Army tempers foreign badge crackdown, apologizes amid review
By Davis Winkie
Sep 16, 01:36 PM
The Army is coordinating with the Luxembourg and Netherlands embassies to establish a path forward for two popular foreign awards, Human Resources Command officials told Army Times in a phone interview.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/09/16/army-tempers-foreign-badge-crackdown-apologizes-amid-review/HRC was subject to backlash after an Aug. 30 awards regulation update that removed the Holland Four Day Event Cross (more commonly known as the Nijmegen cross) and Luxembourg’s International March of Diekirch Medal from the list of foreign awards and badges approved for U.S. soldiers to wear on their dress uniforms. Officials argued that the new virtual format of the two events (due to COVID-19) and award shipping fees meant accepting the awards for permanent wear would violate Army and Defense Department policy.
The change was announced via S1Net, a restricted-access official message board, where the discussion thread turned into a roaring debate over the policy change and its implications, which Army Times covered Sept. 1.