DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
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OFFICE SYMBOL                                                                                      Date

MEMORANDUM FOR SEE DISTRIBUTION

SUBJECT: Battalion/Brigade Policy Memorandum #27 – Awards Program Policy

1.	References:

a.	Rapid Action Revision (RAR), 24 June 2013 to AR 600-8-22, Military Awards, 11 December 2006.

2.	Purpose: Soldiers and Civilians who serve honorably in the unit will be recognized for their contributions.

3.	Responsibility: Leaders are responsible for ensuring appropriate award recommendations are written both professionally and accurately in order to appropriately recognize the hard work and significant accomplishments of Soldiers and    Civilians.

4.	Soldiers and Civilians will be presented their award prior to departing the battalion/brigade. Soldiers who are not receiving an award must have a justification memorandum from their command prior to departure.

5.	All award recommendations are expected to be timely, accurate (no misspellings or grammatical errors), and presented prior to a Soldier or Civilian departing this organization. Leaders at all levels must submit quality award recommendations that are  written professionally and accurately in order to appropriately recognize the nominee's hard work and significant accomplishments. Therefore, Commanders and Leaders at all levels must exercise care and diligence in writing, preparing, and proofreading all award nominations; when writing awards, refrain from hyperbole or exaggeration. All award recommendations that contain grammatical errors or misspelled words will be returned for correction, irrespective of the proposed presentation date.

6.	The recommenders are expected to conduct due-diligence in reviewing all award nominations for accuracy prior to initial submission in order to ensure the award can be properly staffed, approved, and presented prior to a Solider or Civilian departing this organization. All award recommendation dates must be in sequential order when signed.

7.	Commanders in the grade O-5 or occupying O-5 command positions are delegated authority to disapprove/downgrade awarding the ARCOM.

8.	Quality comments from commanders must be included on all award recommendations that are processed through this battalion/brigade.

9.	Awards submission process is as follows:

a.	All awards will be submitted to the battalion/brigade S1 with the following required documents:  completed routing slip, signed DA Form 638, Soldier's ERB/ORB, copy of previous awards while in the unit, if PCS, ETS or ACH, and retirement/medical retirement orders (if applicable).

b.	To ensure timely processing of awards, review the timeline below:
		
i.	Legion of Merit (LOM) – 120 days prior to PPD

ii.	Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) – 90 days prior to PPD

iii.	Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) – 30 days prior to PPD
iv.	Army Achievement Medal (AAM) – 15 days prior to PPD

c.	Once the award is received by the battalion/brigade S1, and corrections are annotated, the  award is sent to the command team, then the award is returned to the unit for corrections, if necessary.  Units are required to return corrected awards to the battalion/brigade S1 within 3 duty days of receipt.

10.	Command Teams will personally answer to the battalion/brigade commander for  recurring late awards and/or perceived systemic failures in award processing procedures as demonstrated by late or poorly written awards.

11.	The point of contact is the Battalion/Brigade S1 at (123) 456-7890.

FIRST M. LAST 
XXX, XX
Commanding

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