How to Submit an Award in IPPS-A (AAM and ARCOM)

Awards are no longer initiated by hand-filling a paper DA Form 638. Recommendations are created in the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army (IPPS-A) as a Personnel Action Request. The DA Form 638 still exists as a reference and archival product, but the recommender's actual inputs are IPPS-A text fields.

This guide walks the AAM and ARCOM workflow and explains exactly what content belongs in each field — which is where a regulation-aware tool like AwardMe produces ready-to-paste output.

The workflow

From the IPPS-A member self-service area, navigate to My Personnel Action Requests, then My Buddy PARs. Create a Personnel Action Request on behalf of the Soldier being recognized and select Award Recommendation as the action. Choose the award (AAM or ARCOM) and the reason that matches the context — separation/ETS, reassignment/PCS, or achievement.

The Achievement field

The Achievement field takes the bulleted accomplishments — the equivalent of the old DA Form 638 Block 20. Use up to four bullets, each beginning with a past-tense action verb, each under roughly 200 characters, and at least half containing hard numbers. Generic placeholders such as "XXX" or "$X MILLION" are a fast way to get a packet returned; AwardMe refuses them by design and prompts for real figures.

The Citation field

The Citation field takes the certificate paragraph — the equivalent of the old Block 21. It is limited to six lines (about 480 characters), opens with the regulation opening for the context, names the duty position and unit, and ends with the mandatory closing sentence. Remember the punctuation rule: the AAM omits the serial comma before the final "and"; the ARCOM keeps it.

Self-recommendation and routing

AR 600-8-22 prohibits self-recommendation — the Soldier cannot submit their own award. The recommender initiates the Buddy PAR; it then routes through the rating chain to the approving authority (lieutenant colonel for AAM, colonel for ARCOM). Initiate ETS and PCS awards early so approval clears before the Soldier departs.

Example Achievement block

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

Executed all communications support for a 9-day battalion field exercise, sustaining 99 percent network uptime across 14 command posts.

Repaired a critical satellite terminal within 3 hours, restoring brigade voice and data without mission delay.

Trained 12 Soldiers on the new radio configuration during the exercise, achieving a 100 percent operator certification rate.

Configured 40 networked devices ahead of the exercise timeline with zero connectivity failures during execution.

Example citation

AAM citation — Single Achievement. Pastes into the IPPS-A Citation field (six-line limit).

For outstanding achievement while serving as Signal Support Systems Specialist, Charlie Company, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, during the Decisive Strike exercise, 4 to 13 March 2026. Specialist Owens sustained 99 percent network uptime across 14 command posts and restored a critical satellite terminal in 3 hours. His achievement is in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the Company 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

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.Army Commendation Medal →How to write a strong ARCOM recommendation: the Achievement block, the citation, the serial-comma rule, and IPPS-A submission under AR 600-8-22, paragraph 3-18.Bullet Examples →Validated Achievement-block bullet examples for AAM and ARCOM across ETS, PCS, achievement, and retirement contexts. Action-verb, quantified, IPPS-A-ready.Citation Examples →Validated AAM and ARCOM citation examples for ETS, PCS, achievement, and retirement contexts — correct openings, mandatory closings, and the serial-comma rule.

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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