12/2/2006
CIB vs CAB
American Soldier says,
For those of you stuck on ’stupid’ and stupid being a very minor segment of a post that wasn’t suppose to be about medals, lets get it straight.
For one, I don’t like to debate with people. It pisses me off. I put my views and words on this site because it’s my outlet. 95% of the time it is all about my experiences and very heavy on the soldier side. I made a point to say that I look at soldiers different when I see a combat patch and a CIB. So let’s clarify this point some more.
My words exactly: “I just have a different type of respect for soldiers who have a CIB and those who don’t.”
I never said I look down upon them nor did I say that beloved fucking CAB is worthless. I’m saying I look at people differently. Think of it like this. You a person with one leg and you walk into a room and you see 4 people across from it talking and they all have one leg. I bet your ass you will go up to them either immediately or at some point to talk to them, because you can relate to them. Let’s sweeten the pot a little bit more. You are in the military and you show up to a function for your child and you are in uniform. You see 4 guys across the room in uniform talking; I bet you the same aforementioned action will be taken.
Point is this. I have respect for all soldiers who have the balls enough to go to combat. Heck I will even go as far as saying I have respect for most anyone in uniform. There are some turd bags that ‘only’ soldiers would love to take to the wood line and fix but we can’t in today’s Army. So we mentor, train and improve that soldier the ‘professional’ way. We are all soldiers who go to war, we get a fruit bowl of fucking medals that shows our courage or wounds or where we’ve been. The shit that really distinguishes me in my ACU’s is my CIB. I flock to those who wear it because I just do. I’ve fought along side those who are not Infantry or SF and seen them do some courageous stuff. I don’t care what they wear they are still my brothers in Arms. But when I don’t know you, I will probably ask the guy with the CIB first where he’s been first! Why? Because I want to, gotta love the freedom’s I’ve fought for aye?
Now please stop sending me emails about your husband, boyfriend, son, daughter all being hero’s cause they have a CAB. I bet they earned it and that’s great, be proud of them.
I hope I’ve clarified my point. The CAB is not worthless is my eyes and I don’t know why my opinion matters so much. If you got some CAB story’s please post them or send me the narrative in an email to me and I may post them.
Filed under: General
31 Responses to “CIB vs CAB”
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Makes perfect sense to me, AS - but I’m not one of the people who’ve been driving you nuts on the subject
You fought for the right, this is your blog, and you can say / do here any d@mn thing you like. For myself, I’m glad to have the chance to hear the stories straight from you.
Just curious soldier, have you learned anything about Islam while in a Muslim country?
www.knowledgeislight.blogspot.com
Ali - I actually did learn quite a bit from those people. I worked closely with my interpreter and trusted him with my life.
AS, we all do that in our lives. There are certain people we draw to, especially if we know they have been through the same or similar experiences. Your latest post makes sense.
AS,
I have been reading you blog for a year now and have never felt the need to actually comment on something that was said. I have laughed, cried and nodded my head a many a time after reading your posts. My husband is currently in Iraq and recently earned his CMB. Guess what…when he comes home, he will be drawn to others that have one too! It just shocks me to see that this debate is still going on and that you felt you had to explain your words! These are the simple facts… I come here to read what YOU have to say and if I don’t like it well guess what I don’t have to read it. JMHO but this is a page that AS can FREELY express ANY opinion he has and if you don’t like it and if you have an opinion then you are FREE to blog somewhere else yourself. Isn’t freedom great! Thank you SO much AS for ALL you do!!
With all due respect, people are too thin skinned these days. They take everything much too personally, blow things out of proportion, and take things as a personal attack. Get over it! An opinion is just that…an opinion and not the gospel truth!
I can’t believe all of the grief you’ve gotten over this!! You have your opinion. These folks obviously have theirs too. But where do they get off criticizing you or attempting to force their opinion on you? It sounds a bit hypocritical to me.
Anyway, I think what you did sounds perfectly natural. Many of us do get it, and we’re behind you 100%!
Cheers!
AS,
well done on setting the haters, complainers and sensitive types straight on this subject. What you said makes sense to me and in my opinion will make sense to most. screw the rest of them if they dont get it after this.
I don’t know. When I came home they went in the attic and thats where they are today. Nobody gave a damn. Still don’t.
I got a CAB for splitting haji in two with a MK19 as he shot at us with his AK. If I were 11B I’d get a CIB but I’m 19D so I got a CAB. Who gives a crap either way, point is haji is dead. I would have taken a 12 pack over the badges anyway.
Cavscount,
Not about any medal or badge. I’d gladly buy you a round!
In our little corner of the war im IV Corp south of the Mecong Delta our various Vietnamese and U.S. Navy units took about 5% casualties a month during the deployment. Our ship was never hit, though I was and/or should have been anxious several times. Remebering my own feelings from those moments, I quickly learned to regard the guys who went looking for trouble every day such as Sea Wolves, PCF sailors and SEALS as part of a differnt world.
This my first visit to this site. It is good to have sites where we are not all automatically monsters. Guys, my son finished his second tour in Afghanistan a year ago. His wife was there too. He is 11B but she is in communications and logistics. She is a Jump Master and he is Airborne, Air Assault and planning to go to Path Finders school. They are both SFCs. He was 10 years Regular Army and she was 6. They are both Indiana National Guard now for the past 4 years. Each has re-upped for another 6. He was proud to become the third generation CIB earner and that shocked me. I never even thought about that being that big of a deal. I knew what it meant to me. I served in ‘Nam in 1968 (I am publishing a book of poetry about my experiences as well as those of some friends). My father made 4 of the major European jumps in WW2 with the 517th. He was the first in of our three. My daughter-in-law earned the CAB under fire. I am proud of them both. I may burst some day.
I really do understand your distinction and his analogy is well done. I refuse to feel less pride for my daughter-in-law. There are all kinds of awards, coins and things that are handed out now. I never felt like my Purple Heart was really earned compared to what others experienced in comparison to my minor wounds. I do mean minor but it happened a couple of times so I got it by accumulation. The point is I do not disagree. I know that many things are more political than not. That has been true since the days of John Kerry or even Montgomery in WW2. I do not think giving recognition to those who are willing to go to combat in this day and age is bad. I feel strongly though that recipients must have been directly involved in a combat action. I had to be shot at in Nam. My son was shot at several times when he went to Afghanistan the first time, right after 9/11. He got nothing that time because the CAB had not started. He did get a Force Recon knife given to him for his work with them in the mountains. I imagine that means more than anything else he has gotten at any time. Something from peers who were with you outweighs anything given you by strangers. THe badges can be worn with pride in public. If you walked in a room with the two of them you would know. I can tell your heart would swell too.
Mr. Mullins,
You should be damn proud of them both! Thank you for posting here.
Mr. A.S. it is early in the morning and I just got home from work. I probably do not make any more sense than I did earlier today. I appreciate your response. I also want you to know, as I do the others who have posted here, that I have shared this with several of my Nam buddies. Some of us still get together every couple of years to catch up on each other and remember what we were together at one time, long ago. I think a couple of them at least will enjoy cruising through. Keep up the commentary and promoting what I think we all believe here. To you I say do well and be well.
Now I understand why my buddy Johnson never wore his CIB. He didn’t want people to treat him specially or differently for doing his job at some time in the past.
Was your buddy Johnson a Nam ver? Depending on where he lived in this country a guy could catch too much hell for admitting he was there, much less being proud he served. Getting off the plane in california was a challenge. I served stateside from April until
August 1969. I got out of the service on 8/19 and was on a college campus on 8/24 (the day of my 21st birthday) and if I had been anywhere but down south on a campus where a lot of kids were raised patriotically I may have been stoned out of town. It is the way it was.
ver is a typo. sorry. vet.
when was the Major combat declared over?
Does Anyone know Im doing a project at school and need Data
my real name is not fungi its cody just so you know but thats not the point the point is I read the story above and i decided to do a speech over it and i have been looking up info all day WHEN WAS WAR DECLARED OVER?
which war cody? some were never declared. our illustrious leaders just quit on us.
Hooah on the entry AS. I used to be an 11B but later changed my MOS to 63B (mechanic) and was deployed as one. I ended up on patrols and convoys and got me 4 hajis, one being 10 meters away during a raid inside his house. This was early ‘04 so there was no such thing as the CAB or nothin so I didn’t give a shit. A year later, they decided to award me one. I didn’t even show up to the pin-on ceremony (ha!).
Well… I wear it now out of respect for my Top who put it in for me. Sometimes I wish I stayed in the infantry, so that I could’ve received the CIB as I always dreamed of earning since stepping into Benning. Now, I wish I never earned anything, because I realized that being shot at sucks
I know a guy that told me he got the CAB because he heard faint cracks of rifle fire 50 meters away then drove off. Something seriously needs to be done about those type of pogues cause it makes me loathe the badge. I know several who definitely deserved them though.
Keep up your good work.
i preffer the CIB over the cab, but over 3/4th soldiers in my unit now in Iraq that were previosly in afghanistan, and their whole company was blanketed with CIB’s, their medics got CMB’s and their POG’s got CAB’s. what pisses the hell out of me, is they all admited they were never shot at once nor fired their rifles. they never even heard any enemy gunfire the whole time they were there, and they earned their CIB’s. This is why i don’t respect anyone with combat badges more than other soldiers anymore.
then there is me, who is an 11B and because i voulenteered i was stuck in an enginner company on a secfor mission so that excludes eligibilty for the CIB because i am with a god damn combat engineer company on an damn MP mission, and over half this company are 11B’s, we even have few females with all diffrent MOS’s. it’s a damn mutt unit. and eng unit with only one platoon of 21B’s
i was shot at 4 times with automatic rifle fire, 3 and 4th time they hit the vehicle and put holes through it and we have been mortered, and hit with IEDs since we got here mid november
command still won’t even put us in for any awards, they feel it isn’t enough. i guess you have to die to get somthing now.
disregard last post, around 04:30 yesterday morning i shot and killed (CK) a man on a rooftop armed with an RPK with my M4 off route irish. he fired around 9 rounds before i could aquire PID at my squad leader and team leader obviously trying to kill them, who where dismounted hooking up a disabled vehicle.
had to do sworn statements and commander putting us in for CIB’s as only 11B’s were involved.
i wouldn’t be suprised if the MP brigade we are under denies it and just throws us some CAB’s.
if that’s the case, i refuse to wear it.
CAN YOU WEAR A “C.I.B.” ON YOUR UNIFORM IF YOU TRANSFER TO THE NAVY, IF NOT WHY NOT?
While deployed to Ramadi as an 11B in 04′ and 05′, many MOS’s were blanketed with the different combat badges. These badges have lost there meaning due to lack standards being dropped to recieve these badges by are comanders. Although, being in combat you could careless about a damn badge. That was the last thing I was worried about everyday as my Bradley left the wire.
War Thirsty - You are right that the meaning has lost it’s allure some. I also agree that while in combat you aren’t thinking of anything that you could attain. After all, medals are items you can buy in the store. You life and your buddy’s life is irreplaceable.
Well as far as the CIB vs. CAB goes they are both wothless as far as a symbol for combat is concerned these days. I am a 19D Sniper and was awarded my CAB for countless engagements while deployed, additionally so were the fobbitts. The people who never left the FOB were awarded the same award as I. The line dogs who are all 11B’s all recieved their CIB regardless, they all had some action in one form or another though. My point is it is given away to almost anyone, no degree of contact is required whether you get in a gunfight every day, take mortars every day, hit IED’s every day, or shoot people from 600M away while they are attempting to shoot you also. Some get their CIB or CAB no matter what and thats just how things are in certain parts of the country, a slight bit of contact on the FOB gets it for everyone. I do however respect everyone who deployed and fought for their country but the awards should definetely not be looked at as a form of combat recognition anymore. The CIB lost its prestige and im not sure if the CAB ever had any… lol….. anyways some fight and some support and thats how it is.
Sniper,
I agree the loss of prestige has occurred with both the CIB & CAB. So let me clear up my mindset. I tend to flock with my own kind. Combat soldiers. Infantry more so. Doesn’t lessen any other job, just my personal opinion and feelings on the subject.