One of the most notable aspects of a military uniform is the rack of ribbons on the chest. From the lowly boot camp graduate to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, everyone in the military has ribbons. They look prestigious and dignified. I think they’re pretentious and find every opportunity to not wear mine.
They’re not all bad, they have one definite use. There is a trope that an old general will recount what heroic deeds earned him each award, and that’s not far off. A ribbon is a little emblem that represents a medal or award received. Each one has different criteria from completing basic training to participating in a specific operation or campaign. Some are “attaboy” awards, like the good conduct ribbon that means you didn’t get in trouble for several years. But by looking at a ribbon rack you can tell a lot about someone’s career. It’s like an instant resume visible for the world to see. I don’t need to ask whether this captain knows anything about flying, I can see he has 5 air medals and can tell roughly how many missions he has flown in a combat area. I don’t need to ask if a sergeant is trustworthy, I can see the good conduct ribbons and achievement medals proving it.
At least that’s the theory.
The reality is that ribbons show that you’re good at the military skills of playing games and sucking up. Some awards are decided by boards and depend on your skill writing bullet points more than your actual accomplishments. Many awards are entirely subjective and depend on the favor of the recipient or the recommender with a superior officer.
An example of this involved me. I worked on a team that was spearheading the implementation of new VR systems for an experimental pilot training program. The guys I worked with did a phenomenal job making things work and helping the students succeed even though they were given little by way of resources and huge demands. The supervisor recommended them for an achievement medal and it was rejected or ignored. A few months later someone received the same award for distributing water bottles to people on base during a snow storm that knocked out power for a week.
I feel like awards, ribbons, and medals have potential to be useful. Their ability to demonstrate someone’s experience and competence at a glance is useful. But as their method of distribution is broken and corrupt they are less than useless: they are misleading, masquerading political savvy as excellence and gamesmanship as experience.
EDIT: I previously referred to the Commendation Award, but the correct name is the Achievement Medal