Under the Uniform They Bleed the Same for Less

Why is it that in the United States Army, the gold standard of mid-career recognition—the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM)—is so often pinned on the chests of officers simply for existing in their rank, while the backbone of the Army, its Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs), must claw their way to the same recognition, often only receiving it as a parting gift at retirement?

The word meritorious implies merit—defined as “a praiseworthy quality of being especially good, virtuous, or conduct deserving of reward, honor, or esteem” (Merriam-Webster, 2023). By this definition, an award for meritorious service should not be issued like a departing gift bag. It should not be based on the rank of the recipient but on the substance of the service rendered during the award period.

However, time and again, I have watched this pattern unfold at multiple duty stations throughout my time in service—officers arriving, coasting through assignments, and departing with a Meritorious Service Medal as if by default. It’s a quiet tradition, a tacit expectation, a box checked. Meanwhile, NCOs—the very lifeblood of command execution, discipline, training, and readiness—labor through countless nights, remain on-call through holidays and weekends, manage the crises of their Soldiers and families, and uphold the standards the Army depends on, only to receive the Army Commendation Medal, if that.

This isn’t just a matter of professional recognition—it’s a matter of equity and principle. What does it say about our institutional values when every captain receives an MSM after 18 months of average effort, while a staff sergeant completing four to five grueling years of mission-critical service is handed a lesser award because of their enlisted status?

Let us examine the real substance of duty.

Officers often operate within clearly defined hours. They have calendar-driven commitments, control over their schedules, and the privilege of delegation, enabling them to distance themselves from the day-to-day operations that make the unit and mission successful. And yes, many are good leaders—but many also avoid basic Soldier tasks such as conducting daily physical readiness training, complying with Army Fitness Test and Body Composition standards, completing MEDPROs requirements, or qualifying annually with their assigned weapons. They are rarely the first in and last out. They do not shoulder the 24/7 burden of Soldier care. They do not have to answer the call and put themselves at the point of friction to ensure success.

By contrast, the NCO is always “on.” From ensuring their squad is administratively and medically ready, to managing last-minute changes, equipment shortfalls, disciplinary issues, and mission execution—NCOs are the Army’s constant presence, the foundation upon which unit operations rest. They are the ones who answer their phones at midnight. They are the ones conducting inventories, counseling subordinates, planning training, responding to crisis, and ensuring standards are upheld.

Army Regulation 600-8-22, the governing regulation on military awards, states clearly that “awards for meritorious achievement or service [are] characterized by distinguished service and performance above that normally expected, over a sustained period” (Department of the Army, 2024, p. 5). It further explains that “individual awards for service or achievement will be performance-based…on the merits of each individual recommendation” and that “rank or grade will not be a factor in determining the type or level of recognition, and no individual is automatically entitled to an award upon departure from an assignment” (DA, 2024, p. 44).

Yet practice tells a different story. In truth, the Meritorious Service Medal has, for many officers, become a Gentlemen’s Candy—a sweet, unearned favor handed out simply for being in the club as they depart one unit for another.

This is not an attack against officers. It is a call for honesty. It is a plea for commanders at every level—those with the authority to approve, disapprove, or downgrade awards—to align the awards process with doctrine and professed values. The truth is that our system of recognition is misaligned with the reality of labor and sacrifice. If merit were truly the measure, NCOs would lead the count in MSMs, and their nominations would not be so frequently downgraded. If responsibility and performance were the guiding criteria, as stated in the regulation, we would see fewer automatic awards during Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves and more rigorous evaluations of true impact.

But as it stands, rank—not merit—remains the unspoken metric. In the end, the Army must ask itself: Do we honor service, or do we simply validate structure? If the former, then it’s time to ensure that the Soldiers who carry the heaviest loads are recognized with the respect—and the medals—they truly deserve.

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Sergeant Major Daniel L. Dodds is a Military Police Senior Noncommissioned Officer. He has served in every leadership position from Patrolman to Battalion Command Sergeant Major. He is currently assigned as the Director of Operations Sergeant Major for the United States Disciplinary Barracks, the only Level III maximum-security prison in the Department of Defense. His civilian education includes an associate’s degree from Excelsior University and a Bachelor of Arts in Leadership and Workforce Development from the Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC). He is pursuing a Master of Public Administration from Excelsior University. 

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.