out

You're buddy is 100% right... we do stuff like this all the time and wonder why the Air Force is the laughing stock of the AOR. All you have to do is point to the Deid to see that. A few years back when they were running the C-17 stage at Frankfurt the Squadron running the EAS would always take the channel that ran to Kosovo on the milk run so everyone could get their Kosovo Medal. Pretty pathetic.

[HiFlyer]

Just like Vietnam. At the big bases (Tan Son Hut, Danang, etc.) you always could tell it was the end of the month because the C-141s would have Colonels flying in on the last day of one month and out on the first of the next month so they could get their combat pay and tax exemption for two months.

Edited February 16, 2009 by HiFlyer

[LT4Life]

Yeah... you might just be an Lt4Life if you believe 4% for life from USAA. That made me laugh out loud. Thanks for that Lt. Now get that snackbar in order!

Been about 2 years, haven't made another call since the original, still sitting at 4%. Like I said, maybe I got lucky with who I spoke with but either way I'm happy at 4%, hassle-free.

[afnav]

I've run into a bit of trouble processing ICM/AFGM/GWOT-Es and hoped some of the wiser folks out there might be able to help me out.

For the last two years I've been submitting people for these medals as they reach the magic 60 non-consecutive days in or over country required by the regulations. Because we (C-17s) don't stay in country we've been counting dates for each medal as we visit either Iraq or Afghanistan. We, of course, don't count the same date twice but if we go to Iraq during one CDD/FDP and to Afghanistan on the next CDD/FDP we've been giving credit for both. I figured this was totally legit; we're fighting a two front war and eventually amassing 60 days in each theater to earn the medal.

Last week I turned in a new batch of AF104s and the MPF folks told me that this methodology was bogus. I called AMC awards & decorations and was told that we could only earn points for one of the three medals during each "service period" and that their definition of a service period was departure from home station until return to home station. I asked for an official reference to this definition but all they could give me was the ICM/AFGM release memo which mentions service period but does not specify what exactly it is. This limitation is bad enough when it screws you out of one or two service days on a short trip that transits both countries but when they apply it to a four month deployment everyone loses credit for more than half of their time out there.

Like many other regulations, the ICM/AFGM stuff seems to be written from a long-term ground deployment perspective. The fact that people fly in and out of both countries on a daily/weekly/monthly basis from home station, on 10 day SRTs, and/or on deployments doesn't fit their cookie-cutter "service period" definition. I could understand if CENTAF came up with this retarded idea but it seems AMC is equally guilty of not understanding how we fight this war. Each day is a new service period for crews who fly both theaters and never know where they will be the next day.

As a squadron A&D guy I've seen how long it takes to get 60 days for any of these medals. The idea that we're automatically screwed out of 66% of our qualified service dates blows my mind. I've been flying for 2 years now and have between 50 and 60 days (away from home, fighting the war, in-country) for each campaign and for the GWOT-E. Now apparently 100+ of those days don't count for anything. It gets worse for other guys who still don’t have enough credits despite five or more years flying to both these countries. This seems like a very poor way to recognize the hard work and sacrifice of flyers who are fighting the war but not deployed in-country.

My view is that the 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days requirement is enough of a restriction already and that the whole “service period” is a moot point. If someone spends part or all of 60 days in either Iraq or Afghanistan they’ve clearly participated in the campaign and should be recognized for it. I’ve done far more for the Iraq/Afghanistan medals I don’t have than I ever did for the National Defense Service Medal that I do have.

A few questions for those who may be in the know:

1. Who at AMC decides what a "service period" is and why don't they understand how C-17s fight these wars?

2. What do your squadrons/bases/MAJCOMs count towards your 60 days for a campaign medal?

3. Are there any loopholes or creative ways to process AF104s to recognize people for their actual campaign participation rather their artificially low “AMC-approved” service time?

I appreciate any feedback you have.

A little off topic, but AF Times is running a story from last week on medal disparity between O's and E's. One medal in particular that caught my eye was the AFCAM. According to their figures, only 1,520 officers have been awarded the medal. With as much ordnance dropped as has been the case over the last 8+ years, I have a hard time believing that only that many aircrew have 'shot' or been 'shot at'. There was a post not long ago on this topic, but this is the first time I've seen the numbers on how many have received it. It really seems too low.

My only guess is that various approving organizations have different criteria for it, just like for the campaign medals.

[Guest Smoke_Jaguar4]

A little off topic, but AF Times is running a story from last week on medal disparity between O's and E's. One medal in particular that caught my eye was the AFCAM. According to their figures, only 1,520 officers have been awarded the medal. With as much ordnance dropped as has been the case over the last 8+ years, I have a hard time believing that only that many aircrew have 'shot' or been 'shot at'. There was a post not long ago on this topic, but this is the first time I've seen the numbers on how many have received it. It really seems too low.

My only guess is that various approving organizations have different criteria for it, just like for the campaign medals.

The genesis of the AFCAM was to reward airmen in Army ILO tasks who would otherwise qualified for the Combat Action Badge. These are for the guys like TRANS and UXOs who spend considerable time outside the wire catching bullets. It's definitely not for dodging the occasional mortar at an FOB (BTDT). Flyers have a separate set of air medals (DFC, AM, AAM) for heroism or meritorious performance in aerial combat. The air medals rank higher than the AFCAM, so in a combat situation an aircrew will earn an air medal. Thus most of the AFCAMs go to ground personnel.

AFCAM award criteria:

http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/library/fa...et.asp?id=11444

[Guest Rusty Pipes]

The genesis of the AFCAM was to reward airmen in Army ILO tasks who would otherwise qualified for the Combat Action Badge. These are for the guys like TRANS and UXOs who spend considerable time outside the wire catching bullets. It's definitely not for dodging the occasional mortar at an FOB (BTDT). Flyers have a separate set of air medals (DFC, AM, AAM) for heroism or meritorious performance in aerial combat. The air medals rank higher than the AFCAM, so in a combat situation an aircrew will earn an air medal. Thus most of the AFCAMs go to ground personnel.

AFCAM award criteria:

http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/library/fa...et.asp?id=11444

And also pushed by a bunch of disgruntled Chiefs who are pissed that the "Air" Force is actually in the business of supporting their air crew (well, not like that is what we are really doing in today's "everyone gets a trophy" Air Force) who were the ones getting credit for the actual combat in the AOR. I think you either get shot at or you don't. I think it is great to have this for the guys doing the ILO stuff because they definitely deserve it, but I don't think flyers should be excluded.

[Butters]

The genesis of the AFCAM was to reward airmen in Army ILO tasks who would otherwise qualified for the Combat Action Badge. These are for the guys like TRANS and UXOs who spend considerable time outside the wire catching bullets. It's definitely not for dodging the occasional mortar at an FOB (BTDT). Flyers have a separate set of air medals (DFC, AM, AAM) for heroism or meritorious performance in aerial combat. The air medals rank higher than the AFCAM, so in a combat situation an aircrew will earn an air medal. Thus most of the AFCAMs go to ground personnel.

AFCAM award criteria:

http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/library/fa...et.asp?id=11444

UXOs???? I think you mean EOD.

I think it is great to have this for the guys doing the ILO stuff because they definitely deserve it, but I don't think flyers should be excluded.

The flyers that should be excluded are the fags that try to get one because the saw a flash of light out of the corner of their eye when they were on final. “Oh, tower told us some shot an RPG at us when we were on final”. Great, I once had a tower controller tell me I was on fire, turns out I wasn’t. Don’t believe everything someone tells you, including me!

[Guest Alarm Red]

The genesis of the AFCAM was to reward airmen in Army ILO tasks who would otherwise qualified for the Combat Action Badge. These are for the guys like TRANS and UXOs who spend considerable time outside the wire catching bullets. It's definitely not for dodging the occasional mortar at an FOB (BTDT). Flyers have a separate set of air medals (DFC, AM, AAM) for heroism or meritorious performance in aerial combat. The air medals rank higher than the AFCAM, so in a combat situation an aircrew will earn an air medal. Thus most of the AFCAMs go to ground personnel.

AFCAM award criteria:

http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/library/fa...et.asp?id=11444

I mostly agree. The main fallacy here is that of thinking that ILO is something unique or new. TACP and EOD have been doing their respective missions long before terms like "Battlefield Airman" and "In Lieu Of" were generating OPR bullets for some guy at A1. TACP have been receive the Army CAB since it came out in '05. The AFCAM is in place since not everyone is aligned with an Army S1, plus if all the 'pounders in the USAF are receiving/wearing sister-service awards, maybe it's time the USAF came up with one.

I don't think it was meant for the guys who are threat reacting to the ORBD burn pit, or who watch a 7.62 tracer from 17K' while SLDing a GBU-38.

[busdriver]

AFCAM should be about knowing you are under fire and continuing the mission. If you see someone wearing the AFCAM you know that person has stared down death and knows how that realization effects them, for better or worse. It basically says this person has been there and done that. Being on a base that gets mortared, NO. Being in a convoy that gets ambushed, YES. Flying into a DZ/LZ under fire, YES. Strafing a target while receiving return fire, YES. Defending against an IADS to include missile launches, YES. Shooting back against a no kidding ground threats, YES. Watching a MANPADS launch and reacting, YES. Being in a chow hall that receives a direct mortar hit and despite ringing ears and dizzy head, you help with caring for wounded, YES.

This should be one of those things, that if you aren't 100% sure you qualify, you should be ashamed of putting yourself in for.