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.
Example citation
ARCOM citation — ETS / Separation. Pastes into the IPPS-A Citation field (six-line limit).
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.
Open AwardMe →Frequently asked questions
Who approves an Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM)?
The ARCOM is approved by a colonel (O-6) commander or higher in the chain of command under AR 600-8-22, paragraph 3-18. Because approval sits at the colonel level, route the recommendation early to allow routing time before a Soldier's PCS or separation date.
Is the ARCOM higher than the AAM and lower than the MSM?
Yes. In EvalMe's scope the precedence is AAM, then ARCOM, then MSM, so an ARCOM recognizes service or achievement that exceeds the Army Achievement Medal threshold but falls below the Meritorious Service Medal. The write-up should show greater scope, responsibility, and measurable impact than an AAM.
Can you receive an ARCOM for a PCS or ETS?
Yes. The PCS ARCOM is the standard end-of-tour award for a Soldier whose tour-long impact exceeded the AAM level, and the ETS ARCOM recognizes sustained contribution at separation; both span the full assignment date range. Self-recommendation is prohibited under AR 600-8-22.
Does the ARCOM citation keep the serial comma, unlike the AAM?
Yes. The ARCOM closing sentence keeps the comma before the final "and" ("...reflects great credit upon himself, the Battalion, and the United States Army"), which is the opposite of the AAM convention. EvalMe's validator detects the award type and enforces the matching closing automatically.
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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.