Writing a Commendation Narrative

[Pud]

I have been tasked to write a letter of commendation for a subordinate.  I have printed off the Guidance on the Submission Process and what technically needs to be in there, and how it is supposed to look, but I would love to see an example of a previous narrative to get a feel for the flow.  I have searched online as well as within my own units common drive for examples but I cannot seem to find one.  Even just a Google search doesn't offer much assistance. 

Does anyone know where one can find an example of the narrative for a Command Commendation?  I don't need the citation, but the narrative.  You don't need to share it here, but if you could even send me a link or something in a private message, that would be fantastic.

 

[Haggis]

Contact your Bde G1.  A good G1 will have sample narratives from successful nominations they can send for you to go off.  I've submitted many nominations and not all made it through the process.  Sadly, the quality of the narrative matters more than the quality of the deed.

 

[Pud]

Contact your Bde G1.  A good G1 will have sample narratives from successful nominations they can send for you to go off.  I've submitted many nominations and not all made it through the process.  Sadly, the quality of the narrative matters more than the quality of the deed.

Thank you for the reply.

I agree with the part I bolded and that's why I'd like to see some examples.  I will reach out to my ships office and see if they have anything that may help.

 

[garb811]

It isn't quite clear, are you simply writing a draft of a letter of commendation that will be signed by your CO and given to your subordinate, or actually nominating someone for a formal Commander's Commendation that is given by a Level 1, such as the VCDS, CRCN etc?

If you are simply drafting a letter, there is no actual definitive narrative, just briefly and factually summarize what the subordinate did and why it is deserving of a more formal level of recognition that will get put on their Pers file.

If you are drafting a formal Command Commendation package, each Level 1 will likely have a SO (ie. the VCDS has 5027-1 Honours and Recognition Program) which details the process and what they are specifically looking for.

 

[TCM621]

Here is an example I wrote up for a base chief's coin awhile back. I have omitted identifying information but it should give an idea of how one looks.

Cpl Bloggins has worked tirelessly as a member of the BASE Jr. Ranks Mess committee over the last 2 years. He has held numerous positions prior to taking over as the VPMC. As Entertainment chair, he was the driving force behind a number of highly successful events and he continues to leverage his experience in assisting the new Entertainment chair to ensure the Jr. Ranks Mess continues this level of excellence. He instituted, and runs, a regular event that consistently brings members to the Mess contributing to a strong sense of fellowship and community amongst member of the BASE . He routinely assists with TGIFs and any large events the Mess holds. He regularly anticipates areas of concern and acts to correct them without prompting. His dedication the JR Ranks Mess and the BASE has demonstrated an outstanding devotion to duty and professionalism.

I'm sure there is room from improvement but I have had to do had the pleasure of doing a few different commendation write ups of the last year or two and they have all sort of followed the same flow.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Contact your Bde G1.  A good G1 will have sample narratives from successful nominations they can send for you to go off.  I've submitted many nominations and not all made it through the process.  Sadly, the quality of the narrative matters more than the quality of the deed.

Care for some more practice my friend? 

 

[Haggis]

Care for some more practice my friend? 

Unfortunately, I'm retired.  Nobody in your chain of command takes me seriously now (maybe they never did?).  I'm a "has been".

 

[Pud]

It isn't quite clear, are you simply writing a draft of a letter of commendation that will be signed by your CO and given to your subordinate, or actually nominating someone for a formal Commander's Commendation that is given by a Level 1, such as the VCDS, CRCN etc?

If you are simply drafting a letter, there is no actual definitive narrative, just briefly and factually summarize what the subordinate did and why it is deserving of a more formal level of recognition that will get put on their Pers file.

If you are drafting a formal Command Commendation package, each Level 1 will likely have a SO (ie. the VCDS has 5027-1 Honours and Recognition Program) which details the process and what they are specifically looking for.

This will be a formal Command Commendation. 

I have seen the format on which they expect it to be based on; the submission process for Nominations.  I have all that information.  I was just hoping to see an example of a finished product so I can get a feel for the flow of one.  I've never had to write one of these before so I didn't want to pass up something that was sub-par for the flow of the document if that makes any sense.