Army Combat Infantry Badge

The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military award. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of either an infantry, ranger or Special Forces unit, of brigade size or smaller, any time after 6 December 1941.

The CIB and its non-combat contemporary, the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) were both created in November 1943 during World War II to enhance the morale and prestige of service in the infantry. Specifically, it recognizes the inherent sacrifices of all infantrymen, and that, in comparison to all other military occupational specialties, infantrymen face the greatest risk of being wounded or killed in action.

On 8 February 1952, the Army approved the addition of stars to the CIB indicating the soldier’s having fought in more than one war. The first was the second-award CIB recognizing Korean War combat operations; in that time, the U.S. Army’s Institute of Heraldry also had created eighth-award CIB designs. The second- through fourth-award CIB awards were indicated with silver five-point stars, one to three stars centered, at badge’s top, between the tips of the oak-leaf wreath; the fifth- through eighth-awards of the CIB were indicated with gold stars. However, Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) only authorizes up to three awards of the CIB. There are four periods for which an award of the badge can be made:

World War II (7 December 1941 to 3 September 1945)
Korea (27 June 1950 to 27 July 1953)
Vietnam and other cold war era actions (2 March 1961 to 10 March 1995)
War on Terror (5 December 2001 to present)