United States Army Combat Medical Badge Criteria: The Combat Medical Badge (CMB) is awarded to any member of the Army Medical Department, ranked Colonel or below, assigned to a medical unit providing support to an infantry or special forces unit during any period in which the unit was engaged in active ground combat. The CMB was first created in 1945, but is retroactive to December 6, 1941. The original decoration was considered a one-time decoration, however, this directive was rescinded in 1951. Multiple awards are denoted by stars encircling the decoration. In 1947, a policy authorized the retroactive award of the Bronze Star Medal to soldiers who had received the Combat Medical badge during the Second World War. The reasoning behind this was that the CMB was awarded only to soldiers who had borne combat duties befitting the Bronze Star Medal, also both awards required a citation in orders and a recommendation by the commander. Abbreviation: CMB