Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
Not that long ago one of our poll questions on Officer.com had to do with what medals and awards meant for various agencies. Out of the over 1,000 votes, 23% said that "everyone knows they're worthless" with 35% saying "only a few really mean anything." Only 7% replied "Every one of them requires accomplishment and sacrifice". That, and my experience traveling to various agencies around the country, made me think about the different outlook we (officers) have about awards, commendations, medals, etc.
In my area the most common awards are "Officer of the Year" and the "Chief's Award". The Officer of the Year (OY) award is usually awarded to an officer by an agency and/or a professional organization for a particular action or event. An example would be an officer who jumps into a river to save someone from drowning in a wrecked car. That single act of heroism might earn the award. The Chief's Award (CA)
can be awarded for such a single act of service, but it can also be awarded to the officer who is consistently the best performing, hasn't had a sick day, has a good conviction rate, etc. In other words, the CA is something the Chief can use to recognize that which he feels is a good example of a behavior he endorses or approves of.
There are other valor awards, length-of-service awards, etc but many of them aren't even recognized by other officers on the agency that awards them. Further, many officers only wear their awards during special events, court, etc. I know that many of the officers I worked with would never think about wearing their ribbons for daily duty. In their mind it was just one more shiny thing to shoot at - as if that badge isn't big and shiny enough.
In my travels, from what I've seen, it seems to me that officers working for larger agencies, such as New York City or Washington DC, are more inclined to wear their ribbons and awards with their daily uniform. I don't know if that's because it's required or because the display garners a higher level of respect or possibly another reason. I've seen officers joke and chuckle at the pride some officers display by wearing all their ribbons all the time. I've seen others scoff at the idea of ever wearing an "incomplete" uniform - meaning without every piece that should be pinned on, pinned on.
What are your thoughts on this? Does your agency award many items? Are they mandated for uniform wear? Do you like it? Think it's a waste?
Share your thoughts...
