AF Combat Action Medal recognizes Airmen at war


***image1***In the spirit of cultivating warrior ethos in all Airmen, the Air Force created the Air Force Combat Action Medal. Airmen who have directly engaged enemy combatants may be eligible for the award.

Through an evolution of Air Force warfighting roles, more Airmen are finding themselves involved in combat actions. Some have earned awards from other services to reflect this, but Airmen should wear Air Force awards on Air Force uniforms, Chief of Staff T. Michael Moseley said. 

• An Airmen must be in a combat zone (i.e. receiving imminent danger/hostile fire pay) to be eligible.

• An Airman must be off base while engaging the enemy or be augmenting a defensive fighting position while a base is under attack.

• The medal applies to flyers as well as Airmen on the ground – aircrew must not be manifested as passengers and must be flying in direct support of ground forces to be eligible.

• The AFCAM is available across the Total Force – active duty, Reserve and Air National Guard.

• Eligibility is retroactive to Sept. 11, 2001, through a date yet to be determined.

• The AFCAM is not worth promotion points, but bullets used in the citation can be used toward other decorations or performance reports.

• The AFCAM is worn between the Air Force Achievement Medal and the Air Force Presidential Unit Citation.

• The medal reaches back to Air Force heritage and is scarlet red with diagonal yellow stripes – similar to the art on Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell’s aircraft.
(Courtesy of Air Force Link)