All Branch Topic (ABT) Awards

[Perrotfish]

I realize this is a tough question to answer, but for those of you who have been on the administrative side of a clinic: what is a normal number of awards to give out to the enlisted Corpsmen/Medics in a given year for a clinic? Not end of tour, but NCOMs, NAMs, and letters of commendation just for merit.

I'm asking because my clinic's promotion rate is pretty awful, and while I know that our test scores are the biggest piece of the puzzle I am trying to figure out if we are below average in award giving as well.

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[backrow]

In my experience non end of tour awards that aren't deployment related are few and far between.

My experience in a clinic of 10-15 enlisted:

Enlisted corpsman below E6/7 and a COM for doing stuff not down range....zero

NAM maybe 1 a year

FLOC: used to be more common at the big 3 when the CO was Flag rank.

LOC: maybe 6 a year and that's probably pushing it. (And if memory is correct only FLOC counts towards promotion points and a LOC doesn't)

I can't recall exactly where I heard this, but at a major MTF the guidance was NAM for directorate-wide Impact level, COM for Command-wide impact. And although there is no specific rank required for higher awards, reality says there is; eg. LTs get NAMs, LCDRs get COMs.


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[pgg]

Mid tour awards are rare, I think.

When I was a dept head and later a director, I made two serious attempts to put through on-the-spot NAMs for Corpsmen. In both cases after talking to them, they said they'd rather not get anything just then, because they were convinced it would hurt their chances at a bigger EOT award. Both were aiming for EOT COMs and didn't want mid-tour NAMs.

 

[DrMetal]

I realize this is a tough question to answer, but for those of you who have been on the administrative side of a clinic: what is a normal number of awards to give out to the enlisted Corpsmen/Medics in a given year for a clinic? Not end of tour, but NCOMs, NAMs, and letters of commendation just for merit.

I'm asking because my clinic's promotion rate is pretty awful, and while I know that our test scores are the biggest piece of the puzzle I am trying to figure out if we are below average in award giving as well.

Can they take a good set of vitals (especially pulse ox, for a patient in presumed respiratory distress)? If so, give 'em a COM.

If it's promotion that they want: they really have to study for their exams. The HM rate is very over-manned. Even with the best evals and awards, they're not going to promote if they score low on the test. Of course, to do well on the test requires individual study. Good luck with that.....these kids don't wanna crack a book.....books are like kryptonite to a corpsman!

[And don't blame yourself for that....people will try to blame "leadership" for a lack of advancement...that's horsecrap. I don't care if you're Abraham Lincoln...if the individual doesn't wanna study to gain more knowledge and advance, there's not much you (as their boss) can do.]

 

[Onefellswoop87]

I'll echo those above me. As a green-side GMO, I've seen a few but spot/mid-tour awards seem very rare. (This is for in garrison. I have not deployed yet). Our corpsmen that have won sailor of the quarter got a flag-letter, but no awards. We wrote up, what I thought was, a solid spot NAM, but it got shot down; we were told to roll it into his EOT. Those corpsmen that come away with an EOT get a NAM. I haven't seen any corpsmen get a COM.

Tests do seem to yield the largest percentage of points to make the cutting score. I think a flag letter or NAM can give a point or two, but that's nothing compared to a solid test score.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Navy has always been more stingy than our sister services with awards. HM rate is a tough place to promote. Everyone joining the Navy wants to be an HM or a MA.

They have to study. They also will be more likely to promote if they go to sea. The best way to promote is to go to IDC school as a HM2, get automatically promoted to HM1 and then go to a ship as the IDC. A good HM1 IDC will fare very well come eval time for making HMC. If they can't make HM2, don't let them fool you, they aren't trying that hard.

Your first question for your HMs is whether they care. They probably are planning to get out and don't really care. In that case, you shouldn't care either. The fact is that working in a Peds clinic is not going to impress anyone. They aren't getting a CAP from that job.