If you google “military challenge coin history” you can read about an activity that may have begun during WWI. Units would sometimes give a coin to soldiers with the unit crest on one side and various other designs on the flip. It may have started as a way to identify unit members in case they had to evade the enemy by donning civilian clothes. It definitely came to be a status symbol for troops who received a coin for being in some elite unit.
Since that time challenge coins have become a way for leaders to recognize exemplary service by soldiers of the unit. So many challenge coins are given out these days (not only military but all sorts of organizations) that many would say it has lost much of its meaning. One can even step into a store and purchase almost any type of coin, certainly without any hint of “earning” it. My battalion commander has a coin that he has given out to some of our soldiers and he certainly upholds the tradition that it is something special and should be earned (which I appreciate). Not everyone gets one just for being in the unit…I don’t have one.
That being said, I recently was able to spend some time with an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit. These soldiers get called out any time an explosive is found and it is their job to take care of it. Whether disarming (sometimes by hand), blowing in place, or removing to another area and disposing of (usually a large pile of stuff with a really big boom) the item. This company has been over here for many months and will soon be heading home. They have seen more than their share of violence and trauma. I was able to give them a briefing on redeployment (deploying back home) which helps them to prepare for what to expect as they reintegrate with life in the rear. It has been my privilege to serve them and to get to know their company commander and first sergeant. After leading them through the brief I deferred to CPT Nobis for any comments he may want to make to his company. He called me back up to the front and gave me his coin. Now, I have received two prior coins from other chaplains which I appreciate but I received them based on my position so to speak and not for my service. This is the only coin I have been given based upon something I have done. We are all simply doing our jobs here. These soldiers have done incredible work and have suffered much pain in doing it, yet have saved innumerable lives because of it. I have not done enough to earn their coin and I was certainly not expecting to receive one but I am proud to have it and proud to serve this great group of soldiers! These are the kind of soldiers that all Americans should be proud to honor.
Pray for them as they return home to friends and families who love them but who can never fully understand what they have been through. Pray that God’s peace will reign in their hearts and minds! And remember that there is someone else coming to take their place on the wall!
For God and Country 
