My Coins - 1AD

Pictured above is the very first Challenge Coin that I ever recieved. I still remember the occasion quite well. It was Thanksgiving Day in 2007. I was on my first tour in Iraq and I was working my normal shift in the company Tactical Operations Center (TOC) as the Radio Telephone Operator (RTO). The Command Sergeant Major of the First Armored Division (1AD) came in to visit with us. Now, I'm not sure, but I think that 1AD was actually in charge of our area of operations, at the time.

Anyway, this schmuck comes in and starts accusing my company of being a bunch of "cowboys." Now, you must understand a thing or two here. First, my company was none other than F Company/51 Infantry Regiment--a Long Range Surveillance Company (LRSC). We were the "eyes and ears" of the 525 Battlefield Surveillance Brigade and XVIII Airborne Corps. F Co was an elite unit that was capable of getting behind enemy lines, observing the enemy, reporting the enemy's activities, and then getting out. Oh, we had some firepower in that unit and a number of our guys were pretty good shots. Most of the company was at least Airborne qualified and several were Ranger qualified. Our company's motto was "Elite Bastards." We were elite, that's for sure. Because we were a special operations type of unit, we did things a little different from the way folks in the "conventional Army" did things. I don't think this particular CSM liked the way we did things, but we got the job done and that's what counts. Now, for all the disagreements and misunderstandings I had with people in F Co, these men were my brothers and I do not take it lightly when some schmuck comes in on a holiday and starts chewing us out. It's a holiday, for Pete's sake! You come in, make a short speach, shake a few hands, and leave. Well, this guy didn't exactly do that. He came in with guns blazing.

Anyway, just before he left, he looked at me and asked, "Hey Specialist, where are you from?". I replied that I was from Knoxville, Tennessee. He then said, "Here ya go" and he tossed the above pictured coin to me. Ha! That was the first, and I believe only time, in my career that I've ever been given any type of award simply because I happened to be the lowest-ranking individual in the room. When he left, the NCOIC promptly explained to me that this guy had been unprofessional and that what he did wasn't the way a Senior Noncommissioned Officer should do things, especially on a holiday. Eh, whatever. I still got a pretty cool coin out of the deal. But still, I hope that I'll have a little more respect for people on a holiday, whenever I become a Sergeant Major.