Combat Action Badge

The Combat Action Badge (CAB) is a United States military award given to soldiers of the U.S. Army of any rank and who are not members of an infantry, special forces, or medical MOS, for being "present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy and performing satisfactorily in accordance with prescribed rules of engagement" at any point in time after 18 September 2001. On 2 May 2005, the chief of staff of the U.S. Army (CSA) approved the creation of the CAB to provide special recognition to U.S. soldiers who personally engaged, or are engaged by, the enemy. The CAB is intended to serve as a companion to the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and Combat Medical Badge (CMB) and was created to recognize the greatly expanded role of non-infantry soldiers in active, ground combat. U.S. Army infantrymen or special forces soldiers with the rank of colonel or below and who are a member of a brigade-sized or smaller infantry or special forces unit, receive the CIB instead of the CAB. In mid-2025 the Army introduced "master combat badges," including the Master Combat Action Badge. The badge recognize those who have earned both a CAB and either an Expert Soldier Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, or Expert Field Medical Badge.