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a. History.
(2) Like the CIB, the Regimental Commander was the lowest
level at which the CMB could be approved and it also
carried with it a separate provision for enlisted badge
holders to receive a $10 per month pay stipend.
(3) The CMB could be awarded to Medical Department
personnel assigned or attached to infantry units of Allied
Forces when the duties performed were identical with those
performed by medical personnel assigned or attached to
U.S. Forces.
(4) The CMB could also be awarded to U.S. Navy and U.S.
Air Force medical personnel provided they met all the
requirements of Army medics.
b. Intent.
(2) As with the CIB, the infantry unit to which the
medical personnel are assigned or attached must engage the
enemy in active ground combat. Since inception, the intent
of the Department of the Army regarding this requirement
has been that medical personnel must be personally present
and under fire in order to be eligible for the awarding of
the badge.
(3) Over the years, there has been some confusion
concerning the phrase "in direct support" of an infantry
unit. The CMB is intended for, and awarded to, those
medical personnel who accompany the infantryman into
combat. The Army has never approved of deviations from
this purpose and its restrictive criteria. During the
World War II era, medical support for infantry units
in combat was provided by the medical detachments and
companies of battalions and regiments. These medical
personnel and units were termed direct support.
For example medical personnel serving in division-level
medical companies, ground ambulance and medical clearing
companies, mobile-Army surgical hospital (MASH),
combat-support hospital (CSH), and field hospitals are not
eligible for the CMB. The sole criteria which qualifies
medical personnel for award of the CMB is to be assigned
or attached to an infantry unit engaged in active ground
combat. Medical personnel other than those medics organic
to infantry units may qualify only if they serve as
medical personnel accompanying infantrymen. Conceivably,
this could occur if an infantry unit lost all its medics
and as a temporary or permanent measure medical personnel
were attached to an infantry unit, but remained assigned
to a hospital or other non-infantry unit.
(b) (2) Awards will not be made to general or flag
officers.
(2) Second and third awards of the CMB are indicated by
superimposing 1, 2 and 3 stars respectively, centered at
the top and bottom of the badge.
(1) Originally established as the Medical Badge, the
Combat Medical Badge (CMB) was created by the War
Department on 1 March 1945.It could be awarded to
officers, warrant officers, and enlisted men of the
Medical Department assigned or attached to the medical
detachment of infantry regiments, infantry battalions, and
elements thereof designated as infantry in tables of
organization or tables of organization and equipment. Its
evolution stemmed from a requirement to recognize medical
aidmen who shared the same hazards and hardships of ground
combat on a daily basis with the infantry soldier. Though
established almost a year and a half after the CIB,
it could be awarded retroactively to 7 December 1941 to
fully qualified personnel.
c. Specific eligibility requirements:
(1) The CMB was created as a companion badge to the
CIB with criteria for its award intended to parallel that
of the CIB. It was designed to provide recognition to the
field medic who accompanies the infantryman into battle
and shares with him the experiences unique to the infantry
in combat. There was never any intention to award the CMB
to all medical personnel who serve in a combat zone or
imminent danger area, that is, a division-level medical
company supporting a maneuver brigade.
(1) The following medical personnel, assigned or attached
by appropriate orders to an infantry unit of brigade,
regimental, or smaller size, or to a medical unit of
company or smaller size, organic to an infantry unit of
brigade or smaller size, during any period the infantry
unit is engaged in actual ground combat, are eligible
for award of the CMB, provided they are personally present
and under fire during such ground combat:
(a) Subsequent to 6 December 1941-Army Medical Department
(colonels and below), the Navy Medical Department
(captains and below), the Air Force Medical Service
(colonels and below), assigned or attached to the Army,
who have satisfactorily performed medical duties
d. Subsequent awards.
(1) To date, a separate award of the CMB has been
authorized for qualified soldiers who served in World War
II, the Korean War, and other wars and conflicts.
(2) Be recommended personally by each commander in the
chain of command and approved at division level. If killed
or wounded as a direct result of overt enemy action he
must be recommended personally by each commander in the
chain of command and approved at division level. In the
case of medical personnel killed by enemy action,
the requirement for at least five engagements ((2) above)
and the requirement for the incident to have taken place
in the hostile fire area, including the 60 day requirement
((1) above) will be waived. In the case of individuals
wounded, even though outside the hostile fire area, the
five engagements requirement and the 60 day requirement
may be waived when it can be clearly established that the
wound was a direct result of overt hostile action.
 1st AWARD |  2nd AWARD |  3rd AWARD |
 4th AWARD |
