Awards by the numbers

[RiverAux]

I guess my issue isn't with having a numeric standard itself, since as I mentioned in the original post and others have pointed out, CAP has such standards in place for other awards.

I guess it made me feel itchy because it really leaves it up to the Region PAO to decide who is going to get this award since he has the discretion to both publish as many or as few articles from any PAO as he wants and can make the newsletter any size that he wants. 

Say 20 squadron PAOs see this and they all submit decent articles -- since the newsletter is electronic, the Region PAO can decide to go ahead and just make a supersize newsletter and include all of them.  Or, he can decide that the newsletter will be X number of pages with room for Y number of articles and thereby make it much more difficult to get into the region newsletter. 

I suppose I would have a problem with the first strategy more than the second.  I would hope that a region newsletter would be publishing articles only about significant events or relatively unusual CAP happenings. 

For example, I wouldn't expect to see articles about cadet change of command in a squadron or an article about a cadet earning the Eaker award or a cadet o-ride day.  Yes, these were from the most recent issue of this region's newsletter, but to be fair most articles were about events that would be appropriate for a regional newsletter. 

So, getting an article in the region newsletter can be a really big deal if the Region PAO is selective in their article choice or it could be a case of "send it in and it will get published as long as it isn't written in crayon". 

[Storm Chaser]

What is the down side?

Maybe that other members have to do much more to earn the same awards. The reward may be effective in achieving the expected goal, but it has the potential of diluting the awards. Besides, NHQ has already establish the criteria for these awards:

Outstanding duty performance where achievements and services are clearly and unmistakably exceptional when compared to similar achievements and service of members of like rank and responsibility.

Presented for outstanding service to the unit, group or wing.

No one should get an award for merely doing their job.

And yet this is exactly the same system for being awarded the Air Medal. In the USAF if your aircraft is armed, 10 sorties gets you an Air Medal, unarmed is 20. A C130 Loadmaster based in theater will earn around 5 for a six month tour, whether they were ever shot at or did anything out of the ordinary.

My USAF Reserve Recruiter had an AAM and a NAM. I asked him about it and he said that he would walk the recruits that didnt qualify for the USAF over to the Navy or Army offices. He got one of each for using the program listed above.

It is a fairly common system in the military and it only makes sense that CAP would use it sooner or later.

And how many sorties do you need to fly to get an Air Force Commendation Medal? Just like the Air and Aerial Achievement Medals, in CAP we have awards with similar criteria, such as the SAR, Find and Counterdrug Ribbons. The Region Commander's Commendation Award is not one of such awards.

[Eclipse]

Is not contributing to the newsletter not "outstanding service to unit, group or wing"?

No.  It's doing your job.  Nothing "special" about that.  You don't decorate people for doing their jobs,
unless for longevity or under duress or special circumstances.

This turns a decoration into one more ticket punch, the result of which is a bunch of junk articles,
or one more place for someone to establish a fiefdom "Want that dec?, better do bah, blah...or I won't
publish the last article you need." 

Not to mention it sets up people to expect a dec, because they punched the ticket(s).

Want some real disgruntled members?  Good luck with the guys who are one away when the next Wing CC
says "Enough of this nonsense."

Achievement awards and higher are not the same as service awards.  Red Service, CD, SAR, those
are the same for everyone, and denote specific service or accomplishment, nothing "over and above",
and everyone has the same relative opportunity.

[Storm Chaser]

Exactly.

[lordmonar]

And how many sorties do you need to fly to get an Air Force Commendation Medal? Just like the Air and Aerial Achievement Medals, in CAP we have awards with similar criteria, such as the SAR, Find and Counterdrug Ribbons. The Region Commander's Commendation Award is not one of such awards.

If you are not an "air crew" just one....if you do that in an exceptional manner. 
That is why I made the comment about different standards for different individuals.

An AF fire fighter....runs into a building and puts out a fire....Good job.
An AF Personnelist....runs into a building and puts out a fire......that might cross the line.

The only comparison in the SAR and other ribbons with the achievement and others is that some of them are for "just doing your job" and the others are for doing it in outstanding or exceptional manner.

[lordmonar]

Is not contributing to the newsletter not "outstanding service to unit, group or wing"?

No.  It's doing your job.  Nothing "special" about that.  You don't decorate people for doing their jobs,
unless for longevity or under duress or special circumstances.

Excuse me....but it is NOT my job to contribute to the newsletter.  If I were a PAO....you might have an argument.

This turns a decoration into one more ticket punch, the result of which is a bunch of junk articles,
or one more place for someone to establish a fiefdom "Want that dec?, better do bah, blah...or I won't
publish the last article you need."

That is making assumptions ahead of evidence.   Sure it could result in "junk articles", sure it could result in someone abusing his/her power......or maybe it might also result in getting more people to contribute to the newsletter and making it better for everyone.

Not to mention it sets up people to expect a dec, because they punched the ticket(s).

If you told them that if you do XYZ you get a dec...then they should.  No different then when you complete 5 years of service you get a ribbon, if you do 60 hours of community service you get a ribbon, if you fly 20 mission you get a ribbon. 

How is this any different?

Want some real disgruntled members?  Good luck with the guys who are one away when the next Wing CC
says "Enough of this nonsense."

Stuff happens......in the real world too.   Hate to be blunt....that is the next commander's problem.   

Achievement awards and higher are not the same as service awards.  Red Service, CD, SAR, those
are the same for everyone, and denote specific service or accomplishment, nothing "over and above",
and everyone has the same relative opportunity.

Absolutely.....I agree 100%.   Fly 20 SAR missions.....get a ribbon.  Fly one SAR mission in an outstanding manner...get an achievement medal....do it clearly and unmistakeable better then others of like rank and responsibility get a commendation.

We are on the same page here.

The question simply is......where is the bar between "doing your job" and "doing an outstanding job" or "doing your job in a clearly and unmistakeably exceptional manner".

I got no problem with a any commander to set the bar and publish that bar.   We may question if that is the right place to set the bar.....but there is nothing wrong with setting and publishing that bar so that everyone in the unit who chooses to can meet it...and be rewarded for it.

[Jon Moser]

The question simply is......where is the bar between "doing your job" and "doing an outstanding job" or "doing your job in a clearly and unmistakeably exceptional manner".

I got no problem with a any commander to set the bar and publish that bar.   We may question if that is the right place to set the bar.....but there is nothing wrong with setting and publishing that bar so that everyone in the unit who chooses to can meet it...and be rewarded for it.

Really the bar is where ever the approving authority decides to place it. We can agree or disagree with it, but we aren't signing off on the award.

[LSThiker]

No one should get an award for merely doing their job.

Ever hear of End of Tour Awards.  I mean seriously, those are awards for merely doing their job.

I can remember a time when the Navy Recruiting Command was awarding Navy Achievement Medals to Naval Reservists that helped recruit three new recruits into the Navy. This sort of concept isn't anything new.

National Guards have a tendency to do this.  For recruiting X number, you will get an AAM or a State Com.  For scoring X on the APFT and having a logged X hours in the gym, you will get an AAM. 

Yup, nothing new.

[Storm Chaser]

Is not contributing to the newsletter not "outstanding service to unit, group or wing"?

No.  It's doing your job.  Nothing "special" about that.  You don't decorate people for doing their jobs,
unless for longevity or under duress or special circumstances.

Excuse me....but it is NOT my job to contribute to the newsletter.  If I were a PAO....you might have an argument.

And that is precisely why a blanket approval process stating that if you get six article published, then you get a Region Commander's Commendation Award is not a good idea.

If as a unit member you decide to write six articles for the "The Fly-By", then that could and should count towards credit for a Commander's Commendation Award. But the award still requires that your duty performance be outstanding where achievements and services [plural] are clearly and unmistakably exceptional. I doubt you'll have luck convincing many of us that writing a few articles meets that criteria in and by itself.

Now, because the criteria set by the Region Commander makes no distinction on who can qualify for this award, a Wing PAO that writes and get these six articles published would also get this Region level award for doing something that is part of his/her job. Can you honestly say that that meets the intent of CAPR 39-3?

[Storm Chaser]

No one should get an award for merely doing their job.

Ever hear of End of Tour Awards.  I mean seriously, those are awards for merely doing their job.

You still have to meet the award criteria at the end of your tour to qualify for the award and not everyone qualifies for the same awards.

[Storm Chaser]

...or qualifies for an award at all.

[jeders]

No one should get an award for merely doing their job.

Ever hear of End of Tour Awards.  I mean seriously, those are awards for merely doing their job.

You still have to meet the award criteria at the end of your tour to qualify for the award and not everyone qualifies for the same awards.

I've received two Commander's Commendations for simply doing my job. The first was after 14 months as squadron commander, which was submitted by my Admin Officer without my knowledge. The second was for flying some low-level route survey sorties (everyone who participated in that mission got a CC, except the IC who got either an MSA or ESA) which was submitted by the wing ops staff.

In both cases I was just doing my job, but apparently someone on the outside looking in felt that I was performing at a level deserving a CC. At the end of the day, that's what matters, what the approving authority thinks is deserving. If the region commander thinks that giving out an Achievement Award for 3 articles and a Commander's Commendation for 6 is appropriate, then so be it.

[Tim Medeiros]

Simple fact of the matter is this.  We can each have our own opinions on this, however none of us are signatories on the award, so our opinion doesn't matter unless the region commander comes down and asks us.  Even then he can tell us to blow smoke.

If he feels that this is a good idea, so-be-it, salute and execute.  I, personally, couldn't care less.  This policy was in effect before I was asked to be on region staff and even knew about The Fly-By, I'll be doing my job in ensuring our IT systems are operational with or without it.  As a unit commander I encourage my PAO to submit articles to local media, wing, region and national where appropriate, and I tell my fellow commanders about this incentive program.  Other than that my interaction is minimal.  It is not up to me to decide if submitting articles AND getting them published (SWR/PA from what I've seen so far screens the articles rather well) merits a dec, that decision was made for me, far above my pay grade.

[Storm Chaser]

No one should get an award for merely doing their job.

Ever hear of End of Tour Awards.  I mean seriously, those are awards for merely doing their job.

You still have to meet the award criteria at the end of your tour to qualify for the award and not everyone qualifies for the same awards.

I've received two Commander's Commendations for simply doing my job. The first was after 14 months as squadron commander, which was submitted by my Admin Officer without my knowledge. The second was for flying some low-level route survey sorties (everyone who participated in that mission got a CC, except the IC who got either an MSA or ESA) which was submitted by the wing ops staff.

In both cases I was just doing my job, but apparently someone on the outside looking in felt that I was performing at a level deserving a CC.

(emphasis mine)

That's the key difference.

At the end of the day, that's what matters, what the approving authority thinks is deserving. If the region commander thinks that giving out an Achievement Award for 3 articles and a Commander's Commendation for 6 is appropriate, then so be it.

Except that the Region Commander (and all the lower echelon commanders that would have to approve it) hasn't had a chance to evaluate whether the member writing the articles is truly "deserving"; the member already "earned" the award by merely getting the articles published.

[Storm Chaser]

Simple fact of the matter is this.  We can each have our own opinions on this, however none of us are signatories on the award, so our opinion doesn't matter unless the region commander comes down and asks us.  Even then he can tell us to blow smoke.

You're absolutely correct, but that doesn't make it a good (or even the best) decision.

[jeders]

Except that the Region Commander (and all the lower echelon commanders that would have to approve it) hasn't had a chance to evaluate whether the member writing the articles is truly "deserving"; the member already "earned" the award by merely getting the articles published.

Except that apparently the Region Commander feels that someone who gets 6 articles published in 6 different issues of the Region publication, a non-insignificant accomplishment, is performing at a level deserving a Commander's Commendation.

Simple fact of the matter is this.  We can each have our own opinions on this, however none of us are signatories on the award, so our opinion doesn't matter unless the region commander comes down and asks us.  Even then he can tell us to blow smoke.

You're absolutely correct, but that doesn't make it a good (or even the best) decision.

On this I think we both agree. But given the alternative, members never being recognized, I think that this is better.

[RiverAux]

I would agree that a Wing PAO getting 3-6 articles in the region newsletter is probably not deserving.  That basically would be part of their normal job duties.  However, for a squadron PAO this would be an accomplishment (assuming the caveats I noted in earlier posts).

[Tim Medeiros]

Simple fact of the matter is this.  We can each have our own opinions on this, however none of us are signatories on the award, so our opinion doesn't matter unless the region commander comes down and asks us.  Even then he can tell us to blow smoke.

You're absolutely correct, but that doesn't make it a good (or even the best) decision.

In your opinion that is.  In this case, it is the region commanders opinion that counts, he apparently feels it IS a good decision (otherwise he wouldn't have made it).

[Storm Chaser]

Except that the Region Commander (and all the lower echelon commanders that would have to approve it) hasn't had a chance to evaluate whether the member writing the articles is truly "deserving"; the member already "earned" the award by merely getting the articles published.

Except that apparently the Region Commander feels that someone who gets 6 articles published in 6 different issues of the Region publication, a non-insignificant accomplishment, is performing at a level deserving a Commander's Commendation.

I'm not trying to start an argument here as this is his decision to make and no one else's.

That said, It's possible for someone to slack all year and do nothing for the unit, group or wing. Heck, it's possible for that member to even be a detriment to the unit. However, he/she can get a Region Commander's Commendation Award for writing six articles. I'm not minimizing the accomplishment; simply stating that that criteria should not be evaluated in isolation from the other accomplishments (or lack of) of the member. The overall performance of the member should be "clearly and unmistakably exceptional" in accordance with CAPR 39-1, which is a National (not Region) directive.

Simple fact of the matter is this.  We can each have our own opinions on this, however none of us are signatories on the award, so our opinion doesn't matter unless the region commander comes down and asks us.  Even then he can tell us to blow smoke.

You're absolutely correct, but that doesn't make it a good (or even the best) decision.

In your opinion that is.  In this case, it is the region commanders opinion that counts, he apparently feels it IS a good decision (otherwise he wouldn't have made it).

With all due respect, I quoted the criteria from regulation. That's hardly an opinion.

[lordmonar]

Is not contributing to the newsletter not "outstanding service to unit, group or wing"?

No.  It's doing your job.  Nothing "special" about that.  You don't decorate people for doing their jobs,
unless for longevity or under duress or special circumstances.

Excuse me....but it is NOT my job to contribute to the newsletter.  If I were a PAO....you might have an argument.

And that is precisely why a blanket approval process stating that if you get six article published, then you get a Region Commander's Commendation Award is not a good idea.

If as a unit member you decide to write six articles for the "The Fly-By", then that could and should count towards credit for a Commander's Commendation Award. But the award still requires that your duty performance be outstanding where achievements and services [plural] are clearly and unmistakably exceptional. I doubt you'll have luck convincing many of us that writing a few articles meets that criteria in and by itself.

Now, because the criteria set by the Region Commander makes no distinction on who can qualify for this award, a Wing PAO that writes and get these six articles published would also get this Region level award for doing something that is part of his/her job. Can you honestly say that that meets the intent of CAPR 39-3?

yes