Post by Otto Verkaufer on Aug 27, 2014 23:31:51 GMT -6
The Aufklärungs-Abteilung 53, 3.Infanterie-Division (MOT) unit will use the following criteria for awards and rank determination.
We'll be using a simple 2/3/4 limit and leave it to the member to pick them amongst the following types. Having a complicated bookkeeping system based on attendance and accomplishments detracts from other pleasures of the hobby. Those systems are too burdensome and cause friction in a unit. Besides this way it's easy to spot someone not in compliance and correct them. As I plan to have an officer in the unit at some point he would have a four medal limit, NCO's three and lower ranks can choose two.
Members will choose from the following list of potential awards -
Infantry Assault Badge (bronze or silver depending on your justification) (for our motorized unit we'd mostly want to have bronze, but someone could have earned the silver variety earlier in the war.)
Ostfront ribbon (eastern winter campaign 41-42)
Wound badge in black
Wound badge in silver or gold is allowed but then you must wear an Iron Cross 2nd class (it was automatically awarded) which is a two medal decision. (If Gold is your choice please get prior approval and justification (real visible handicap or disfigurement that is viable and can be the basis for a wound story).
Iron Cross 2nd Class War Merit (Service) cross any type (have your story ready to justify your choice)
Other awards are on an approval basis before wearing. Don't ask for high valor awards without justification. If you have actual Silver Star or Bronze Star with the valor device we'll talk. Any other campaign ribbons and specific awards approved count towards the overall limit. If you like to collect different awards those are okay, but just display the allowed amount at any one event.
If you haven't figured it out the idea is to provide members some customization of their impressions without turning membership into a chase for recognition. Other excellent ways to distinguish your impression is to weather your gear and personalize your headgear. Look at members of HRS 7th Panzer for inspiration. Bedraggled is good for the cameras.
Rank in our new organization is based on squad organization and also on the combat armor fielded. We are a reconnaissance unit and will have one to three armored vehicles at events and I see these as separate entities. Each person who takes the time to build and bring armor will be allowed to hold NCO rank. In other words, vehicle commanders will have rank as they should (and yes, I understand that a corporal could be a vehicle commander but we are compressing things in reenacting and frequently NCO's were the historically correct choice for vehicle commander). I believe in practice, infantry would defer to vehicle commander wishes to protect the asset and it is easier if the vehicle commander has a couple of stripes. After the vehicles are manned, (2-persons for the armored car 2-persons for the halftrack) we are left with approximately 9-members as of startup. Members not directly crewing vehicles will fall in as motorized infantry and squad size will be 7-8-members. They will maneuver as infantry or work the trucks -cycles - guns. Each squad of 7-8-members is entitled to have an NCO. So presently we have a structure that supports 2 vehicle NCO's and one infantry half-squad corporal. I suspect we will not have 100-percent participation at any one event. When or if we reach a complete second squad, I would like to incorporate an officer in the unit. So when we can crew the vehicles and also have two squads or approximately 20-members total, we'll promote someone to an officer. Most likely it will be an NCO to officer and then we'll be at one officer and 2-NCO's. The justification for an officer is so that the public can see one at events where we might be the only unit present as I suspect will happen at several of our planned outings. Besides, I frankly think that you have to inflate the normal percentages. I understand that a company sized formation of 150-men would have a Captain and a Lieutenant or two but please don't forget the myriad of staff positions in a larger-sized unit, (Battalion and higher) where officers would be tripping over themselves with virtually no enlisted men to command. Officers are also fun for the public. I mean without officers, we can't practice military courtesies. That's all fun stuff. Remember that SPR had a Captain leading a squad and that in BoB, the whole story had plenty of officer presence. The TV series Combat had regular episodes with the lieutenant leading a handful of men. Officers are interesting and should not be rare as hen's teeth.
Additional awards or level of the award would require the Commander and Co-Commander approval.
As it stands that leaves two regular NCO's in charge of the vehicles for now. No Officers until we grow to 20-persons. One is an unterfeldwebel and one is unteroffizer.
HRS guidelines state that the charter should have a listing of each person’s awards and a described policy in the unit for obtaining them. This satisfies that requirement in my mind, but if I get flak from the guys or if it doesn't work well, I'd be open to going to a system of earned rewards like most units. But as I said, rewards are like performance evaluations in my mind - just a reason to have problems. In a perfect world, you'd wear your actor’s uniform as assigned and there would be no performance evaluations (just a pat on the back or a knowing look of disapproval). I will strive to have a balance in the group. Some folks who don’t care will be not wearing any awards or decorations and others will but no one will look like Hermann Goering in full regalia.
We'll be using a simple 2/3/4 limit and leave it to the member to pick them amongst the following types. Having a complicated bookkeeping system based on attendance and accomplishments detracts from other pleasures of the hobby. Those systems are too burdensome and cause friction in a unit. Besides this way it's easy to spot someone not in compliance and correct them. As I plan to have an officer in the unit at some point he would have a four medal limit, NCO's three and lower ranks can choose two.
Members will choose from the following list of potential awards -
Infantry Assault Badge (bronze or silver depending on your justification) (for our motorized unit we'd mostly want to have bronze, but someone could have earned the silver variety earlier in the war.)
Ostfront ribbon (eastern winter campaign 41-42)
Wound badge in black
Wound badge in silver or gold is allowed but then you must wear an Iron Cross 2nd class (it was automatically awarded) which is a two medal decision. (If Gold is your choice please get prior approval and justification (real visible handicap or disfigurement that is viable and can be the basis for a wound story).
Iron Cross 2nd Class War Merit (Service) cross any type (have your story ready to justify your choice)
Other awards are on an approval basis before wearing. Don't ask for high valor awards without justification. If you have actual Silver Star or Bronze Star with the valor device we'll talk. Any other campaign ribbons and specific awards approved count towards the overall limit. If you like to collect different awards those are okay, but just display the allowed amount at any one event.
If you haven't figured it out the idea is to provide members some customization of their impressions without turning membership into a chase for recognition. Other excellent ways to distinguish your impression is to weather your gear and personalize your headgear. Look at members of HRS 7th Panzer for inspiration. Bedraggled is good for the cameras.
Rank in our new organization is based on squad organization and also on the combat armor fielded. We are a reconnaissance unit and will have one to three armored vehicles at events and I see these as separate entities. Each person who takes the time to build and bring armor will be allowed to hold NCO rank. In other words, vehicle commanders will have rank as they should (and yes, I understand that a corporal could be a vehicle commander but we are compressing things in reenacting and frequently NCO's were the historically correct choice for vehicle commander). I believe in practice, infantry would defer to vehicle commander wishes to protect the asset and it is easier if the vehicle commander has a couple of stripes. After the vehicles are manned, (2-persons for the armored car 2-persons for the halftrack) we are left with approximately 9-members as of startup. Members not directly crewing vehicles will fall in as motorized infantry and squad size will be 7-8-members. They will maneuver as infantry or work the trucks -cycles - guns. Each squad of 7-8-members is entitled to have an NCO. So presently we have a structure that supports 2 vehicle NCO's and one infantry half-squad corporal. I suspect we will not have 100-percent participation at any one event. When or if we reach a complete second squad, I would like to incorporate an officer in the unit. So when we can crew the vehicles and also have two squads or approximately 20-members total, we'll promote someone to an officer. Most likely it will be an NCO to officer and then we'll be at one officer and 2-NCO's. The justification for an officer is so that the public can see one at events where we might be the only unit present as I suspect will happen at several of our planned outings. Besides, I frankly think that you have to inflate the normal percentages. I understand that a company sized formation of 150-men would have a Captain and a Lieutenant or two but please don't forget the myriad of staff positions in a larger-sized unit, (Battalion and higher) where officers would be tripping over themselves with virtually no enlisted men to command. Officers are also fun for the public. I mean without officers, we can't practice military courtesies. That's all fun stuff. Remember that SPR had a Captain leading a squad and that in BoB, the whole story had plenty of officer presence. The TV series Combat had regular episodes with the lieutenant leading a handful of men. Officers are interesting and should not be rare as hen's teeth.
Additional awards or level of the award would require the Commander and Co-Commander approval.
As it stands that leaves two regular NCO's in charge of the vehicles for now. No Officers until we grow to 20-persons. One is an unterfeldwebel and one is unteroffizer.
HRS guidelines state that the charter should have a listing of each person’s awards and a described policy in the unit for obtaining them. This satisfies that requirement in my mind, but if I get flak from the guys or if it doesn't work well, I'd be open to going to a system of earned rewards like most units. But as I said, rewards are like performance evaluations in my mind - just a reason to have problems. In a perfect world, you'd wear your actor’s uniform as assigned and there would be no performance evaluations (just a pat on the back or a knowing look of disapproval). I will strive to have a balance in the group. Some folks who don’t care will be not wearing any awards or decorations and others will but no one will look like Hermann Goering in full regalia.