A wide-ranging Defense Department review of military decorations recommended leaving eligibility rules for the Combat Action Badge as they stand — a blow to one lawmaker's push to award the medal to soldiers who served before 2001.

The CAB, created by the Army in 2005, recognizes soldiers who engage the enemy but do not qualify for the Combat Infantry Badge or Combat Medical Badge. It can only be awarded to soldiers who served in qualifying conflicts, beginning with Operation Enduring Freedom.

Nugent said he was "disappointed" in the review's findings, calling expanded eligibility "a simple but meaningful gesture that recognizes the valor of those who served in combat before 2001."

He pledged to "push this issue" in the coming months in a statement provided Friday to Army Times, but did not offer specifics regarding legislation. Nugent has announced he will not seek re-election this November.

The idea of expanded eligibility has been endorsed by the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Nugent's proposals have been constructed in a cost-neutral manner that would require awardees to purchase the badge themselves, but allows the measure to exist outside the ongoing military budget debate.

That doesn't mean the award would come without a cost: The Army would have to create a way to process the award applications that could be filed by tens of thousands of veterans, many of whom likely would lack proper documentation from service that could date back 50 or more years.

About Kevin Lilley

Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.

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