Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM): Bullets, Citation, and IPPS-A Submission

The Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) is awarded under AR 600-8-22, Chapter 3, paragraph 3-18, for sustained meritorious service or significant achievement that exceeds the level of the Army Achievement Medal. It is approved by a colonel (O-6) commander or higher. ARCOM accomplishments should reflect a higher level of responsibility and measurable impact than an AAM.

Like the AAM, an ARCOM is submitted through IPPS-A as a Buddy PAR Award Recommendation — the Achievement field and the Citation field. A narrative is optional at this level and is generally omitted for the service and single-achievement awards in this scope.

When to recommend an ARCOM

Recommend an ARCOM when a Soldier's contribution materially shaped a unit's readiness, training, resourcing, or personnel outcomes over a tour, or when a single achievement had outsized impact. The bar is higher than an AAM: the write-up should show scope (Soldiers led, dollars managed, formations supported) alongside results.

The ARCOM serial-comma rule

ARCOM citations keep the serial comma before the final "and": "...reflects great credit upon himself, the Battalion, and the United States Army." This is the opposite of the AAM convention. Submitting an ARCOM with AAM punctuation (or vice versa) is a frequent correction; EvalMe's validator checks the award type and enforces the matching closing automatically.

How the ARCOM submits in IPPS-A

Create the Buddy PAR, select Award Recommendation, and populate the Achievement field (up to four action-verb bullets) and the Citation field (six lines, about 480 characters). Self-recommendation is prohibited under AR 600-8-22.

Example Achievement block

Pastes into the IPPS-A Achievement field. All bullets pass EvalMe's award validator.

Directed maintenance operations for a 142-vehicle fleet, sustaining a 94 percent readiness rate that enabled three uninterrupted combat training center rotations.

Established a driver-training program that certified 87 Soldiers and reduced accident rates 40 percent over a 24-month period.

Managed a 1.2 million dollar shop budget with zero audit findings across two consecutive command inspection cycles.

Developed 11 noncommissioned officers through structured counseling, with 7 selected for positions of greater responsibility.

Example citation

ARCOM citation — ETS / Separation. Pastes into the IPPS-A Citation field (six-line limit).

For exceptionally meritorious service while assigned as Maintenance Section Sergeant, Forward Support Company, 3d Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2026. Staff Sergeant Reyes directed a 142-vehicle fleet at 94 percent readiness and developed 11 noncommissioned officers. His dedicated service is in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the Battalion, and the United States Army.

Generate this with AwardMe

AwardMe generates the Achievement block and citation from your plain-language notes, enforces the AR 600-8-22 rules automatically (including the AAM serial-comma convention), refuses generic placeholders, and produces output ready to paste into the IPPS-A Achievement and Citation fields.

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Related award pages

ARCOM for ETS →Write an ARCOM for a Soldier separating at ETS: a sustained-impact Achievement block and date-range citation meeting AR 600-8-22, ready for IPPS-A.ARCOM for PCS →Write an end-of-tour ARCOM for a Soldier on PCS: a high-scope Achievement block and meritorious-service citation meeting AR 600-8-22, ready for IPPS-A.ARCOM for Single Achievement →Write a high-impact ARCOM for a single act, exercise, or operation: an event-anchored Achievement block and citation meeting AR 600-8-22, ready for IPPS-A.Army Achievement Medal →How to write a strong Army Achievement Medal recommendation: the Achievement block, the citation, the AAM no-comma rule, and how it submits in IPPS-A under AR 600-8-22.

EvalMe is an independent private service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or any U.S. Government agency. Award criteria and citation conventions are summarized from AR 600-8-22; consult the regulation and your servicing awards office for authoritative guidance.

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