Me? Because I was once an Aide, I hate coins. I mean like, vehemently, HATE coins. However I understand their value as far as morale. Sometimes there just isn’t time or justification to write up an award or positive counseling. So what I did was come up with my own “ata-boy” type device, a velcro backed patch. Like a coin, it can be given right then and there at the point of (insert awesome deed), however unlike a coin it can be sported on gear or bags and shown off (with a lot less pretension…). The patch reflects my command philosophy which is also my initial counseling of every Soldier in my unit; the two reinforce each other. It can be a little obscure, so I have the history of the patch strategically located around the company area where Soldiers can read about it when they’re waiting for something (and not staring at their phones). I’ve attached the patch design and background in case anyone was interested in doing something similar.