Combat Awards and Decor - Essay Example

Combat Awards and Decor Introduction Reward ceremonies often play an imperative role in the working like of individuals. Precisely stating, such ceremonies raise the dedication of people towards their respective services (Department of the Army, 1998). The historical evolution of The Army’s Combat Awards & Decorations can be traced back during the issuance of the Purple Heart by George Washington for injury in battle. This system did not evolved as a comprehensive system until World War I and thus lacked in the development of the same after the finish of World War II. This shortage in the development eventually led towards current building of a Mountain of Honor, which in turn, resulted in disingenuous heaping of awards particularly on the soldiers. Moreover, having lacunas in the same also resulted in degrading warrior ethos as well as fighting ability of the soldiers at large. Thus, in this context, the importance of introducing such system evolved with the aim of not only recognizing the magnitude of the warriors but also addressing the notion of degrading warrior ethos. Warrior ethos, in this regard, denotes determining whether solders deserve awards or recognitions for their respective services and also examining whether such awards will be respected (Clemmer, 2009). Thesis Statement In relation to the above context, the prime intent of this essay is mainly to elaborate and analyze the significance of the Army’s Combat Awards and Decoration System, which tends to focus on examining the above stated ethos weighs and most vitally recognizing the magnitude of the activities perform by individual soldiers as well as finding out the ways for enhancing their morale. Historical Evolution of the Army’s Award System The inception of Army’s Award System is recognized during the realm of World War I and the rule of George Washington, which was not then developed into a complete system. The Army’s Award System, during the particular period, mainly drove the motivation level and reflected the corporate values of the US Army, which faced difficulties in conducting counterinsurgency operations during World War I. In general, the above stated system intended to promote the counterinsurgency behaviors of the US army by offering pays as well as promotions and awards in the form of introducing such system i.e. Army’s Award System (Clemmer, 2009). Importance of Army’s Combat Awards and Decoration System The importance of Army’s Combat Awards and Decoration System has a historical background specifically during the happening of World War I. Previously stated, the introduction of such a system was mainly for the reason of promoting the counterinsurgency behaviors of the US army. However, by taking into concern the modern scenario, the rationale of selecting such a system for the contemporary military as well as army personnel is quite different considering the real-world scenario and the global aspects (Fransson & Frendberg, 2005). With this concern, the following discussed aspects reveal the significance of Army’s Award System in relation to the modern US Army with due consideration of the traditional impacts and the changed globalized perspectives: Attraction and Retention Generally, the prime intent of introducing such a system is to recognize the contribution made by the modern soldiers as well as reward them for their respective accomplishments. In this regard, the significance of such a system lay in retaining the valuable and potential soldiers (Fransson & Frendberg, 2008). Motivation of Performance Traditionally, the Army’s Award System was introduced for promoting the counterinsurgency behaviors of the US army, which struggled in effectively strategizing during the World War I. However, in this modern day context, the prime intent of introducing such a system act as a motivational power, encouraging the army and military personnel to perform their respective services in a responsible manner (Fransson & Frendberg, 2008). In US army, all the medals rewarded to the soldiers during the World War I and World War II were envisaged in a statement of ‘Mountain of Honor’ (Clemmer, 2009). Thus, the motivational performance can be raised by the introduction of such system in terms of determining the ethos weighs and recognizing the magnitude of the actions conduct the soldiers. Expected Outcome of Performance In modern scenario, the introduction of Army’s reward system often acts as a great stimulus, which impacts the performance outcomes of army as well as military personnel at large. In case of combat rewards system, the expectancy is related with the performance in battle field or in certain emergency cases. This reward system indicates the people to work with utmost dedication in the working field and provide a better outcome of their performances (Department of the Army, 1998). Skills and Knowledge During the World War I, several questions were raised against the US army specifically when faced difficulties while institutionalizing the counterinsurgency based operations in the “Global War on Terror.” Thus, questions on the skills along with the knowledge of the US Army eventually deteriorated their motivational level during that time (Clemmer, 2009). However, in relation to the above context, for the modern soldiers, The Army’s Award System plays an imperative part towards motivating the skills and likewise augmenting the performance of the US army at large. The introduction of the reward system certainly works as a learning and development process for soldiers (Williams, 2005). Culture The introduction of Army’s Award System generally portray developing the cultural aspects of the army and military troops in the form of fostering their respective counterinsurgency behaviors, which lacked amid the US Army during World War I and assisting in moving the army towards a new direction (Williams, 2005). In US army culture, the ‘Mountain of Honor’ was regarded as an inherent part, which traces the history of such system to be prevalent during the rule of George Washington (Clemmer, 2009). Implications of Army’s Award System There lay certain significant differences between the implications of introducing Army’s Award System in the traditional period during the happening of World War I and the present day context considering the real-world scenario. The reasons for having such differences comprise increased level of globalization along with internationalization, adoption as well as execution of pioneering technological advancements and most vitally standardizations in warfare activities among others. However, in relation to the above context, certain positive implications are discussed in the following section: Increase in Flexibility One of the positive or favorable implications of introducing Army’s Award System is the probability of raising flexibility in the counterinsurgency behaviors of the US army, which lacked during World War I. This flexibility will certainly make the soldiers more knowledgeable regarding their work performance (Williams, 2005). Additional Benefits Another positive implication of Army’s Award System is the deliverance of additional benefits to the modern army and military personnel in the context of developing their overall performance by promoting respective counterinsurgency behaviors. In this similar context, several pay and allowances in the form of additional benefits excluding salary are provided to those personnel against their assigned tasks or services. The deliverance of such additional benefits and the introduction of Army’s Award System will certainly support in re-institutionalizing the counterinsurgency operations of the US Army, which lacked during World War I (Clemmer, 2009; Stars and Stripe, 2008). Apart from the above stated positive implications, certain negative or adverse implications are derived from the introduction of Army’s Award System. In this similar context, the following discussion represents the adverse or negative implications of introducing such a system on the US army and other related troops: Demotivate the Other Person In terms of negative or adverse implications, the introduction and the application of Army’s Award System may demotivate others who are not awarded for their respective. This might result in imposing adverse impact on promoting the counterinsurgency operations of the US army, resulting in failure towards effectively responding to any warfare activity (Adam & Epel, 2007). Creating Stress Notably, there exist several people who often gets stressed or panicked due to the failure in their respective work performance. Similarly, in relation to the case of modern soldiers who work hard for getting rewarded at the end of their working period, may become depressed if they does not receive any sort of reward after the deliverance of quality services. This can be regarded as the other crucial reason, which not only reduces the motivational level, but also restricts in promoting the counterinsurgency behaviors of the US army troops and military personnel (Adam, & Epel, 2007). Conclusions and Recommendations Evidently, there are certain differences between the rationale of introducing Army’s Award System in the traditional period and the modern day context. In earlier times, especially during World War I, the Army’s Award System was mainly introduced with the aim of promoting the counterinsurgency behaviors of the US Army, which struggled in efficiently conducting operations in the “Global War on Terror.” However, the rationale of introducing such a program in this modern day context lay in motivating the army as well as military personnel towards performing their respective assigned roles and tasks effectively and also strengthening their counterinsurgency behaviors for reaping several significant benefits. Based on the above discussed context, the primary importance of introducing Army’s Award System lay in several significant aspects. These aspects comprise motivation of performance, attraction along with retention of the potential US army troops, development of their skills as well as knowledge and formation of an organized and favorable culture. Certain positive as well as negative implications relating to the introduction of Army’s Award System have been explicitly elaborated throughout the discussion. In this similar context, the positive implications of introducing such a system in this modern day context include increase in flexibility, deliverance of additional benefits to the US army as well as military personnel and most importantly attainment of certificates of achievement among others. In contrast, the negative implications of introducing Army’s Award System after ascertaining the real-world scenario are found to be creation of stress and the emergence of demotivating the others among others. By taking into concern the prevailing culture in the US army, which is incessantly flourishing in this present day scenario, the introduction of an agile Army’s Award System may prove to be quite beneficial in lessening the above stated negative implications of such system. The topic in relation to the introduction of Army’s Award System, has several potential areas to discover. These areas mainly included making greater developments so that the challenge of disingenuous heaping of awards gets mitigated and also the magnitude of the actions conduct by the soldiers is recognized. Moreover, one of the other important areas entail determining ethos weighs, which would aid in examining whether soldiers should deserve for an award and if such awards get respected based on their respective contributions. References Adam, T. C., & Epel, E. S. (2007). Stress, eating and the reward system. Physiology & Behavior, 449-458. Clemmer, B, A. (2009). Introduction. Aligned Incentives: Could The Army’s Award System Inadvertently Be Hindering Counterinsurgency Operations?, 1-143. Department of the Army. (1998). Chapter 4302 total army performance evaluation system. Army Regulation, 1-10. Fransson, T., & Frendberg, G. (2008). Motivational aspects, benefits and pitfalls of a reward system in a small shop-floor business unit. A Case Study of a Car-Dealership Service Unit, 1-47. Stars and Stripe. (2008). Compensation and benefits handbook. For Seriously Ill and Injured Members of the Armed Forces, 1-198. Williams, C. (2005). Transforming the Rewards for Military Service. 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