Quarterly/Annual awards.

SSgt (Join to see) I think both type of awards of places within our organizations. With the annual and quarterly awards you have to be more selective when deciding a winner. I can understand your dislike of "there can only be one" statement but this is like all those AF questions that have all correct answers but which one is most correct. A few SNCO friends of mine were discussing this because with changes to the new EPR system, it is going to be critical on how we decide who gets the official Air Force awards. This will directly affect your promotions, in the past system it also affected the system but with racking and stacking all promotable personnel this is going to be a key issue. I do like the peer based recognition but it is important to capture what individuals did to earn these awards and see if they translate to the quarterly and annual awards. If the issue is morale, I think a peer based award is merited and can bring up morale. If the issue is progression and rewarding the right people, individuals have to take a hard look and put in the effort (self-improvement/base involvement) to be competitive for these awards.**Note** I am stealing the previously mentioned peer awards to mention for use at my unit.

MSgt (Join to see) I'm glad I was able to help spread a bit of my, albeit, limited knowledge!

That said, I completely agree that for Quarterly/Wing/Annual awards, picking the person who earned it most is the best way to do it. I just feel that, in the process, we neglect those others, which is why I push so hard for unit level awards (even here with the doomsday dollars program, I keep mentioning other small awards we can give out that promote morale, unit cohesion, and good work ethic, though it has yet to catch on...)

I'm in no way saying these should, or should not, have an effect on other awards. However, as part of a team, sometimes a "thanks!" doesn't do enough justice to what someone does for someone else, and those are the times that I think make or break a team. If you take someone for granted for too long, then it becomes expected that that one guy will do all the heavy lifting, and while awards may spur him to greater feats, what do others aspire to? Thats where I come from, thinking that my guys all need abit of recognition, and if I can't write him a package I can at least get him a day off or a small certificate of thanks that everyone can see me give him.

I get pretty passionate about this subject because so many people go too extreme one way or another when it comes to recognition. Myself, I get extremely motivated when someone recognizes my hard work, and I feel bad when someone doesn't get what they deserve... so many great deeds go unnoticed every day.

Completely agree. Good comment.

One unit I was in, the commander had what we knew as the "quarterly commanders cup" award. This award was given to the "Team" that outshined the other teams for that quarter. The award was passed around the unit to each winning team and their team and date was added to this award permanently. The award was produced locally and it consisted of a nice wooden wall plaque with an elastic supporter "CUP" nailed to it. The unit loved it and as teams, each team would break their backs to win it. At the end of the year, the team that won it the most, got a dinner from the commander. It could be used for achievements in the field or in the rear area. Now if individuals did something that was above and beyond their duties, well they got awards (medals) for those. But the commanders "Cup" really brought the unit together and teams got tighter and tighter.