Combat Action Badge ceremony 2006

Sixty-one uniformed Army National Guard soldiers stood at attention as a two-star general stepped up to address them.
The Adjutant General, Major General David P. Rataczak, first apologized to the 44 area soldiers who had seen combat in Iraq, but had not yet received the deserved Combat Action Badge.
Because of its central location, this military ceremony was held at the American Legion building in Payson, Arizona on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006.

Standing in straight, tight columns and rows are the soldiers from the 1404 Transportation Company who were called to meet as this central location in Payson, Arizona. View photo »
The Combat Action Badge may be awarded to any soldier, branch and military occupational specialty, performing assigned duties in an area where hostile fire pay or imminent danger pay is authorized, who is personally present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy. It recognizes that in the current realities of the battlefield or insurgency, any soldier could be subject to a combat situation. View photo »
Tiffany Brown of Globe, Arizona received the Combat Action Badge. The badge is the first non-medical combat distinction to honor female soldiers who are caught in battle during U.S. wars, largely because female soldiers are not assigned to frontline combat duties. View photo »
Soldiers from the 1404 Transportation Company came to Payson from, Globe, Show Low, Prescott and other Northern Arizona communities. View photo »
Soldiers respond to the order to dress right dress, a military command to find dress and alignment in a formation. View photo »
The badge is 2 inches in width, overall, consisting of an oak wreath supporting a rectangle bearing a bayonet and grenade, and can be silver or black in color. Stars are added to the top to indicate subsequent awards. The oak wreath symbolizes strength and loyalty. The bayonet and grenade are associated with active combat. View photo »
The war in Iraq has demonstrated that any soldier - from a cook, to a driver, to an infantryman - can be exposed to insurgent attacks, and the Army is seeking to honor anyone who is personally present and actively engaging or engaged by the enemy. View photo »
The Adjutant General, Major General David P. Rataczak, first apologized to the 44 area soldiers who had seen combat in Iraq, but had not yet received the deserved Combat Action Badge. Some had waited more than three years. "Nobody goes to a theater of war looking for an award," Rataczak told the soldiers and their families. "When the rockets struck and the bullets were flying, you relied on your training, and each other. I'm proud of all of you for the way you reacted." View photo »
On May 2, 2005, the Chief of Staff, Army, approved the creation of the Combat Action Badge and it was established on June 3, 2005. The award is retroactive to September 18, 2001. View photo »
Sixty-one uniformed Army National Guard soldiers stood at attention as a two-star general stepped up to address them. View photo »
Combat Action Badge recipient SSgt. Debora Boyer takes time after the ceremony to hold a dear friend's baby, 8-month-old Darcy Cox. View photo »
Sgt. Ken Sayles holds his 6-week-old newborn baby girl after a ceremony where he and fellow Army National Guard soldiers were honored with the Combat Action Badge. View photo »