ArmyDoc

Remember, you have to be attached to a specific unit to qualify for the CMB. If you aren't (attached to a CSH for example) and were in that situation-you would get a CAB, not the CMB. You have to be engaging or be engaged (i.e. bullets coming at you, mortars incoming from the enemy, etc.). So post care would not count. A medic could only have a CIB and CMB if he were infantry and medical MOS qualified and came under fire. I would assume two separate instances would dictate two awards. I believe the reg states that you can only wear only one "group one" badge. This would include the CMB, CIB, CAB, EFMB, EIB. So if you have both, you can only wear one. I will double check on this.

First, the reg now states that it is one award currently, no matter how many tours or in what theater. I would assume that Iran would be lumped into that as well. A star would be added for each war--i.e. one for WWII, one for Korea, one for Vietnam, one for Desert Storm, etc. The current time frame goes back to just after Vietnam, I believe. You do not get one for just being in country. I know many medics who I served with in Iraq and they did not qualify. You do not have to be close contact, but do have to be under fire while rendering aid. That leaves a lot open for interpretation. Does it have to be two way fight or does incoming mortars count? Does one have to be one patrol or can it be awarded for "contact" on base?? Also, you do have to be attached to a combat arms batallion (infantry, armor, etc.). You cannot be a part of a Combat Service Hospital (CSH) and get one. The medic would get a CAB in that case. The CMB was initially meant to mirror the CIB as the medics were sharing the same hardships and deserved to be recognized. I would think that the medic in your example would qualify.

In regards to the CMB, the current conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq is considered in the same time frame as the first gulf war. A star is not added for subsequent tours or for either desert conflicts. If I remember right, it also includes all conflicts back to vietnam. This is until a date to be determined in the future. Hope this helps.