Army unveils ribbon for soldiers who refer a friend

The Army has ribbons for just about everything. And now, that extensive list of awards includes a recently unveiled ribbon given to eligible soldiers who refer a friend for a life of embracing the suck.

Those who participate in the The Soldier Referral Program can qualify for the new ribbon as long as the referred individual attends Basic Combat Training.

“The Soldier Referral Program produced approximately 5,300 referrals since it started nearly two months ago,” Brian McGovern, the deputy director of public affairs for U.S. Army Recruiting Command, said in a statement. “To date, the Army witnessed success as it contracted over 76 new recruits since the start of this program and we expect solid growth as the command continues to build on the momentum to accomplish the mission.”

The nation’s oldest branch has invested in a series of different tactics to bolster its recruiting numbers after a fiscal year in which the Army missed its active-duty recruiting goal by 15,000 troops.

“This program continues to provide soldiers the opportunity to personally invest in their Army by referring high quality individuals to serve,” McGovern said.

The Army earlier this month also resurrected its 1980s “Be All That You Can Be” marketing campaign as a modernized “Be All You Can Be” slogan.

However, the service was forced to pull its ads over the weekend after its ad spokesperson, actor Jonathan Majors, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman.

“While Mr. Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete,” said Laura DeFrancisco, spokesperson for the Army Enterprise Marketing Office.